By Vickram Agarwal
A construction wall bearing the Bi-Rite logo has gone up at 6001 California St., signaling that the popular grocery and deli chain may soon be coming to the neighborhood.
Residents of the Richmond District got their first concrete sign of the local chain’s potential arrival when construction walls appeared around the site of a former corner store right next to the #1-California line bus stop on the corner of 22nd Avenue and California Street. The old shop, which had struggled to draw shoppers in recent years, has been the site of quiet speculation since it closed, and reports of Bi-Rite filing for permits in City Hall set of a wave of discussion in the neighborhood.
The historic corner building, built in 1917, has stood as a Richmond staple for more than 100 years. For decades, the 4,200-square-foot building operated as a family-run grocery store under various names, most notably the Appel & Dietrich Fine Food Market and later the Super K Market. Known for its iconic red neon signage and classic corner-store architecture, the site remained a local fixture until falling vacant in recent years.
In an official statement, Bi-Rite confirmed it is engaged in a lease for the site but urged caution: “It’s important to note that there are still several contingencies that need to be resolved before their plans can move forward.”
On April 24, the chain announced the confirmation of the Richmond location, with an opening set for 2027.
Perhaps the most-discussed wrinkle in the story is the location itself. The prospective Bi-Rite Market would sit directly across from Angelina’s Deli-Café, the beloved local deli that has been a fixture of the neighborhood for over 30 years. Although small, Angelina’s has earned a cult following among local residents, and on a sunny day, the shop is always packed to the brim. One particular market that Angelina’s controls is elementary and middle school students looking for soft-serve or a sandwich after school.
However, the shop now faces the prospect of a well-funded chain competitor on its doorstep, known for its ice cream. Bi-Rite currently has shops in the Mission, NOPA and Russian Hill neighborhoods.
Whether its presence would create competition that would cut into Angelina’s Deli-Café’s business – or simply draw more foot traffic to the block – remains to be seen.
Reaction among Richmond District residents has been largely positive, if cautious. Many neighbors have welcomed the idea of a full-service grocery and deli option within walking distance, particularly given the neighborhood’s predominantly residential character and limited retail options.
“I am super excited for Bi-Rite to be bringing us the best from local farmers and producers, and thrilled they are investing in our corner of San Francisco,” one resident said. “I can’t wait for their prepared foods, their baked goods and making everyday celebrations and holidays easier with Bi-Rite in the neighborhood. The space has been vacant for too long, and it’s a huge win for all of us to have the addition of Bi-Rite in the community.”
The proximity to the #1-California bus stop will also support the accessibility of the store, allowing for commuters and people without cars to easily grab groceries.
Rishi Kohosla, a Richmond resident and property manager, described the general popularity of the renovation.
“I live in the Richmond, my kids go to school in the Richmond and my office is here too,” Kohosla said. “We manage apartment buildings all across the neighborhood, so hundreds of our residents are my neighbors. What I hear from them constantly is that they want more places to walk to that still feel local. Bi-Rite is exactly that – no massive parking lot, not another run-down storefront, just a great store built for people who actually live here.”
For many, the potential arrival of a Bi-Rite Market carries real benefits for the Richmond District. Increased access to groceries and prepared foods, a revitalized corner that has long hosted an under-performing store and added activity near a transit stop are all reasonable upsides. A new business also typically brings a handful of local jobs.
On the other hand, chain grocery stores in residential neighborhoods are not without drawbacks. Delivery trucks, extended hours and increased foot and vehicle traffic can alter the character of a quiet block. Neighbors on streets adjacent to the site may feel those effects most acutely. But parking has emerged as the dominant concern. The Richmond District’s streets rarely have open parking, and some residents worry that a new grocery destination could draw shoppers from surrounding areas, clogging blocks that were not designed for that kind of traffic.
“We’re not just opening a store,” Co-CEO Brianne O’Leary Gagnon stated in Bi-Rite’s announcement. “We’re committing to the neighborhood for decades to come. Our goal is to create a space where people feel taken care of, and stay connected to their community.”
For more information, visit biritemarket.com.
Categories: Small Businesses
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon 
It’s no secret that Bi-Rite sells excellent food but is also expensive as all get out. All respect to Sam Mogannam, who absolutely knows how to run a business, but he and Tartine are almost single-handedly responsible for gentrifying the Mission. The quote from the resident sounds almost like a paid statement. And Mr. Khosla is a property manager who manages multiple buildings in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood, so it sounds like he’ll be able to afford to regularly buy there.
One of the hardest things about being a native has been seeing the absolute land rush as property developers and real estate agents, hand in hand, have made a beeline for the Richmond and Sunset. It’s already bad enough that the owner of the new ‘vintage’ store over on Balboa said that she thought the area ‘needed’ her store, given that almost all of Balboa is Chinese and Asian restaurants.
And I can’t go anywhere in the Richmond without seeing the Sotheby’s ads from the guy who advertises “luxury living” and “cultured culture”, etc. Bi-Rite is coming to cash in on the upper-middle class AI rush just like everyone else.
They’ll do great because Sea Cliff and tech people who have ‘discovered’ the Richmond, but let’s see how willing Gagnon is to work with the City on parking options, since the City is busy cutting deals with Lyft to replace everything with Lyft bike stations. Then again, the City will probably bend over backward for Bi-Rite in a way they wouldn’t for, say, truly small businesses who operate on a very small margin. Sigh.
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My fear is that we will only have these sterile, overpriced food markets. The good ones (Man Hing, Park Farmers Market) in the Inner Sunset closed years ago, and now we are stuck with the gentrifying Lukes Local and the overpriced Andronicos (upscale Safeway).
I would hate to be living here 50 years in the future! We have already lost so much vitality! It is really sad.
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I forgot about Man Hing! And I never knew Park Farmers Market, but it sounds very familiar. I was in Luke’s Local last December and chatting with the (very nice) cashier, and it turned out I knew more about the store than he did (I still remember Alpha Market over in Cole Valley, how the local paper covered the changeover from the previous/original owner, what Luke’s was like at the beginning…).
At a certain point the cashier looked bemused, and then when he turned to serve the younger couple waiting in line, they almost seemed like they had been waiting for the crazy old person (me) to finish talking.
I’ve heard local artists say that one of the problems is that there’s an entire generation of people for whom San Francisco is only a place to come in, cash in, and get out. If you haven’t lived here since before 2010, you don’t understand what it truly used to be like (and if you did and don’t care, such as all the YIMBY and billionaire political climbers, that’s a different story).
Luke Chappell is a real person (owner of Luke’s; I went to school with his sibling), but now that I think of it, I don’t even know what he looks like, and I used to go to Cole Valley regularly. Meanwhile, I used to love Gus’s on 44th and Noriega, but they’ve completely lost my respect for selling a spindly Christmas tree with barely any branches for $70.00 this past December. Some of their produce is even bad while it’s out on display.
They also jacked up prices during the AI land rush last summer, and then raised and lowered prices on different items around the store every other week—while still calling them “sales”—until I couldn’t take it any more and have stopped shopping there. I think one of their longtime cashiers quit because he also couldn’t take the bare-faced customer manipulation from Gus’s.
It stinks to have ‘local chains’ such as Bi-Rite and Gus’s treating living, breathing neighbors like we’re just marketing statements or SKU numbers and not like we’re real people.
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Me again. I just read this in the Progressive Grocer publication:
“The site, a 1917 building that sat vacant for roughly two years, has a long history as a neighborhood market, one that Bi-Rite says it plans to preserve while reshaping the space for today’s community.
‘There’s a real need for a walkable grocery store in this part of Richmond,’ said Co-CEO Patrick Mills. “We’ve had people reach out directly, sharing how excited they are for us to come.”
Let’s break down his statement:
There’s no doubt that a lot of the city needs sprucing up. But for all of these corporations and mini-corporations to target regular working neighborhoods and come in with marketing statements like they’re “for the people” when they’re really implementing a business model… the disconnect is palpable.
Finally, Miss Tilly’s Ballet never had the soft arrogance to come in and say she was “reshaping” children. I’m going to stop before I self-combust!
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