The tides of change continue to sweep through San Francisco's Fillmore district, as Safeway has announced the forthcoming closure of its sole grocery store to make way for a new housing development, a decision that is being met with concern and outcry from local residents and community leaders, SFist reports.
Align Real Estate is set to transform the 3.68-acre site currently housing the Safeway into a mixed-use project that promises to alleviate the city's housing crunch, this transition jeopardizes the neighborhood's access to convenient, full-service groceries as the imminent shutdown will leave the local community without a nearby supermarket for an extended period, Safeway made the announcement on Thursday and did not hold back on its intent, saying the current Safeway staff will be reassigned to other locations in the area, according to The San Francisco Chronicle.
Though celebrated by Safeway as a "real and rare opportunity" and an earnest step towards contributing to the city's housing solutions, the immediate impact spells inconvenience for residents who will lose their nearest full-service grocery option, as Safeway's statement claimed, "decisions like these are never easy, nor are they made without a great deal of consideration," Mayor London Breed further championed the project stating it highlights "a real interest in investing in housing in San Francisco."
The nearest alternative, a Safeway at Church and Market, is located approximately 1.1 miles away, a distance that may not seem far on paper but represents a significant gap in a community's fabric where the ease of getting daily necessities is about to be upended, meanwhile a new Trader Joe’s is set to open in Hayes Valley which Mayor Breed touted as partial compensation for the loss, but that doesn't change the reality for those more centrally located in Fillmore or Japantown, for whom the journey will be considerably inconvenient, the expectation of another grocery outlet materializing in the Fillmore waits hazily on the horizon with a timeline extending out to four or five years, public officials and the community at large are left grappling with how to navigate these choppy waters of transition.
Dean Preston, Supervisor of the district that includes the soon-to-be-closed Safeway, expressed his concern about the closure's timing and the subsequent effects on the community, stating, "We are extremely concerned with the potential loss of this grocery store in the heart of the Fillmore, and especially the possibility of losing it as soon as March, which we view as unacceptable," he tells The Chronicle. Furthermore, Reverend Amos Brown has labeled the closure "a blow to the Black community," criticizing Safeway for not having collaborated effectively with local residents to address the issues that led to the store's eventual departure, claiming that the company did not fulfill their assurances to serve the community and instead are leaving behind "a food desert," the sentiment echoes a broader narrative of neglect and disenfranchisement within historically Black neighborhoods.
