[dropcap]T[/dropcap]here’s one thing at Whole Foods that’s not natural or organic — the secret entrance they made for Katie Holmes. When the “Dawson’s Creek” cutie split from Tom Cruise in 2012, she was allowed to slip into the pricey supermarket’s Chelsea outlet through a hidden passage to avoid the glare of paparazzi.
Fotogs who spotted Holmes and her daughter, Suri, walking the aisles of the store at the time could never figure out how they got inside.
But she reportedly made her way into the Whole Foods on Seventh Avenue near West 25th Street, through a series of halls and doors that connected to her former home in the famed Chelsea Mercantile building.
Holmes would ride a bank of elevators into the basement, then pass through the cellar to a door with an alarm, Gawker reported.
“Based on my review of the plans, there is a door between the cellar-level employee area and the cellar-level corridor of the Mercantile building,” a city municipal engineer told Gawker after reviewing store floor plans. “Ms. Holmes probably went through this door and never had to step outside.”
The alarm on the door suggests the 36-year-old actress likely had considerable help from store management to get her special treatment, Gawker reported.
“I’ve lived in the Mercantile since [redacted] and have it on excellent authority that there is indeed a way to enter Whole Foods from the basement of the building,” a longtime resident told Gawker.
That source, the Web site reported, confirmed that Holmes has used that passageway.
Holmes also said at the time that she thought members of her ex-hubby’s cult-like religion, Scientology, were watching her after their breakup.
A rep for Holmes could not be immediately reached for comment on Tuesday. A Whole Foods manager in Chelsea declined to confirm or deny the report.
Shoppers at the trendy store didn’t seem miffed about Holmes’ reported special treatment.
“It doesn’t matter to me, and honestly, it makes sense,” said Whole Foods Chelsea shopper Sally Jones, 35.
