The buzziest opening in LA isn’t a resto, bar or club. It’s the long-awaited arrival of wellness mecca Erewhon’s new Santa Monica store.

Erewhon ain’t your average grocery store. It’s not even your above average grocery store. Specializing exclusively in pure, ethical, sustainable and often-niche natural products and foodstuffs since the 1960s, Erewhon exists in a category of its own; one that fits snugly between a market and a cult. A very glowy, well-nourished cult.

Living in a town where red carpet movie premieres happen as casually as Sunday brunch, Angelenos aren’t particularly phased by big launches, but excitement over this week’s grand opening of Erewhon Santa Monica has been dominating our community for months. The Santa Monica location is Erewhon’s fourth and has us excited about the boom in legitimate healthy living trends here in LA. If you’re not in LA, do you remember the first time you or your friend group first got hooked on Whole Foods, say, back in 2006? This is like that — but with a little more adaptogenic bone broth.

Erewhon borders on the luxury end of the wellness spectrum to be sure. There are smoothies on that tonic bar that’ll cost you more than a twenty spot (granted, you could feed on their giant spirulina shake for a full day!). So what does it mean that the luxe health food market is booming? Good things for everyone, if you ask us. Just as fashion trends begin on runways and trickle down into shops everywhere, we believe that even the flashiest of health trends end up moving the needle for all, as consumer demand begins to flow throughout the whole economy.

What are your thoughts on shops like Erewhon? Let us know in the comments below!

Get a taste of the Erewhon vibe with this trend report written for us by Erewhon’s CEO, Tony Antoci.