Photo by Ed P.
Two readers emailed us about the “Connie’s Market” sign that was uncovered at 5211 Geary near 16th Avenue. The wash and dry there has been closed for awhile and it appears renovations are underway.
According to the SF Department of Building inspection, the property is undergoing a change in use from a laundromat to an office with some bathroom remodeling thrown in.
Reader Ed P. says he recalls that Connie’s was the only market on Geary in the 1970’s between 15th and 18th Avenues.
We couldn’t find much else on ol’ Connie’s. If you have some memories, leave a comment to let us know.
Sarah B.
Hey thanks for putting it up. 🙂
My only real pertinent memories was walking down from 16th and Fulton, with a handful of nickels and pennies to try my luck with his gum-ball machine. If you got a striped gum-ball you won a candy bar. I finally won and went inside and chose my candy bar, only to be told by elderly gentleman behind the counter, it was for a miniature candy bar. I was so upset and angry that I believe his wife (I have no idea) chewed him out in their language and gave me the full size bar. I seem to remember the nomenclature of the machine changed to ‘small’ candy bar afterwards.
I spent most of my nickels and dimes at Johnny’s on 17th/Balboa and MJ’s on 18th/Balboa. That’s where Joe (Johnny’s son) would do the disappearing coin trick and blow my mind each time.
I miss the old days of neighborhood markets.
@SFNative – Those are great memories – thanks for sharing! I had a similar childhood love affair with Irving’s on Sacramento near Spruce that I used to save up my nickels and dimes for. 4 candy bars for a dollar, lemonheads or Alexander the Grapes for 10 cents – kid heaven. Could really stretch out my small allowance!
Sarah B.
Connie’s used to be on the southwest corner of 16th and Geary, then moved into the liquor store a few doors west in the late 60s to make room for Jeff’s Jeans.
The owners were really nice. Connie’s was named after their oldest daughter (who was a baby at the time). They lived on our block (16th between Geary and Clement). Our family had an account with them, so they were our primary store. They were really kid-friendly.
There was another bigger grocery store, City Super, on the south east corner of 17th and Geary, but I am not sure when they closed. I a m pretty sure they were still there in the early 70s.
I remember trying for the striped gum ball a few times at Connie’s but usually saved my allowance for King Norman’s or Joe’s Ice Cream.
The old 7-Up sign seen to the right of the word market is really an old-timer. I recall 7-Up phasing out that logo around 1970, where at that time, they went briefly with a psychedelic/tie-die looking logo, before they moved on (again briefly) to the disco-looking logo of the mid-70s. There’s a small corner store (Goglia’s Market), back in the Rhode Island town I recently moved from, that still has a store sign (circa 1970) with a psychedelic/tie die 7-Up sign still hanging out front. I’ll always remember the old traditional 7-Up logo, as one of my biggest treats, as an 8 year old, was visiting my grandmother, and being served 7-Up from heavy, returnable 12 oz. green bottles with the old red and white logo painted on. If I recall, there was a saying on the back of the old bottles regarding 7-Up: “You like it, it likes you”. Good memories!
For @administrator: Lemonheads, Alexander the Grapes, Cherry Clans, those candies were (and still are) the best! I used to occasionally binge eat them as a teenager until I suffered from the temporary burning of the mouth syndrome, due to their high citric acid content. They remain as one of the “to go to” candies of many kids today, seeing that they can be bought in little boxes for as little as 25 cents.
I remember walking to Connie’s from 16th and Balboa to buy baseball cards with my weekly allowance in the mid 80’s.
@4thGenRichmond King Norman’s!!! Now *THAT* takes me waay back!!!
Derek, Lincoln Bowl often got lots of my allowance.
There was also Romey’s Market between 18th and 19th and Geary( Walgreen’s went in when Romey’s closed). It was a great supermarket and butcher shop.
Before Connie’s (whose last name was Wong) the store was run by Herb Hamrol and his wife, there was a produce dept. as well as a butcher shop run by Henry Roth and his son. My sister Gaelann married Henry’s son.
Herb Hamrol after his wife died moved to Lake Merced and worked at a grocery store in the sunset. He worked there a couple days a week till he was 100 years old.
Cool! Can I have the sign if I come an remove it?
My sister and Connie Wong were classmates but not exactly close friends…both of them attended Lowell High in the late 1970s. My sister has a more closer friend also named Connie who also attended Lowell so I was confused which Connie my sister would talk about at times at home during dinner.
Connie’s Market was a small neighborhood grocery store that opened until the late 1980s. Not sure if the owner retired or passed away as the reason for its closure.
I do know the big Geary Mall building across the street used to house a single retailer called U.S.E. (United Service Employees) membership store (government employee discounts for those eligible with membership cards). U.S.E. was changed to a “Value Giant” (and then re-named “Giant Value”) non-membership chain variety store for most of the 1970s. After “Giant Value” shut down, the building was sub-divided to house Ross, Domino’s Pizza, Merrill’s (switched to Rite Aid and currently Walgreens) and Blockbuster Video (now closed and still empty) from the 1980s onward in its current usage.
Talk about memories!…My brother and I were born on the Presidio when it was a base but we lived off base on 16th Avenue in the 60s. I actually still live in SF–and remember ALL of the places mentioned! I remember the Wongs, they were very nice people as with Joe from Joe’s market and the other Joe at Joe’s Pharmacy on the corner of 16th and Geary. My brother, best friend and I would go to Doughty’s Record Store (can’t remember on the spelling) but we used to be able to play the 45s in this booth before we bought them! Our first taste of a Piroshki was at this Russian Bakery next to the Russian Renaissance restaurant, U.S.E. had their “Art” store across the street, on Geary between 15th and 16th was this burger place that had this huge neon sign of a covered or chuck wagon of some type, Evergreen’s Pharmacy, Buster Brown Shoes, Wirth Bros., Alexandria and Colesium Theatres, dances at the “Y” on 17th, Teddy’s Pet Shop, too many to name–I still love the neighborhood!
egg, Value Giant filed for bankruptcy and re-emerged after reorganizing their balance sheet as Giant Value. The former sold fewer inferior products. It’s primary competitor was G.E.T. over at Lakeshore Plaza where there was a second Bill’s Hamburgers. I miss Zim’s.
SFGiantsGirl: That would have been Mr. Rancho Burger. The folks who owned Kabuto ran it for a while after closing their larger place across the street. The original incarnation was ok for a greasy spoon breakfast. You had to have bought shoes at Walter May, which later became Cambodia House (miss them as well) and then the popcorn store. Does anyone remember the S&H Green Stamp place near Arguello that later became a ratty catalog store whose name I don’t remember (just memories of “not in stock” after waiting in slow lines with my father)? Catalog and government employee stores gave gone the way of the buggy whip.
Also Home Yardage had the Ross space upstairs when Giant Value leased it to them before they moved down to the record store by Mel’s/Pacific Stereo/Mel’s..
The catalog store if i remember correctly was Service Merchandise.
4thGenRichmond: Exactly! Yes, I remember Mr. Rancho Burger, the Home Yardage and Walter May–and Mel’s Pacific Stereo! Great memory!
David: Yes, Service Merchandise, after that I remember Consumer Distributors came along. They were at the GET’s plaza and on Taraval I believe.
Suzanne Sheehan Rueter: I grew up at 463 16th Ave (btwn Geary & Anza) we had a family a few houses up that we knew, the Sheehans. Not sure if any relation. My brother and I played with Richard Sheehan, he had a sister Connie and his parents were Rose & Dick Sheehan I believe.
I went to Argonne. Officer Ed used be there to cross the kids at the corner of Balboa/17th–we loved it because he would ride his horse and tie him up across from Joe’s Market and we got to pet him. My friend’s mom worked at Foster’s Diner on 21st that became the Big Heart Video Cafe. These are all such great memories. Love to read all the great contributions.
4thGen: Wikipedia mentioned that the Pay Less drug store chain had purchased the 22 store Value Giant chain and owned them for a period in the 1970s before it switched names to Giant Value.
USE/Value Giant also had a Mission Street store that was recently demolished and another USE/Value Giant store in South San Francisco that is now the South San Francisco City Hall and Municipal Building on El Camino Real.
I remember the Consumers Distributing store at Palm Avenue and Geary across from the Coronet Theatre…staying in business until the early 1990s and then the Institute of Aging took over the location before it moved to the Coronet Theatre property now. The Palm/Geary has been available for leasing for several years with no takers, yet. C.D. had a store at Taraval and 14th Avenue where the L-Taraval street car turns, Bay Street across from the Northpoint Mall where it is now an X-rated video store, Mission Street, and in Colma where Target is.
The Arguello/Geary parking lot for Wells Fargo bank used to be a Doggie Diner location…and a Zims restaurant at 18th and Geary where the Hong Kong Flower Lounge is now.
egg, The 38L I rode most mornings (before the strike in ’74) stopped at Arguello, the operator got off, and sat down to eat breakfast at that Doggie Diner, stranding his full load on a very regular basis. There was nothing we could do because we could not transfer onto another bus without paying fare again (no transfers onto same line or parallels such as 55, 2, 31, 5 or 21 and no doubling back). That all changed when the $11 Adult Fast Pass launched. I had no need for the 30 cent BX which picked up on Clement back then as the Financial District wasn’t my destination. I frequently tried to miss that bus but I needed a timed transfer at Van Ness or I would be late.
David, our family home was at 471-16th Ave. My folks were Rosemary and Dick Sheehan and Richard Sheehan is my brother and my sisters were Carroll, Gaelann and Colette. Rich is a retired S.F. policeman and lives in Marin. I’m up here in Gig Harbor, WA. When S.F. Naval Shipyard closed we transfered up here. Have been here since “73”.
In “55” at the NW corner of 16th & Geary there was a Chuck Wagon resturant before that my family purchased a TV in “48”. Being a native I can recall all the places in these interesting tid bits. The memories are wonderful. Life seemed so simple then.
Suzanne: We lived right down the block from you. I’m not sure if you remember me, Rose and my brother Frank Secretario! I remember your parents!–especially your mom as we had the same name. She would come over to our house and I have a picture somewhere of your mom, dad and Richard at our house for dinner! Please tell Richard, hello. I’m not sure if he remembers us. You house was brown wood with granite steps I believe–our house was white and green, 463 16th Ave!–we were the only Filipino Americans on our block! lol! Richard was the first on our block to have a pogo stick! I agree, life was oh so simple–our block was full of kids, we had quite a melting pot and everyone looked out for each other. Do you remember Mr. Connolly in the white house? He was always tinkering in his garage and helped me get in my house many times when I left or lost my house keys!. Regards to you and your family and I’ll have to let my brother know. I still live in San Francisco and my brother in Concord. So great!
I do remember your family name and remember your folks fondly but since Richard is 10 years my junior I really don’t remember you and your siblings.
Keep connected, I love to reminisce.
What a small world! Heres my email: madridsecret@yahoo.com. At one point my mom and i went by the Station to see Richard but he was out of the station. Please tell him my brother and i said hello. He, Collette, your dad were very nice people.
Suzanne-apologies, I meant to include your mom. She was great, she was always cheerful and laughing and that we were special because we were “Roses”. Cheers!
I’m a bit confused! Manage my account? I want to stay connected to this blog and when I check my statis it says,”suspended”..No, No. Keep me on this site. Many thanks.
Don’s Market, now a 7-11, was on the NW corner of 15 & Geary. .My mother’s dress salon was on S side of Geary between 17 & 18 in the 50s.
Connie’s Market was previously owned by the father of Jack Hanson, who you may remember as a KRON local tv personality whom you saw doing light interview shows. Jack still kept his “look” the same when riding travelling on my ferry boat to Marin, so I would always give him a hello. I asked him once where he grew up & he told me growing up in his Dad’s market where “Connie” later took over
To Mike:
I remember Jack! I think he also had some type of shows that showed cartoons and he was also a cartoonist if I remember correctly. My brother, Frank and I lived down the block from him and we used used to walk with his boys to school-Craig, Kirk and another one the youngest–I think Jackie. He may not remember me but we were the American Filipino family down the block from him – lol! I didn’t know it was owned by his dad originally. I could have swon it was originally on the corner and then either expanded or moved next door–something like that.
I remember who Jack Hansen was but don’t remember his father owning the store! What year was that?
When I lived in the neighborhood in “48” it belonged to Herb Hamrol and after that it became Connie’s.
I was walking past this space yesterday and it looks like it’s been rented out to some sort of young, tech/design-ish company to serve as an office space. Noticed a ping pong table in the back and they’re putting in glass-walled conference rooms.
Just found this leafing through the history posts and for some reason missed it on the first pass. I used to have a friend who lived on 15th near Geary and a bunch of us used to hang out at his place. We’d go play basketball at Argonne playground on 18th and stop at Connie’s on the way back to Jack’s place. I recall the propieters being really nice and were friendly even with a bunch of us rowdy teen agers walking in. And given that this was the 60’s in SF (betraying my dotage !) store owners were sometimes a little leery of wandering teenage herds (though they got to know us pretty well at Connie’s).