SF neighborhood losing its only major grocery store

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — A San Francisco neighborhood once described as a “food desert” will be losing its only major grocery store. The Lucky supermarket in Bayview Plaza in the city’s Bayview district will be closing in November, according to Supervisor Shamann Walton.

“This is bad news from Lucky’s, announcing they are closing in the Bayview Plaza on November 1st,” Walton posted on Instagram. “This is extremely disheartening and another blow to the Bayview community.”

Walton said his office would be “working diligently” with the city’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development to bring grocery and pharmacy services back to the location, which formerly housed a Walgreens.

“We have done it before and will be working tirelessly to do it again,” the supervisor wrote on Instagram.

“When Walgreens closed its Bayview Plaza store in 2019 after more than 30 years, our office fought alongside the community to ensure that essential grocery and pharmacy services returned,” Walton said in a separate statement. “That fight brought Lucky’s to Bayview in October 2022, creating local jobs, supporting small businesses, and giving families long-overdue access to fresh, healthy food.”

Bayview is located in District 10 which includes neighborhoods classified by the United States Department of Agriculture as low-income, low-access, a designation previously defined as a food desert.

Bayview is home to the District 10 Community Market, a free, government-funded grocery store for low-income residents. The neighborhood is also home to a weekly farmers market on Thursdays at the Southeast Community Center.

The Bayview Lucky location first opened in 2022.

KRON4 has reached out to Lucky for more information.