Whole Foods Investigating Data Breach At Evanston Location

EVANSTON, IL — Whole Foods Market announced that there has been a breach of credit card information at some venues inside its stores, including taprooms and full table-service restaurants. The company said the breach did not affect cards used at the primary store checkout systems, as venues like taprooms and restaurants use a different point-of-sale system. In Evanston, card that have been used at Good Times Brewing, North Shore Wine Bar and Real Good Juice may have been compromised, according to the company.

Whole Foods clarified that transactions with Amazon, which recently acquired the high-end grocery chain, were not impacted, as its systems to do not connect to Whole Foods.

"When Whole Foods Market learned of this, the company launched an investigation, obtained the help of a leading cyber security forensics firm, contacted law enforcement, and is taking appropriate measures to address the issue," the company said in a statement.

Whole Foods said its investigation is ongoing and more details will be provided as it learns more. The company also said that most Whole Foods Market stores do not have taprooms or restaurants but encouraged customers to closely monitor their payment card statements and report any unauthorized charges to their bank. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Evanston — or your community. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

Other than Evanston, Whole Foods locations in Elmhurst, Schaumburg, Wheaton, Willowbrook and Chicago–including stores in Edgewater, DePaul, Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Streeterville, West Loop–contain venues that have been affected by the breach, according to the company.

More: Find out which locations was affected by the breach.

_{Top photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images News/Getty Images}