Supervisor Preston to Introduce Resolution Calling on Safeway to Reverse Plan to Close Fillmore Grocery Store in March

Supervisor Dean Preston is introducing a resolution today demanding Safeway reconsider and reverse its plan to close the Fillmore’s only full service grocery store in March. Safeway announced the closure last Thursday, shocking and outraging the Fillmore and Japantown communities that rely on this store for food, the pharmacy, and the banking services on site. The resolution also calls for Safeway to work with residents and city leaders to develop a plan for the site that centers the needs of the community. 

“I stand in solidarity with the community and urge Safeway to rescind the closure plan and meet with community and city leaders to develop a plan for this crucial site in the heart of the Fillmore that not only avoids harm, but actually benefits the community,” said Supervisor Preston. “Safeway should remain open until the developer buying the property breaks ground, and beyond that, we should make sure that any development on the site includes a new grocery store.”

“Safeway has operated for over forty years at this site, and to abruptly close in March with less than two months' notice is painful to the entire community that relies on this grocery store,” said Majeid Crawford, Executive Director of the New Community Leadership Foundation. “The pending closure of the Safeway threatens to create food insecurity and a food desert in the heart of the Western Addition.”

The Safeway is not only a grocery store, but also has a pharmacy, and bank, and the services at this location were a purposeful post-redevelopment response to previous redlining and redevelopment policies that not only displaced residents and small businesses but prevented financing for grocery stores and banking services.

“This Safeway has for decades served as a lifeline for seniors and members of the Western Addition and Japantown communities,” said Paul Osaki, Executive Director at Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California. “To close their doors in less than two months will create a vacant, blighted lot in a part of San Francisco that desperately needs access to groceries, banking, medication and other critical services. We stand with Supervisor Preston in demanding Safeway remain open unless and until the start of new development begins, and to meet with the community to discuss plans and answer questions.”

Safeway has not held a single community meeting with Fillmore neighborhood residents regarding closure plans, mitigations, or planning for alternative grocery services in the event of closure. Construction on any new development at 1335 Webster Street would not begin for a significant period of time, raising questions about why the grocery store should not continue to operate for the benefit of the community until construction begins.

“We remain ready and willing to work with Safeway and the developer to chart a path forward that is in partnership with the community,” said Supervisor Preston. “But first things first: Safeway needs to reverse its decision to close this location in March. 

Supervisor Preston’s resolution is expected to be voted on at the full Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, January 23.