Kayana H.
Yelp
I used to live in La Jolla and frequently went to the Whole Foods there, which I thought was chaotic--until I started coming to this Hillcrest location. Since moving to Hillcrest, I find myself here all the time because it's so close to my home, but I have some mixed feelings.
First, the workers are generally sweet, but when they're pushing carts around, it feels like they have zero awareness of people walking through the store. I've lost count of how many times I've almost been hit by a cart. It's not malicious, just frustrating.
The biggest issue is the crowd--this Whole Foods is way too small for the number of people shopping here. Unfortunately, some of those people make the experience even worse. I've seen a lot of entitled behavior, like someone blatantly cutting me in line while looking right at me. As a shy Black woman, that was an uncomfortable moment, but thankfully, someone spoke up for me.
Lastly, I used to love the hot bar, but after seeing people stick their hands in the food, I just can't do it anymore. Now, more often than not, I bite the bullet and walk to Ralph's instead. I really want to love this Whole Foods because of the convenience, but the shopping experience here is just stressful.