Seen & Heard: No more dogs at Whole Foods

NO DOGS ALLOWED
It drove me a little nuts that people brought their dogs into Whole Foods — or any store for that matter. (I watched as a woman let her dog walk around King’s with a stuffed baby toy, and when she was ready to leave, she took the toy out of her dog’s mouth and left it on the candy shelf. The staff there told me she is a repeat “customer.”) It seems the supermarket has now defined its policy to only permit service animals. Emotional support animals are not allowed.

KINKO’S IS MOVING
The Kinko’s and FedEx store at Broadway and Duane is moving to the old HSBC branch at Broadway and Worth on October 5.

BILL CUNNINGHAM SHOW AT SEAPORT
An immersive show called “Experience The Times of Bill Cunningham” has opened at the Seaport at 26 Fulton and runs through Oct. 30. It’s a bit steep IMO: tickets are $30. It’s open Monday through Sunday, 10a to 9p. Tickets are here. This is similar to the two immersive Van Gogh shows and it has me wondering: why is this more appealing than just going to one of the city’s museums to see art??

 

18 Comments

  1. This “newer” sign has been up at Whole Foods for awhile. There are still way too many dogs in the store and it is very hard to enforce.

  2. Speaking of enforcement, I was at Whole Foods one afternoon last week, looking for something in the grain aisle. A man had “parked” his cart there and was filling up a gym bag with all of this groceries. He then walked right out of the store. Employees are all over the place doing their shopping and no one sees a thing.

    • The employees & security aren’t paid enough to confront shoplifters, who might not comply, or worse. Management knows this, probably. Try the NYPD then – at it’s inception, it was conceived solely for the protection of rich people’s property — but even they might not care too much, knowing Bezos isn’t gonna feel it.

    • Team members are not allowed to confront thieves. They’ll get fired for interfering.

  3. Any idea what’s going into the old Fed Ex/Kinko’s space?

  4. I have a dog, I LOVE my dog. There are SO many dogs at WF’s I figured, I’m bringing mine. He was tucked in a bag and you would never know he was there.
    It just felt wrong so I stopped after about 2 times… I really don’t think dogs should be allowed in grocery stores.

  5. That sign at WF doesn’t stop customers from bringing in their dogs. There are always dogs in WF. Early evening yesterday, there were so many dogs in there of all sizes. I have seen the door people try to instill the rules before with customers but customers have caused pretty heated scenes about it.

  6. I’m a dog owner… I don’t think dogs belong in WFDS because that’s the health code. Personally, I don’t think they pose any kind of threat except those that their owners let them get away with. And that’s on the owner. And unfortunately there are too many relaxed owners.

    Yea, pets def don’t belong in the carts, but neither do customers’ wheeled pull carts or their granny carts. Those wheels have a hella lot of history on them that I would prefer not be introduced to my food. I see that happening all the time.

  7. Dog owners do seem to be a selfish lot on the whole. Not the ones commenting here I guess, but in general.

  8. Besides being a status symbol ( what better place than WF Tribeca) for the entitled, people that barge into shops and restaurants with their pets do seem to need emotional support, for their neediness.

  9. The dog does not the selfish a-hole make. There are plenty of dogless out there that aren’t stellar citizens. Quit draggin it with the generalizations.

  10. Dogs can lick food cartons, and quickly relieve themselves, while the caretakers are browsing the shelves in lala land. In addition, owners don’t keep a tight leash and it’s a trip hazard. BIG PROBLEM: stores only allowed to ASK TWO QUESTIONS; 1) is dog a service animal, and 2) what service does it perform. THE OWNER NOT REQUIRED TO FURNISH PROOF OF CERTIFICATION, IF ANY. And we know, understandably, WF not forcing anyone out if they mumble an answer. Let me make a socidal joke: WF depends on the honesty and integrity of some dog owners.

  11. Speaking of Kinko- FedEx, remember the UPS store that was on Greenwich Street and was converted as part of the TD Bank on Chambers Street corner? They allowed you to bring in papers to be shredded by you, and not leaving them hoping they would ultimately be shredded without anyone going through them first to steal you information.
    QUESTION: does anyone know a location where we can shred our own papers and not leave them blindly?
    Thanks

  12. I absolutely love dogs, but cringe every time I see one sniffing around a grocery store, cafe or any other place where food is out in the open.

    A few years back, I saw a woman holding her pup in one hand while loading up at the salad bar at Jubilee Market. The dog pawed, nipped and nosed around the trays along the edge without pushback from its oblivious owner and a couple of employees who strolled by but chose to ignore the situation. Ever since that day I only patronize Jubilee strictly on an emergency basis (maybe 2 or 3 times a year)…and always steer clear of the salad bar.

  13. It’s about time!! Maybe if a company as large and powerful as Whole Foods does this, others – including restaurants – will follow suit. Because if you believe dog owners, every dog in the world is a “service dog.” Of course, that’s not true, but they just want to be able to bring their dogs wherever the hell they please, so they LIE, LIE, LIE – and the people it hurts most are those with bona fide service animals. It is time to stop the B.S. and start reining in all these phony “service dogs,” including the selling of phony IDs and vests, etc. online.

    Bravo to Whole Foods!!!!

  14. You can install the 311 app on your phone.

    Every time I see a dog in a store (Laughing Man, Morgans, WF), I send a report, including a photo.

    https://portal.311.nyc.gov/article/?kanumber=KA-01025

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