Whole Foods Closes Bryant Park Store Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — The Bryant Park Whole Foods supermarket will be closed for the foreseeable future to service a surge in online grocery orders amid the outbreak of the new coronavirus in New York City.

The supermarket — located across the street from Bryant Park on Sixth Avenue and West 42nd Street — closed Wednesday, according to a recorded message that plays upon calling the store. Whole Foods will use the location to fulfill online grocery orders placed on Amazon Prime, according to the message.

Customers of the Bryant Park Whole Foods are encouraged to shop online or visit one of four nearby stores — Columbus Circle, Midtown East, Chelsea and Union Square — that are remaining open for in-store shopping.

"As we continue to face the challenges associated with COVID-19, we are constantly looking for new ways to meet the increased demand for online grocery shopping and serve more customers," a Whole Foods spokesperson said in a statement.

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Whole Foods opened its Bryant Park location in January 2017. The sprawling two-story, 43,000-square-foot store was one of the last Whole Foods locations to open in New York City before the company was acquired by Amazon.

In March, Whole Foods employees stages a "sick out" to protest unsafe working conditions in grocery stores and insufficient sick leave amid the coronavirus outbreak. A petition supporting the protest gained nearly 12,000 signatures.

Whole Foods' response plan to COVID-19 includes unlimited "call-outs" for staff unable to come to work, strict social distancing policies and increased hourly pay for part-time workers by $2 an hour.

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