The Whole Foods in Union Square has everything: Panicked New Yorkers, abandoned kale and a line that wraps outside the door.
New Yorkers flocked to their neighborhood grocery stores hoping to stock up ahead of the historic storm on Monday. One supermarket, the Whole Foods in Union Square, had customers lined up outside and down the block. The scene there just before 5 p.m. showed customers packed at the store's doors, hoping to get in.
As each customer left, an employee would click a counting device and let a new customer enter.
"Yikes, be safe and kind guys!" Whole Foods told Mashable on Twitter when we tweeted a photo that showed the crowd. "@wholefoodsNYC is working fast and hard to get you in and out and home safely!"
"We are, we promise!" a Twitter account associated with New York's Whole Foods stores said.
@moneyries Yikes, be safe and kind guys! @wholefoodsNYC is working fast and hard to get you in and out and home safely!— Whole Foods Market (@WholeFoods) January 26, 2015
But once they got inside, many of those hopeful customers faced another, even bigger line. "Pure insanity," as one Twitter user called it.
#blizzardof2015 the whole foods in Union Square is completely stocked but the line is pure insanity pic.twitter.com/vzF1HElZB3— Nevin (@WeviNest) January 26, 2015
Many of them have simply given up, leaving their baskets of kale and goat milk sitting helplessly amongst the aisles.
Abandoned baskets at 14 st whole foods from those who could not take the line. @DNAinfo pic.twitter.com/AijoBqvPPY— Rosa Goldensohn (@RosaGoldensohn) January 26, 2015
New York City is in a state of emergency, as officials expect Monday's blizzard to bring near-record snowfall totals. A total ban on travel has been implemented for 11 p.m. in the affected counties, with stiff penalties in place for anyone who tries to drive on the roads.