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Grocery Outlet to open in former Delano’s location at 28th & Geary

It’s taken nearly two years but Supervisor Eric Mar’s office will announce tomorrow that Grocery Outlet has signed a lease on the former Delano’s Market property at 6333 Geary Boulevard. Delano’s closed in December 2010 after filing for bankruptcy.

Grocery Outlet is a family run business, known for their value pricing and “bargain market” tagline. They offer “brand name products at up to 50% off conventional retail prices” according to their website.

Headquartered in Berkeley, California, Grocery Outlet’s holdings include 185 stores in Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Pennsylvania. Most stores are independently operated by locally-based families.

This will be the chain’s first store in the city of San Francisco. The closest current Grocery Outlet is on Hickey Boulevard in South San Francisco.

“Grocery Outlet started in San Francisco 65 years ago and we are delighted to be coming back home,” said Grocery Outlet Co-CEO MacGregor Read. “Our customers have come to expect quality, variety and value at our stores and we will be offering the same to San Francisco shoppers.”

This should set up an interesting competitive dynamic with the Fresh & Easy market that opened on 32nd and Clement – just 6 blocks away – in June 2011.

No word yet on when Grocery Outlet will open the doors on its 12,360-square-foot store. There will be a press conference on Wednesday at 12noon to announce the new tenancy; perhaps we’ll find out then.

UPDATE: Grocery Outlet plans to open in early to mid 2013. According to Paul Lauterborn of Supervisor Mar’s office, “They need to do some serious renovations to make the site ready and attractive.”

Glad to see this empty space getting filled!

Sarah B.

68 Comments

  1. Cool, since this is the only major grocery store that is walking distance from my house (always buy produce from smaller outlets). I really liked Fresh & Easy when it first opened, but for the past 6 months it is has been very “mehh.” They are always out of stock in many of the things I buy (and they are not discontinued items).

  2. I’m glad we’re getting an occupant for this space, but am not thrilled with a “Grocery Outlet.” The ‘hood really feels like it’s going downhill. They’re not sweeping the streets, there’s dumping all over, tons of vacant stores on Geary, the median is filthy. The Alexandria is still behind a fence. This is not the place I’m proud to call home.

    It’s puzzling that homes here sell for almost $1M, we live only a few blocks away from the most expensive real estate in SF (Sea Cliff), and yet things feel really crummy.

  3. Grcery Outlet? thats more proof that our neighborhood is going to hell. sure sign that a hood is not good is if a grocery outlet is there.

  4. I loved Grocery Outlet when it was located where Best Buy is now. I missed it so much. Then they open the one on Hickey and with the economy all the prices went up and it’s not much of a Bargain any more. The sales at Safeway or Target is cheaper than Grocery Outlet, but I welcome the Grocery Outlet to our neighborhood. If 99 Cents opens, then I really think we are in some “hood.” It’s crazy with how expensive real estate is.

  5. How can anyone hate Grocery Outlet when they use Muppet-like characters in their commercials? 🙂
    On a more serious note, I am happy that something is going into big building.

  6. I, for one, am thrilled! I’ve heard nothing but good things about Grocery Outlet from our friends in the suburbs. In addition to great deals and quality brand-name products, I’m told that the wine section is top notch. If you look at the Yelp reviews, people generally are fans of this business. They are individually owned stores, with headquarters in Berkeley. Hopefully they’ll have a better produce section than the one at Fresh N Easy!

  7. While I’m happy to know that the store will be occupied I have to disagree with the earlier comment about 99 Cents. I think it really would have been a good location for a 99 Cents store since its on the far side of the city. My feeling is that when you have a 99 Cents store you have arrived! A few years back they tried to put one in the vacant Bell Market on Post (near Franklin) but there was too much opposition, probably from nearby merchants. We need a store that will draw customers to the area to help out the other businesses as well. I hope Grocery Outlet can do that.

  8. While I am glad that a business is coming, the “hood” feeling of this store will be certainly determined by the Grocery Outlet management and how they want to run this store. With the right selection of products, store design, and managers/supervisors, Grocery Outlet can become a good addition to the neighborhood if they decide to run it well and clean. CVS/Fresh & Easy seem to be doing a fine job for now unlike Safeway on La Playa which has been left to rot for over a decade. So when will Grocery Outlet open and what is going on with Safeway renovations/plans?

  9. Good point, SFMade. Here’s to hoping that management does things right.

  10. To those complaining that this store is a bad idea. What exactly about a grocery store is worse than an empty building? Is a new grocery store really being compared to a run down shuttered up movie theater? Would it better if trader joe’s was in the location because they attract less poor people? Where exactly should poor people buy groceries from if we don’t want them in the neighborhood?

  11. Folks,

    I staff supervisor Mar on land use issues. I’m glad to see that the responses posted on this blog are generally positive; our office is very excited to have a full-service supermarket back in this site. We are working with Grocery Outlet to ensure that information regarding this project is provided to the community as the roll out happens. I will be posting periodically with updates, on timeline, for example, and other relevant information. Please feel free to call me at (415) 554-7412 or email me at nickolas.pagoulatos@sfgov.org. with any questions or concerns.

  12. I don’t understand the negativity here… This was a grocery store before, what’s the harm of having it be a grocery store again?

  13. Certainly any business in that spot is better than an no business, but this is a huge disappointment. Grocery Outlet’s primary business model is selling “dated” foods at discount prices. Check their website. It is the exact opposite of a “magnet” business that might attract visitors from outside the neighborhood to come and spend their money in the Richmond. Nobody will go out of their way to shop there.

    Perhaps Eric Mar would have been better off spending his energy trying to attract a magnet business instead of getting rid of the Hustler Van. Time to try another Supervisor.

  14. To be fair Grant, those east of Fillmore don’t typically venture to even the Inner Richmond for shopping, let alone as far west as 28th Ave. I think the addition of this store would be more for those who live in the Richmond; and will likely mitigate resident trips to Costco or outside of the city.

  15. Wow, such negativity. Just because it’s a store that you personally wouldn’t be caught dead in…?

    A “magnet” business in that spot? Unlikely for now. When that location became available it was strongly scouted, and had any even remotely upscale store seen it as a good move for them, they’d have jumped on it. Not sure what any Supervisor could have done to change their minds once they looked at the facility (and its tiny parking lot), studied the neighborhood demographics, ran the numbers, and decided to pass on it.

    A beacon to draw in outsiders is not what we need right now, nor is it realistic. A budget-minded, locally-owned store that is tailored to and serves the local community is spot on. I welcome Grocery Outlet. I’ll be shopping there. And even as the economy improves, I doubt I’ll be alone. You and your disapproving attitude won’t be there? All the better.

    Though, honestly, what the neighborhood really needs, and what would help bring business back, is more people – and light rail. I would have liked to have seen that site redeveloped into housing over retail, a la the two former gas station sites at Geary and 33rd. We get the critical mass of people, the neighborhood will itself become the “magnet” that draws in retail to fill up the storefronts.

    (Oh, and from http://www.safewayonlaplayasf.com : “The La Playa Safeway development application was submitted to the City of San Francisco on July 11, 2012.”

  16. This is obviously better than an empty building, but I agree that this is a disappointment. The target audience seems to be very similar to Fresh and Easy, which I have been disappointed with. In addition, I feel like there are a variety of cheaper / discount options in our neighborhood. When we want quality produce or meats / fish, we drive to other hoods (mainly laurel village), which is a bummer… This is not meant to be a comment that leads people to believe that I don’t want discount options. My complaint is that I feel like that is all we have. Oh well… I wish I liked Fresh and Easy better, but I have been pretty disappointed with it.

  17. Mel, I agree with your suggestion that RIchmond folks would gladly shop at a local store that was similar in nature to Costco or Target. However, based on my experience and a review of their website, Grocery Outlet is not comparable to Costco or Target.

    A Trader Joes or a Whole Foods or even a bowling alley would have better served a need and attracted people outside of the neighborhood. If those were not viable options, I’m would like to think that there were other potential magnet businesses that were viable at that location. Maybe this was the only option.

    Your suggestion that people east of Fillmore don’t venture into the Richmond for shopping is probably correct, but that shouldn’t stop us from trying to improve outer Richmond Geary Street which is in trouble. I have my doubts that Grocery Outlet improves Outer Richmond Geary Street.

  18. As Toby says (#6) there was a Grocery Outlet (AKA Canned Food Outlet) off Harrison in the 1990s. It was a cool grocery alternative. I always felt a little like a hunter-gatherer — no telling what interesting food you’d find on random aisles; a pretty good range of groceries and occasional delectable bargains.

    Though it’s not their first store in the City but the first one in many years, and I think they’ll be an interesting, quirky addition. (Though I do most of my shopping at the marvelous 18th and Geary Produce Market with occasional detours to New May Wah).

  19. As Toby says (#6) there was a Grocery Outlet (AKA Canned Food Outlet) off Harrison in the 1990s. It was a cool grocery alternative. I always felt a little like a hunter-gatherer — no telling what interesting food you’d find on random aisles; a pretty good range of groceries and occasional delectable bargains.

    Though it’s not their first store in the City but the first one in many years, and I think they’ll be an interesting, quirky addition. (I do most of my shopping at the marvelous 18th and Geary Produce Market with occasional detours to New May Wah).

  20. There used to be a 99 cent store. It was on the South side of Geary between 22nd & 23rd. Next to he place formerly known as Praha Deli – Gastronom or whatever. I think it’s a hair salon now. Obviously, the 99 cent thing didn’t quite work out. Clement St. basically has all 99 cent needs covered.

    I still miss Cala – both 3rd and 28th.

    I think that the fact that both Safeway AND Albertson’s failed at 32nd and that both Calas/IGS (or whatever it was) failed means that people still flock to the Beach Slaveway and 7th ave. It sucks, but I don’t know if Grocery Outlet will work out – I certainly hope it does!

    P.S. I also miss Merrill’s.

  21. After thinking about this for awhile longer it dawned on me that Walgreens totally missed the boat by not moving into this old Cala location. There’s an unusual gap in Walgreens coverage of the city between their store on Geary and 17th and the one at Geary and 42nd.

  22. BigHeart, Safeway did not fail on 32nd, they decided to abandon the store once Playland was destroyed and the condos built so they could have more parking at the new Ocean Beach location. I miss Merill’s too and am grateful they introduced me to Universal Appliance.

    Like many of the other posters, I have to go to the Sunset for decent meat; much of my produce now comes from a CSA box that is picked up each Thursday at the farm’s drop location a couple blocks from home (closer than any grocery store for me). Any supplemental produce comes from a small produce store, not from a chain.

    Since nobody in our household, nor the neighbors I have polled, have been to Fresh & Easy, I doubt Grocery Outlet’s arrival will make much difference to us. I am glad that the building will be occupied and the tweakers will move on.

  23. If you shop carefully at Grocery Outlet you can get some great bargains. They are nothing like Fresh & Easy where vegetables are packaged in plastic and are overpriced and not very fresh. Fresh & Easy is owned by the British supermarket chain – Tesco. I welcome Grocery Outlet. If you go to
    http://www.chowhound.com/boards/1 there is always a discussion of food finds at Grocery Outlet.

  24. Sorry to add to the negativity here but disappointing that Grocery Outlet is the best we can get. Better than an empty building I guess, but let’s not kid ourselves here. This is a bottom-feeder grocery chain that stocks processed foods and cheap booze. Nothing too conducive to healthy living. It’s the type of store you’d see in a foreclosure suburb next to an Aaron’s rent to own and a check cashing shop. I happen to not be a Mar supporter but I don’t know if this is on him. It sure would be nice if we didn’t just have one more bad grocery option. The timing of Mar announcing this deal three weeks before the election, however, is curious.

  25. Add me to the list of missing the Calas. I doubt I’ll be shopping at this new place. It sounds very unappetizing and picking over food stuffs looking for a bargain doesn’t sound appealing either. I just want a real grocery store. You know?

  26. Hello Richmond District:
    My name is Melissa Porter from Grocery Outlet Bargain Market. Good to see active discussion about the store coming to Geary @ 28th. I understand the skepticism voiced here about Grocery Outlet and
    I know not all of you will be Grocery Outlet customers.

    I sincerely believe that the store on Geary will come to be an asset to the neighborhood and an important resource for those who want or need to stretch their grocery dollars. The Grocery Outlet that left San Francisco 12 years ago is not the same store coming back next year. We have high standards and a focus on fresh and healthy foods at prices that aren’t out of reach for everyday people.

    Each Grocery Outlet store is independently owned and operated (unusually by a husband and wife team) and the product offering flexes to meet the needs of the local area. We don’t know who the owners of the Geary store will be yet – but until they are on board I will be happy to answer questions, process suggestions or address concerns.

    I look forward to revisiting this thread next year to find comments about your pleasant surprise at the positive energy Grocery Outlet brings to your neighborhood.

    Feel free to contact me at mporter@cfgo.com.

  27. Unlike most of the other commenters I, for one, am happy with the news of the Grocery Outlet joining our neighborhood. I actually look forward to having this store so conveniently located. I am a long time customer of theirs, making the journey to their stores in Berkeley, Colma or Petaluma on occasion to see what goodies (and bargains) I can find. It may not be the store for everyone, but what is? I’m not all that keen on New May Wah, whereas many people love it. For what it has to offer I think the Grocery Outlet will be a great additional option for many residents.

  28. I have never shopped aat Grocery Outlet and given that I’m within walking distance of New May Wah and other produce markets on Clement st. I doubt I’ll be *driving* out there.

    Remember when Mar wanted to have a Farmer’s Market in one of the parking lots between Geary and Clement st.? Right around the corner from….produce markets!!

    Sheer genius…..

  29. Steve (#18): We do NOT need MORE people to move into the Richmond! This place has gotten more and more crowded, even in the past year, as single-family residence and smaller stores are razed and mutiplex apts are built in their place. If you like crowds and congestion, move to the Mission or Chinatown or North Beach. Visitors, okay.

    As for this outlet, I’ll reserve judgment until I see what they’re offering. Between that place and more residential units possibly coming into the former Alexandra Theatre space, I wonder how EIRs manage to pass muster (more cars, too little parking availability, etc.).

    Don’t mean to sound like a curmugeon, but these are legitimate concerns.

  30. Grocery Outlet? Really? Not TJ or a Safe Way? Goodness, they really see this neighborhood as a Cheapside in the Outside Lands.

  31. When I think “outlet store”, I think “overstock, clearance, or irregular”. Irregular food products — yum! And cheap too, what could be better.

  32. @Renee There hasn’t been a single new mutiplex apt in the area in years. Rent isn’t skyrocketing in the neighborhood because there are all sorts of new places to live.

  33. @Ron: you are mistaken, unfortunately. The Letterman’s hospital annex (off Lake St. on 15th Ave) that stood vacant for years and faced huge neighborhood opposition when plans for a multistory condo complex were publicized, got rebuilt anyway. Fewer stories, but a huge number of units–and I see the resulting traffic jams on Lake as a result. Then there’s the tall retirement housing on Geary that used to be the Coronet Theatre. Completely out of scale to everything else on Geary, and adding more traffic to Geary to already congested Geary. And, in the other direction, the multistory units on Geary around 38th Ave. that went up about 5 years ago. To cite a few examples. Guess that’s what’s called progress.

  34. So many comments. Cool. We got Mar’s people and the Grocery Outlet listening in. Another cool. 99cents is in Berkeley. If you see their location, you would notice what crummy neighborhoods they end up. They buy really crappy food with pesticides and feed them on the rest of the poor folks. I love Fresh and Easy. They are really fresh. I don’t have to fight the people at Trader Joe. It’s walking distance. At least our Richmond is not full of empty store fronts. Target on Geary will be coming in 2013. We are filling in nicely. Does that mean the economy is getting better.

  35. I think it’s worth remembering that the Richmond District is decades past its peak population, with smaller households and a higher automobile ownership rate. As such, the number of retail establishments is probably greater than our population supports, since there are fewer customers and they’re more likely to drive elsewhere.

    I think Target on Geary will, if anything, make the vacant storefront problem worse by getting people who would otherwise walk to local stores to drive there instead.

  36. What’s happened to the Richmond in the past 20 years? Why is Geary Blvd. so depressed, with so many empty storefronts, graffiti, litter, and a messy median? This area is probably the most beautiful part of SF, with spectacular views of the Golden Gate and the Pacific; Golden Gate Park in our backyard; and the Presidio and Lincoln Park to the north. We should be the most sought-after neighborhood in town, and yet it feels like we’re the most neglected. We’re also super-close to 280, for the benefit of commuters to Silicon Valley; and our public schools are among the best in the Citiy. I don’t get it. Does anyone have any thoughts about what’s missing?

  37. As someone who is very happy with Fresh & Easy, I don’t understand why Mar — who was so upset that F&E isn’t a union shop — is so supportive of Grocery Outlet. My understanding is that Grocery Outlet’s independently owned stores — which the Geary location apparently will be — is not union; only their company-owned stores are. So why is Mar so supportive? Could it be that he just takes his cues from the UFCW and actually cares little about whether a store is unionized or not?

  38. Sorry this is off topic, but anyone know what is opening up at video cafe’s old spot? I heard it might be a club…

  39. Matt, I was wondering the same when I drove by this week. It has windows like a store front.

  40. @Steve – we continue to hemorrhage population, as household sizes plummet. That’s the primary reason for the continuing degradation of the neighborhood. We could make up for that by building more units, but many folks seems to feel the same as Renee in this thread – “I got mine, now raise the drawbridge! No new people!”

  41. @ Bill; I am confused, do other districts have larger households? Is Irving/ Judah area high density? They seem to be getting great shops, restaurants, street improvements. There is life and energy there. Geary /Clement by contrast are a dump, specially 30-15 blocks. I do not know what caused this neighborhood to go downhill , but having a supervisor who is more concerns with social engineering, than actual well-being of the district he is supposed to work for, does not help.

  42. @Bill: Ah, yes, I was wondering when someone would ring the “NIMBY bell” at those of us who don’t enthusiastically embrace the more, more, more people, cars, & buildings. I do not believe in “no new people,” but we do not have an infinite capacity to grow here. When all land space has been used up, then we will start building higher. I have no idea where you get the idea that we are “hemoraging” propulation, and why you think household sizes are “plummeting”. If you can’t cite statistics and legitimate sources, your hyperbole is nothing more than that. I’d also be curious to know how long you’ve lived in the Richmond.

  43. @Steve : I would think that the state of the Geary corridor can be attributed to the downturn in economy; but more to the travesty of school busing which is destroying the fabric of our community(thanks to Mar). That coupled with the neighborhood walkability, buses, and cheap stores, cheaper rents attracting a lot of immigrants who do not speak any English and do not get involved. To the whole mess with BRT hanging over it for years- who will beautify Geary when it is pending to become a construction site ? To Alexandria dragging the area down with no one going after the owner for fixing it for years. We have no proper advocacy for our district in the city hall. And now GO coming in (thanks to Mar) is not a leg up, it is a let down, imo. I for one do not want a store for discontinued cosmetics and leftover food and bargain prices wine. I want a proper quality and selection supermarket I can walk to.

  44. @ALY & renee:

    Stats can be found here: http://factfinder2.census.gov

    To make it easier for you to fact check my numbers, I’ll just use one census tract that’s fairly representative of the central and outer Richmond – census tract 476, which is basically Park Presidio to 20th and Geary to Fulton.

    2000 census – 2200 households, 2.47 average household size, total population 5434
    2010 census – 2173 households, 2.36 average household size, total population 5128

    The population fell by more than 5% in only ten years! This is pretty standard for all of the Central and Outer Richmond. The Inner Richmond is quite different, as it has seen more construction and has generally higher household sizes to begin with (more roommate situations, because of the greater pedestrian activity in the area).

    @ALY – The Inner Sunset has a couple distinct advantages over us – much better transit connections to the rest of the city, meaning more visitors coming over to the neighborhood for drinks, dinner, etc, and loads of graduate students from UCSF. Household sizes have remained stable in large part because of the transient student population and the fact that the neighborhood has always had fewer kids than the Central/Outer Richmond. We’ve tried for the entire time that I’ve lived here (14 years) to improve transit to the Richmond, but are continually blocked by folks like renee, arguing that we should be crystallizing the neighborhood in amber rather than improving it for the current and next generation.

    @renee – I’ve lived here 14 years, three of those as a renter and the last 11 as an owner of a house on 17th. I provided stats above showing a more than 5% drop in my census tract, and I’m happy to combine all for the Richmond if that would help convince you that we are indeed at our lowest population level in decades. Not sure why you asked how long I’ve lived here – are we really going down the route of “If I’ve lived here longer than you, then clearly I have more rights!”?

  45. @Bill – I lived in the city for 30 years, in Sunset , over Sunset on Clayton, and now 5 years I own in Richmond. I used to come here for shopping for decades before I moved in. I remember Irving 10 years ago in detail. Re transportation: N judah has always been a disaster and their bus service is as good or bad as ours. Yes they have a large student population that lands its self to cafe culture, but for decades it made no difference at all. Also student come and go. We have better schools but we get no advantage from that because of bussing. As to visitors, Geary could be a shopping destination a place people go to for dinner and shopping after visiting the museums or a day at the beach, or Veterans hospital. I am all for better transportation, not only here but everywhere in this city . The question is how and for how much?

  46. Me too. I am never embarrassed to bring friends and family from other parts of the country. I see a part of the city that is alive with energy and so do they. I think that our large immigrant population makes it more open and certainly diverse. I lived in a great, planned community in the Austin metro. But, barely knew my neighbors. I don’t miss it (OK, I do miss have more than one bathroom and my really big kitchen, but not enough to trade). Here on my block, I know more neighbors than my previous locale and there is always a friendly wave and hello. I cannot think of a better neighborhood in which to live and more importantly, a better place in the U.S. and maybe the world.

  47. I looked up my own census tract. Almost 6% decline in population 2000-2010.

    Inasmuch as there have been changes in my area, it’s been the addition of garages to garage-less houses, and older houses with illegal inlaws and such being remodeled to the nines with the inlaws being eliminated (after all, the people who can afford over a million dollars for a house aren’t interested in navigating the weird waters of SF rent laws).

    So it makes perfect sense to me that the commercial areas are in decline. Their customers are disappearing from the neighborhood, and the people moving in have easy access to cars, and are more likely to go to Costco or Stonestown than the small shops a few blocks away.

    Some commenters here have proposed “magnet” businesses, but this seems like wishful thinking to me. Where are these customers supposed to be coming from? Neighborhoods with their own struggling businesses. We can’t expect to survive at the expense of others.

    “I want a proper quality and selection supermarket I can walk to.”

    Well, supermarkets want customers, and the customers are driving elsewhere.

  48. Pam, you wrote my comment for me (love Grocery Outlet, started shopping at the old one 28 years ago, then at all the surrounding ones). I’m thrilled they’ll be in the Richmond soon. Can’t wait for them to open. Hope they’ll have as great of a wine section as the GCs in Oakland and Redwood City. They also have great bargains on schampoos etc, vitamins, cleaning products, and so much more. Hardly ever buy produce there though, will continue at the one at Geary and 4th. As a single person I don’t like having to buy a bag of 8 bananas, e.g. Trader Joe’s my banana place. 🙂

  49. There goes my dream of having a weekly Outer Richmond farmers’ market in the parking lot. I guess I will stick to getting my veggies from my CSA (get more info at http://www.localharvest.org/csa/ ) and farmers’ markets in other neighborhoods. Instead of going to big box stores (Target, etc) support local stores. Green 11 and Other Avenues are good resources for laundry detergent, shampoo, olive oil, spices, etc. They are not in the Richmond, but fairly close by in the Sunset. I take the 44 Muni to get to Green 11 and the 18 Muni to get to Other Avenues.

  50. @ Alai on decline in population. In 1996-2001 we had a dot boom that then went bust. The whole city had been bursting at the seams. You could not find a place for rent in a garage. Remember the crowds in restaurants? The rudeness? The total lack of service? SF jazz groups and places like Finocchio loosing rent and closing or leaving for Mendocino? If this is what you are referring as a “past its peak”, well yes. That peak had passed with a major exist of migrant IT workers, and I do not miss them much, personally. Also during dot.boom we had a surplus of older folk deposited in Outer Richmond by their adult kids, who lived and worked in Silicon valley and took their kids to schools there. Their non English speaking, and not working older parents lived here where transport, social services, JCS, and local small cheeper produce shops are. Such older population dwindles from natural causes if nothing else. This is a family type neighborhood, mostly middles class and affluent who do not want to live in high density housing. And it is hard to attract families to buy here because of the school bussing and lack of shopping, horrid parking and the rest. Attracting more people just to have more people does not give you prosperity it gives you congestion.
    SF has been hoovering around the same number of high 700 for 50 years with some ups and downs. It changed only by 4.6% in the last 10 years.
    2000 776,733 +7.3%
    2010 805,235 +3.7%
    2011 812,826 +0.9%

    Having said that – I actually for attracting more residents to the neighborhood . The question for me is whom and how we are going to accommodate such increase.

  51. @ALY – a citywide increase of 5% compared to our decrease of 5% in only 10 years is HUGE.

    I also disagree with your notion that the city has hovered around high 700s for 50 years. Census numbers:

    1960: 740,316
    1970: 715,674
    1980: 678,974
    1990: 723,959
    2000: 776,733
    2010: 805,235

    You have to go back to 1950 for any number in the high 700s until 2000. What I see is a city that emptied out and then has been growing again since the early 80s. It is extremely disturbing to see our neighborhood on the outside of that citywide trend, as that means that new businesses are even less likely to look at us to open in (because why open in the declining neighborhood when most of the city is booming?) Finding a way to stabilize our population should be the number one concern of our supervisor, as it relates directly to the other problems like the lack of grocery stores discussed in this thread.

  52. @ Bill Actually we are not outside citywide trend, as the numbers you quote reflect population explosion in South of Market from ~21K in 2000, to 44.5K by 2010. + ~10 K growth in Tenderloin.

  53. @ALY – I have no idea where you’re getting ~10k growth in the Tenderloin during that time period (???), but even if true, you’re showing that most of the growth in the city has been in those two areas. But remember – we SHRANK by 5% during that time. Unless you can show another 35k in growth in those two areas, we know that we shrank while most other areas were stable. We’re dying out here, while the rest of the city booms or is at least stable.

  54. This is not a win. We are being given a ghetto grocery store which will do nothing but devalue our properties. A City Supervisor should ‘sell’ his district to businesses to locate in our neighborhood. Eric Mar should have been on a plane, in the faces of the Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods execs, selling them on the promise of our neighborhood and giving them juicy incentives to do so. Sorry but poor people can move to the bay view or hunters point.

  55. Vaughn, please explain your use of the term “ghetto grocery store”. Have you ever been to a Grocery Outlet? If yes, what didn’t you like about it?

  56. Meh, I’ll reserve the judgment until I see it. Happy that there’ll be an alternative to Fresh & Easy in the neighborhood, though. I tried shopping over there a couple of times, but their “fresh” ain’t so, and I’m really suspicious about their “organic”… Every time we prepared food from Fresh & Easy, my entire household got stomach upset.

    Either way, I’m sticking mostly to our fabulous small stores – the Irish bakery & the kosher store near Geary & 20th, Abel’s, Thom’s, Chico’s on 23rd & Clement & the Chinese butcher next to ’em.

  57. Grant, why would we want people to come from other neighborhoods to the Richmond for the purpose of food shopping? What benefit is that to this neighborhood?

  58. When people spend money at local businesses, this contributes to the local economy. People coming from outside the neighborhood to spend money at one store might even spend their disposable income at other local stores.

  59. Nice to see something coming to the former Delano’s location. It’s better than a vacant space, constantly marked up by taggers.

    That said, I don’t see this business as adding anything unique, in terms of retail diversity, to the Richmond.

    One of the posts above mentioned the old Alexandria Theater. When are we going to see that space up and running?

    Supervisor Mar: It’s time to start looking into getting REALLY tough on commercial landlords who let their vacant spaces lie fallow for YEARS. Might I suggest introducing a city ordnance that permits the city to fine landlords who let their properties lie vacant, the equivalent rent that they charged their last tenant, for every month over one year’s vacancy. There is simply no excuse – other than convenient tax write-offs for commercial landlords to let the neighborhood properties they own lie fallow and contribute to decay.

    As for the Alexandria, by now, our city should have repossessed that building and told the owner where to go. As far as I’m concerned, whoever owns that property has done little more than consciously devalue our neighborhood. There should be penalties for that!!

  60. Living here all my life, I guess there’s no point dwelling on the past and how things “used” to be. But I’d say about after the 80’s things have kind of gone downhill as far as shops/merchants in the area. It seems like as regular stores like Grocery stores, shoe stores, etc. would close, they would be taken over by “junk” stores or as if they’re all like 99 cent store in a way.. Just kind of a depressed feeling.\. It used to be fun to go shopping on Clement when they had novelty stores, nice clothing stores and more. (Not to mention some stores that I walk by every day on Geary and I swear I’ve never seen 1 customer in them, yet somehow they are able to remain open – gee, I wonder how that works.) Point is, iwe used to have a lot more interesting stores where you’d be able to shop the neighborhood stores and pretty much buy everthing you needed. Not having a car I end up buying most things online since they’re not available in the neighborhood. The produce markets are great. .. As far as Grocery Outlet, I haven’t been to one so I can’t speak about it but I hope it isn’t a place that just sells old stock .. like a thriftshop for groceries. If it turns out to be that, then I guess it’ll be another place I wouldn’t shop at. As to some other open storefronts, perhaps if the Supervisor didn’t “Ban” everything in site that he doesn’t like, maybe things would improve quicker.

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