Forget, "Who are you wearing?" The most popular question during the coronavirus pandemic is: "What are you buying and where?"
Stars have been flocking to local supermarkets to stock up on self-isolation essentials, and a THR spy spotted newly minted Oscar winner and proud vegan Joaquin Phoenix (wearing a LA Animal Save hoodie paired with black latex gloves) in the checkout line at Erewhon by The Grove in mid-March with three shopping carts full of groceries, including plenty of produce.
On another day, Cara Delevingne, Ashley Benson, Tommy Dorfman and Kaia Gerber were on a group outing at Erewhon, helping boost the high-end grocery’s business 75-100 percent, store vice president Jason Widener tells THR. "We feel like this is our time to shine," Widener says. "People need us right now. We have doctors and herbalists and nutritionists that can help you with building your own in-house lung tonics and building your immune system. We have all kinds of remedies to help. ... We feel like we have a purpose."
Charlize Theron checked out at Bristol Farms while Gwyneth Paltrow and husband Brad Falchuk walked through Brentwood's farmers market, wearing masks and gloves. "We walked there (keeping lots of distance) and donned masks and gloves once we got nearer to the market, only taking them off when we were almost home and there were no other pedestrians in close proximity," Paltrow posted on Instagram. "Yesterday I heard tales of crowded hiking trails and parks. Although we are all on a learning curve and aren’t always perfect as we figure out this temporary new normal, we must take the orders seriously and not abuse the freedoms we still have; grocery store and essential errand runs, bike rides or walks (being disciplined about correct protocol). It’s not the time for denial. We must take this seriously and shelter in place. It’s time for nesting, reading, cleaning out closets, doing something you’ve always wanted to do (write a book, learn an instrument or a language or learn to code online, draw or paint) going through photos, cooking, and reconnecting on a deeper level with the people you love."
Another source reported seeing food star Bobby Flay buying up all the “fancy meats and ground beef” at Eataly, which another source reported was one of the prime spots for crisis shopping as it was far less crowded than local Ralphs or Trader Joe’s where essentials like paper towels, toilet paper and sanitizer were sold out. As luck would have it, Lifetime recently ordered hand sanitizers for an event that was canceled due to coronavirus and were offering to ship them out to journalists free of charge.
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A version of this story first appeared in the March 26 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
