Tasha Holloway whirled her shopping cart around the Fillmore district’s soon-to-be shuttered Safeway on Tuesday, as her two kids shuffled behind her.
With her cart piled high with flowers, meatballs, mangos, spaghetti, an 18-pack of root beer, and a bag of charcoal, she amassed a vast sampling of discounted goods. On Monday, the day the store launched a 50% off clearance sale ahead of its closure next month, Holloway had an even bigger haul, spending $200 for two carts full of groceries.
“Anything I can get my hands on,” the 47-year-old said, bear-hugging a huge bag of frozen strawberries. “As long as it’s on sale.”
Holloway was among dozens of frenzied shoppers picking the aisles clean at the store at 1335 Webster St. Everything except milk and alcoholic beverages is half off, staff said. Bulk items are popular; 24 packs of bottled water, 130-count boxes of Totino’s pizza rolls, and 504-count boxes of Pampers baby wipes have been cleared out.
By the time The Standard visited Tuesday around 12:30 p.m., much of the good stuff was gone. Hardly any meat or produce was in sight. Where boxes of Oreo cookies and Ritz crackers once stood were only empty shelves. The frozen pizza section had been decimated.
Goods have been flying off the shelves at a rate that has led staff to speculate that the store may effectively be closed well before the official Feb. 7 deadline.
“I think it’ll be like two weeks,” said one staffer when asked how long until the store runs out of food. The worker spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
In an emailed statement, Safeway acknowledged that the sale had “attracted a large number of shoppers” and admitted that it could shutter the store before the official closing date.
“We will evaluate if an earlier closure is needed,” the statement said.
Safeway announced in January 2024 that it planned to close the Fillmore store, citing theft issues and concerns about customer and staff safety. The store was originally set to close in March 2024, but Mayor London Breed negotiated a deal with the grocery chain to keep it open until early 2025. The company announced the Feb. 7 closure last month.
The looming closure has outraged the community. The store is close to senior living facilities and serves many disabled customers who say it’s the only accessible major grocery in the area.
The nearest supermarket is the recently opened Trader Joe’s at 555 Fulton St., about half a mile away. There is no direct bus between the two sites. A Safeway just over a mile away, on Church and Market streets, is accessible via the 22 bus.
Align Real Estate is in contract to purchase 1335 Webster. The developer has proposed a mixed-use tower with 1,000 units of housing and a ground-level retailer, though details for a potential tenant have not emerged. Align Real Estate did not respond to a request for comment.
Fillmore community activist Daniel Landry has urged Align to lease the planned commercial space to a grocery chain, particularly a low-cost one like Grocery Outlet or Kroger subsidiary Foods Co. Landry insists that despite Safeway’s theft issues, there’s enough demand for a grocery store at the location for a replacement to turn a profit.
“They say they’ve got theft problems, but that’s happening all over,” he said. “This is a dense area with lots of seniors and people with disabilities.”
He is asking Supervisor-elect Bilal Mahmood, who will be sworn in Wednesday, to arrange a meeting with Align Real Estate so he can try to convince the developer to lease part of its project to a grocery store. Mahmood did not comment on Landry’s request but pointed out that Safeway provides banking and pharmacy services and that a replacement business would ideally fulfill those needs too.
“The Safeway has offered more than just groceries to the community,” Mahmood said via text. “We have to keep these services in mind as we think about what the future of the site will look like for the community.”
Shoppers and store staff seem to be resigned to the closure. Many shoppers said they plan to go to the nearest Safeway at Market and Church streets, while the 110 staffers at the Fillmore store will be reassigned to other locations.
“This is it,” one employee said. “It’s all over.”