A years-long effort to open an affordable grocery store in the Hayes Valley neighborhood came to fruition Friday.
Trader Joe’s held its grand opening, including a ribbon-cutting ceremony, as a crowd of eager shoppers cheered as the store’s doors opened for the first time.
The location is within walking distance of hundreds of low-income families and seniors who for decades lacked access to an affordable grocery store.
“It’s been that way for 50 years,” longtime Hayes Valley resident Barbara Wilson said in 2023. “The grocery store is a problem since I got here.”
“These people have been here for 30, 40, 50 years and have never really had (an affordable grocery store) and it’s time for that to change,” Jim Warshell, a Hayes Valley resident, said in 2023. “We have a real equity issue. You can’t have a food desert if all these families live here.”
On Friday, Warshell said it was a 13-year effort to bring Trader Joe’s to Hayes Valley.
“The community has waited so long for this,” said Autumn Dougherty, captain of the Hayes Valley Trader Joe’s. “I’m part of this neighborhood, so I think it’s absolutely wonderful that I get to be part of this community to give what it needs.”
According to Dougherty, 70% of the crew at the new location live in the Hayes Valley neighborhood.
Eddie Lo, a Hayes Valley resident and chef, lives in a condominium building next to the Trader Joe’s. He moved into the building in 2020 and has since been waiting for a supermarket to open downstairs.
He said the lack of accessible groceries made purchasing products expensive for local residents.
“For example, all those local shops. If you forget one tomato, you pay €6.00 or €7.00 at these local shops. I understand that they are now competing with a big store (but) maybe that competition is good, because I think it will reduce some of the (other) prices there.”
Paul Tortora, who has lived in Hayes Valley for about 35 years, says he’s concerned about his local grocery store, Nick’s Super Market.
“I hope none of the businesses are adversely affected by Trader Joe’s,” Tortora said. “I have no doubt, unfortunately, that this will indeed be the case. But it is progress. We have a Trader Joe’s now. It’s a pretty big monolith, a beloved one. So it will probably impact smaller businesses.”
