The vast scope of the Hollywood lit vegetables greeted me as I entered this blown out “Health Food Store.” I remembered those dusty, dank dungeons in the 60’s posing with good intentions, and vastly more supplements than organic wilted lettuce and peppers. These little stores emerged in direct opposition to the supermarket culture with it’s bright branded labels. Originally associated with hippies and health food “nuts,” the stores are mainstream. Not that Whole Foods didn’t give the health craze a beautiful sheen, years ago. It’s just that here, now, in Santa Cruz, our own Westside Health Food Store went “Gigante!” The food to supplement proportion has switched but the concept is the same. Healthy Food. You can even get kombucha, that semi-illegal substance of the yoga crowd, on tap. This is modern culture. Superb.
New Leaf West Side 1010 Fair Street
