By Jorge Casuso

April 10, 2025 -- Erewhon Market in Santa Monica -- known for its celebrity clientele and a $19 strawberry -- made global headlines Thursday after its cafe was shut down due to a "vermin infestation."

The LA County Department of Public Health cited the grocery store's tonic bar "after finding cockroaches" at the store at 2800 Wilshire Boulevard, the LA Times reported early Thursday afternoon.

According to the Department's report, inspectors found "two live nymph German cockroaches in the cabinet under the 'Simonelli' coffee machine," as well as a dead roach.

The report, which gave the store a B grade, ordered Erewhon to "eliminate cockroaches and all evidence of cockroaches from the facility," according to the Times.

The story was picked up by major media including PEOPLE magazine and the British tabloid, the Daily Mail, as well as local media outlets.

Erewhon -- which made headlines last month for selling a single Elly Amai organic strawberry from Kyoto Japan for $19 -- was also lampooned on social media.

According to the news site L.A. Taco, Erewhon also sells "$16 tortilla chips, $69 nanoformulated immune elixirs, $18 eggs, and $138 organic cotton tote bags."

In a statement to the LA Times, a spokesperson for Erewhon wrote: "We deeply regret that a roach was found in our tonic bar. We sincerely apologize for this lapse in our standards."

A worker at the store told The Lookout Thursday evening that things were back to normal.

"Everything is open, our cafe is open, the store is open as usual," the worker said.