HISTORY OF EREWHON - NATURAL FOODS PIONEER IN THE UNITED STATES: EXTENSIVELY ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SOURCEBOOK Compiled by William Shurtleff & Akiko Aoyagi Copyright 2006. All rights reserved Published 18 April 2006 by Soyinfo Center ISBN 1-028914-09-8 Brief Chronology of Erewhon The initial orders contained red miso (made by Sendai Miso Shoyu Co.) and natural shoyu (made by Marushima). 1966 April 9–Erewhon opens as a small (10- by 20- 1968 Nov.–On Thanksgiving day, Erewhon moves up foot) macrobiotic and natural foods retail store at 303-B and across the street to a much bigger and nicer location at Newbury Street (below street level) in Boston. Aveline and 342 Newbury St. The company now has 6 employees: Paul Michio Kushi are the founders, but Aveline is the sole Hawken, Roger Hillyard, Bruce Macdonald, Bill Tara, Jim owner. Evan Root is the first retail store manager. The Docker, and Jean Allison. One day later, Bill Tara leaves to origin of the natural foods industry and movement in start a macrobiotic East West Center in Chicago. Tofu, America can be traced to this date. Erewhon is the first curded with calcium sulfate and made by a Chinese store of its kind in America and it soon serves as a model company in Boston, starts to be sold. for many other similar natural food stores across the nation. 1969 March–Paul Hawken and Evan Root leave for Erewhon sells several soyfoods, mainly miso and shoyu Japan. Bruce Macdonald takes over as general manager of purchased from Howard Rower's Infinity Foods or Japan Erewhon. Paul stays in Japan for 9 months, arranging for Foods Corp., both in New York. individual packaging of products that were formerly 1967 Aug.–Paul Hawken takes over the management of imported in bulk, and finding new items for Erewhon to Erewhon (one small retail store) from Evan Root. He import. He visits suppliers, works with Mitoku and Muso, changes the name to Erewhon Trading Co. and starts to and studies Japanese language and culture. expand the business. 1969 spring–Erewhon starts wholesaling foods, under 1968 May–Paul Hawken incorporates Erewhon Trading the direction of Bruce Macdonald. Company. Paul later states that he and Aveline Kushi each 1969 Aug.–Aveline Kushi moves to Los Angeles where own 50% of the stock. However Aveline Kushi and her her youngest son, Hisao, undergoes traditional Japanese attorney, Morris Kirsner, agree that they offered him 50% bone massage therapy. In Los Angeles, she establishes the of the Erewhon stock shortly before he left for Japan (in first macrobiotic study house at 7511 Franklin Ave. Bill March 1969) but he did not accept it. To this day (Feb. Tara arrives about a month later to set up a retail store, 1999) Aveline has no idea why Paul did not accept such a Erewhon-Los Angeles, which opens on 8001 Beverly Blvd. generous offer. in about September. 1968 June–Hawken establishes his first supplier of 1969 Oct. (early)–Bruce Macdonald leaves for Los organically grown grains, Ted Whitmer, a wheat farmer in Angeles with his new bride to run the new Erewhon retail Montana. By 1973 Erewhon had established and contracted store there. Roger Hillyard takes over as general manager of with 57 farms in 35 states to provide the company directly Erewhon in Boston. with organically-grown foods. 1969 Nov?–Erewhon opens its first warehouse in 1968 Aug.–Erewhon starts to import foods from Japan, Boston, at 33 Farnsworth Street. initially from Muso Shokuhin, later by correspondence with 1970 Jan. 1–Erewhon's earliest existing catalogue seen Mr. Akiyoshi Kazama, who worked for an import/export (wholesale and retail) lists 7 pages of natural food company named Mitoku, which sold no food at the time. products–most of them imported from Japan. By March 1970 Erewhon lists 96 products in its catalog. 1970 July–Erewhon's rapidly expanding distribution 1978 (early)–Erewhon moves into a huge warehouse business moves into a large (20,000 square feet) fifth-floor and office complex at 3 East St., Cambridge, Massachusetts leased brick warehouse at 33 Farnsworth St., on the docks 02141. in South Boston. East West Journal and Tao Books soon 1979 April 27–The workers in Erewhon's production, move to the same area. trucking, shipping, and kitchen departments vote 42-19 to 1971 Jan.–East West Journal begins publication in form a union affiliated with Local 925, the Service Boston, Massachusetts. Employees International Union. 1971–Erewhon Trading Company of Los Angeles has 1979–John Deming steps in to liquidate all the assets of expanded and is now at 8001 and 8003 Beverly Blvd., Los financially failing Erewhon–Los Angeles. Tom DeSilva, Angeles, CA 90048. Tyler Smith, and Jeff Flasher buy the retail store at 8001 1971 March–Roger Hillyard is replaced as general Beverly Blvd. manager of Erewhon–Boston. 1981 Feb.–Erewhon currently lists 4,000 products in its 1971 May–Bruce Macdonald leaves Erewhon in a catalog. It services 2,000 customers and provides jobs for dispute over ownership of the company. 175 people in its warehouse and retail stores. 1972–John W. Deming Jr. plans to invest $150,000 in 1981 Nov. 10–Erewhon files for bankruptcy protection Erewhon in exchange for stock, and Advest Co. plans to under Chapter 11 of the Federal Bankruptcy Act because of conduct Erewhon's first public stock offering–but neither debts totaling $4.3 million. At his time, Aveline Kushi is happens after Michio Kushi nixes the plans. the sole owner of Erewhon. Stow Mills picked up the lion's 1973 Aug.–Paul Hawken writes a critical history of share of the Erewhon business, with Westbrae also getting a Erewhon and its problems. Published in East West Journal significant part of it. it is titled "Erewhon: A Biography. The View Within." 1982 May–A $1.3 million offer by Ronald Rossetti, Shortly thereafter Paul Hawken resigns, saying that running president of Nature Food Centres, is accepted as the Erewhon was a nightmare. Some say he sells his 25% reorganization plan in the Erewhon, Inc. bankruptcy. ownership back to the company, which was subsequently Rossetti purchased Erewhon as an individual; it was never managed by Bill Garrison, Tyler Smith, Jeff Flasher, and part of Nature Food Centres. Tom Williams, in that sequence. 1986–Erewhon acquires U.S. Mills, which had been 1974 July to 1977–Erewhon becomes the exclusive founded in 1908. In effect U.S. Mills and Erewhon were representative and agent for both the Muso and Mitoku merged, and U.S. Mills was chosen as the corporate name, companies in North America. The labels of all products largely since it had been around longer. imported from these companies must bear the Erewhon 1988 May–Chuck Verde (who was the president of label. Erewhon) and Cynthia Davis acquired the U.S. Mills / Starting in late 1969 a number of macrobiotic and/or Erewhon business. They became the main joint natural foods companies grew into distributors following shareholders. Address: 303-B Newbury St., Boston, the models established by and with help from Erewhon: Massachusetts. Eden Organic Foods in Ann Arbor (started by Bill Bolduc on 4 Nov. 1969), Food for Life (started in 1970 by Bill Tara as a retail store on the 10th floor of a Chicago office building), Janus in Seattle, Washington (Jan. 1972, by George Gearhart and Blake Rankin, formerly of Spiral Foods), Essene in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (by Feb. 1971), Laurelbrook in Maryland (Aug. 1971), Ceres in Colorado Springs (1973), and The Well in San Jose, California (1973, by Roger Hillyard). These macrobiotic distributors had a strong influence on the numerous other non-macrobiotic natural food distributors, such as Lifestream (started in 1969 as a retail store), Westbrae in Berkeley, California (retail: Feb. 1971 by Bob Gerner; wholesale distribution: July 1970, with Gordon Bennett), Shadowfax (1971), and Tree of Life in St. Augustine, Florida (retail: May 1971; wholesale distribution: Feb. 1972, by Irwin Carasso). 1975 Aug. 1–Erewhon sells all of its West Coast Division in California (Los Angeles and Culver City) to John Fountain and John Deming for cash and notes, realizing a net gain of $86,872. 1. SoyaScan Notes.1949. Chronology of the macrobiotic Herman Aihara, and Michio Kushi. In late 1961 Musubi movement in North America, 1949-1966. 25 Jan. 1995. was moved to 55th Street. Compiled by William Shurtleff of Soyfoods Center. 1960–The first macrobiotic food store (combined with a • Summary: 1949–Michio Kushi, a student of George gift shop), named Ginza, is started by Herman Aihara. Ohsawa, arrives in New York City from Japan, in 1961 Jan.–The Ohsawa Foundation of New York is connection with the World Federalist Movement. He writes established on 2nd Avenue by Irma Paule, Michio Kushi, letters back to Japan, and Ohsawa reads them to his and friends. Michio and Herman Aihara were the first two students. presidents. 1951–Aveline Tomoko Yokoyama falls in love with 1960, late–Herman Aihara starts publishing Macrobiotic Michio's letters, wins a trip to America by being the best News, a magazine consisting mainly of Ohsawa's lectures. seller of Ohsawa's newspapers, and meets Michio in New 1961 summer–Ohsawa comes to America again for the York. second macrobiotic summer camp, this time in the Catskill 1952, early–Herman Aihara, age 32, arrives in America, Mountains at Wurtsboro, New York. Lima Ohsawa and and settles in New York City. As early as March 1952 he Cornellia Aihara give cooking classes. After the camp, at was selling macrobiotic foods in New York; he imported the time of the Berlin Wall crisis (August 1961, before the them from Ohsawa in Japan.