Inside the small storefront of New India Bazaar (1107 Polk St.), you'll find a wide variety of Indian products, including breads, frozen foods, spices, pastries, sweets, flours and rice, cooking oils, teas, hair care products and oils, soaps, herbs, gifts, artistic statues, and even Ayurvedic medicines. The store is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
"These kinds of stores serve a niche market," said owner and Bombay native Auro Bhatt, who noted that his business is deeply important to many of his customers. "You can't find these products at Safeway."
"I find all the Indian groceries I need here," said Palak, a regular customer who declined to give her last name. "It's close to home; everything I need is right here in the neighborhood—bars, restaurants, everything."
Bhatt moved to the United States 28 years ago; before he emigrated, the 53-year-old family man was a travel agent. "I came for the adventure," he said. "Life was less adventurous in India."
He opened the store for his wife to run 20 years ago, "but then she got busy with family, and so I took over." He's been at the helm for the past 15 years, and told us he has grown fond of the neighborhood.
"There's always a lot of foot traffic," he said. "It's easy for my customers to get here—it's close to downtown and close to City Hall."
As we chatted, numerous customers wandered in and out of the store. One customer, speaking in English, inquired about home deliveries—Bhatt told her that there was a $50 minimum on delivery orders. Another customer spoke with Bhatt in Hindi.
Though Bhatt feels secure in his regular customer base, he sees the neighborhood beginning to change. "Smaller stores are closing, rents are still going up, a lot of new building is going on," he said.
He also spoke of the area's ever-escalating homeless problem, pointing to the homeless shelter a block away, at Polk and Geary.
"I don't mind the shelter being there," he said. "But they move the people out onto the street during the day. Yesterday, a homeless guy came into the store and was aggressive. I can handle it, but my customers get offended. It's a problem when my wife is around."
Bhatt feels one solution is to allow the homeless to remain in the shelters during the day, and to set up permanent locations for services such as mobile showers and restrooms, "so they know where to go," he said.
He also spoke of the city's affordable housing crisis, going so far as to say that there's "no such thing" as affordable housing in SF. "Everyone wants to make money," he said. "There's no equality. It's a big issue that can't be answered by a person like me."
Even as he acknowledges the area's problems, Bhatt does his part to make the community a better place for the people who live here.
"We sponsor Indian festivals," he said, noting his involvement with the Gujarati Mandal Hall, a center for the local Indian community at O'Farrell and Jones. "Sometimes we donate food to the festivals and participate in them. We print calendars and distribute them—we sponsored the UCSF Heart Walk a few months ago."
Not everyone who shops at New India Bazaar hails from Bhatt's native land: he said that 20-30 percent of his customer base are non-Indians.
"It brings India to San Francisco," said Bhatt's 16-year-old son Soham as he prepared to begin his work shift. "You can find everything here—it's a home away from home. It's calm here and it smells nice."
New India Bazaar is open seven days a week from 10-8pm. Home deliveries (within San Francisco) are free with a minimum purchase of $50. There is also a 5 percent student discount with valid student ID.
