Chicago Whole Foods store converting to online-only shopping

CHICAGO - A popular Chicago Whole Foods has gone dark.

It is shutting down not because of a coronavirus case, but to churn out more online orders.

It is a temporary move, Whole Foods says, because the demand for online grocery shopping during the pandemic has grown enough that it has decided to convert the store until further notice.

On Wednesday, the DePaul Whole Foods at Fullerton and Sheffield officially "closed to the public" at 4 p.m.

“During quarantine, I’ve been coming to Whole Foods pretty much every day. It's kind of my way to get out of the house, so it's a little sad,” said John Denoma.

In a statement, Whole Foods told FOX 32, "as we continue to face the challenges associated with COVID-19, we are constantly looking for new ways to meet the increased demand for online grocery shopping and serve more customers...we will temporarily convert DePaul store in Chicago into an online-only store, focused 100-percent on grocery delivery."

This is the only Chicago Whole Foods being temporarily converted, with all the others still open to in-person shoppers.

“I will miss it,” said Kathy Burke.