Castro and Duboce Triangle neighborhood favorite corner store Courtney's Produce has announced that it will close after 54 years in business. Courtney's last day will be Friday, December 5.
"After five wonderful decades of serving this community, our store will be closing as of December 5, 2025," a sign reads in the window.
In 2020, Courtney's was added to San Francisco's Legacy Business Registry, which recognizes "longstanding, community-serving businesses" that have established themselves in area neighborhoods for at least three decades.
Courtney's Produce will close on December 5. | Photo: Steven Bracco/Hoodline
Founded in 1969 by Irish immigrant Patrick Courtney and his wife, Lola, Courtney's Produce got its start in Upper Haight as Farmer's Produce. In 1971, it moved to its current location at 14th & Castro streets, where it's been ever since.
Patrick Courtney passed away in November 2022, and his wife Lola, passed away last month.
While a note from its owners mentions the store will be "transitioning to new ownership," employees inside the store told a Hoodline reporter that Courtney's is permanently closing and will not be reopening.
Hoodline has reached out to ownership and will update this story when we learn more.
Courtney's Produce provides a variety of fresh fruits & vegetables. | Photo: Steven Bracco/Hoodline
In the five-plus decades since it opened, the family-owned store has provided fresh food options to the neighborhood, from sandwiches, salads and juices to produce, fruit, dry goods and fresh-cut flowers.
“When my parents opened Courtney’s Produce in 1971, they brought a positive influence that changed the neighborhood forever,” Robin Courtney, daughter of Patrick and Lola, told Hoodline in 2020.
A letter from then-California Assembly speaker Willie Brown hangs on the wall. | Photo: Steven Bracco/Hoodline
A letter from then-California Assembly speaker Willie Brown in 1995 hangs on the wall congratulating Courtney's on its 25th Anniversary. "It's my pleasure to join your friends and loyal customers in acknowledging your commitment to excellence in serving the Castro community," wrote Brown.
"The two of you have created a special relationship with your neighbors over the years," added Brown. "They all agree that you not only provide them with the finest produce around, but youy also nurture their spirit and enhance their quality of life."
In 2015, Hoodline interviewed Patrick's great-nephew, Andrew Courtney, who then ran the store on a day-to-day basis. Andrew has since moved on to San Diego, where he's started his own business.
Andrew told Hoodline his uncle Patrick (a.k.a. Paddy Joe) was born in County Kerry, Ireland, a very rural environment. "Everything they ate was food they grew as a family," said Andrew.
Courtney's Produce founder Patrick Courtney. | Photo: Harrington Galleries/Instagram
In the 1940s, Patrick and his father moved to New York, where they worked for an Italian grocer.
"As the story goes, some years passed in New York, and one Saturday night, after some pints at the Irish Cultural Center, Patrick and my grandfather convinced another Irish lad who had just bought a car that they should drive to California," Andrew said.
Originally settling in Southern California, the men found work selling produce. Most of the party stayed put, but Patrick set off for San Francisco to start his own venture.
"You can imagine what a produce store in the Haight must have been like during [the late '60s and early '70s]," said Andrew. "One of the first flyers advertising the store was glow-in-the-dark."
Now, after more than half a century at its current location, Andrew explained it's the people that have kept Courtney's in the neighborhood. "Nine out of ten customers on any given day are people we know well."
While Courtney's Produce sells a lot of its freshly-made juices and sandwiches, the most popular item by far is its PB&J sandwiches.
Courtney's Produce frequently sells out of these wildly popular PB&J sandwiches. | Photo: Steven Bracco/Hoodline
The Courtney family's connections to the neighborhood run deep, not just through the store, but through other well-known neighborhood characters.
For 16 years, Howard Johnson, the best-dressed crossing guard in town, worked at nearby McKinley Elementary (he retired in 2016). It just so happened that Johnson and Patrick Courtney were both Korean War veterans.
"We want to express our deepest gratitude for your loyalty, support, and friendship over the years," writes the Courtney family in their note. "It has truly been an honor to be part of your lives and this community for so long."
"Thank you for your understanding during this transition and for the memories we've shared," they added.
