Luxury LA grocery store Erewhon is coming to NYC—with a $43,000 entrance fee

Erewhon, a Los Angeles-based luxury grocery chain, has announced the grand opening of an exclusive "tonic bar" in New York City, which would be confined to members of a private padel club, with a startling $36,000 initiation fee and $7,000 in annual dues.

The location is being built inside the Kith Ivy, a members-only wellness club run by the fashion brand Kith, which is located in Manhattan's West Village. Erewhon will be situated next to treatment rooms and a cold plunge pool, the Daily Mail reported.

The NYC location will exclusively concentrate on a curated selection of the chain's viral juices and smoothies, such as Sofia Richie's Sweet Cherry blend and Hailey Bieber's $20 Strawberry Glaze smoothie, in contrast to the Erewhon supermarkets in California, which are renowned for their overpriced food items and celebrity endorsements.

"To celebrate its upcoming launch, we have built a Padel court inside Vanderbilt Hall at Grand Central Terminal for guests to have a chance to play at no cost," said Kith founder Ronnie Fieg. "The Kith Ivy Padel Court at Grand Central is not open until September 10th. While slots have been booked since our announcement, visit the court in person to get on the waitlist."

Not all West Village residents are thrilled about the grand opening. In March, some locals rallied against the proposal due to concerns that the pricey, exclusive members-only club would bring in unwanted traffic from the wealthy elite and disrupt the residential neighborhood, the New York Post reported at the time.

Fieg has not yet revealed specific details about the private padel club other than floor plans, which feature an Erewhon.

Business Insider reported that non-members in the delivery range will be able to order limited Erewhon items from the tonic bar via Postmates and Uber Eats.

The grand opening of the luxury grocery chain comes as New York City's socialist mayoral candidate, Zohran Mamdani, the frontrunner in the November election, vowed to implement city-owned grocery stores if elected. Critics have suggested such a move would financially disrupt other grocery chains and would result in empty shelves.