Why San Francisco is considering a bill that would let shoppers sue closing grocery stores – By Ashlie D. Stevens (Salon) / April 17, 2024
The Neighborhood Grocery Protection Act was considered once before in 1984
In 1984, the managers of a Safeway supermarket located at Bush and Larkin Streets in San Francisco announced the abrupt closure of the store; they would be permanently shuttering within the week, leaving community members with few choices for places to get fresh groceries. In response, the city’s Board of Supervisors passed the Neighborhood Grocery Protection Act, a law that would require grocery stores to provide six-months advance notice — and a promise to engage in good-faith negotiations with community members — before closing.
However, then-Mayor Dianne Feinstein quickly vetoed the law and it was largely forgotten, until now.
Four decades on, an eerily similar situation is playing out in San Francisco. In January, another Safeway — this time at Webster and Ellis, in a historically Black area that serves many senior citizens — announced they would be closing. This prompted both protests from community members and for two city supervisors, Dean Preston and Aaron Peskin, to reintroduce the Neighborhood Grocery Protection Act.
