Some of you may be aware of some recent City of Oakland news regarding changes to zoning regulations in Jack London Square.
If the sky were the limit, what kind of grocery type market would you want to see in this neighborhood? Keeping in line with serving both local neighborhood residents as well as tourists.
I might throw in Erewhon, but I know this is a discerning crowd that’s not dazzled by prices and celebrities alone. Would something like a Seafood City be welcomed? or a Bi Rite? what else?
Any decent reasonable grocery store would be a huge improvement. After the Smart and Final at 10th and Broadway went away, the closest is Sprouts and Grocery Outlet at 29th/30th and Broadway…25-30 blocks away, or drive to Alameda. Now that there’s a pedestrian and bike ferry between JLSq and Alameda and that’s an option but only by foot or bike.
Frankly I think an Erewhon would fail and isn’t a match for the area. Heck it would fail in a lot of Bay Area cities, areas because it doesn’t match the food culture of the Bay Area. Maybe in Silicon Valley or Marin, but maybe only Napa but it would be tricky….few celebs or people who drop that kind of crazy $$$. And frankly I’d never go. Why isn’t it a match? Look at the cult favorites in the East Bay, Berkeley Bowl and Monterey Market…where abundance is big and prices very fair. That’s the competition and unless you can provide produce like that, or another draw and reason to drive, or decent prices, you’re in for a slog.
Also where would it go? As the articles mention, it’s maritime centric and there is a long standing, century old produce area in Jack London Square still working. If Oakland Port had some imagination, it would try to figure how to combine that historic produce area into something with other options but not killing the produce area. My take on the Port of Oakland is they’re not that smart, and they have other priorities like running the port.
In any case, I’d be happy with a Trader Joe’s, some decent produce stores (perhaps aligned with the produce area), and/or a medium sized mom and pop run grocery/supermarket, something like Farmer Joe’s in the Dimond district, or Oasis Market…or a Korean market. I think those could survive and reflect the area and culture. So I’d go with a TJ’s, mom and pop produce and some nice ethnic markets instead of a big expensive place. If the port and Oakland were smart they’d try to create a district of smaller shops, mom and pop, Acme bread etc. Just try and attract local places with success….do not pull a LA place and drop it there. It won’t work. The logic here is the big place fail and the anchor sinks. Small and medium sized places in a group would be better.
Bi-Rite would be such a game changer because it hits that perfect sweet spot between a specialty market for visitors and a quality neighborhood spot for those of us who just need fresh produce and a solid deli.
Jon’s would fit in to the Bay Area and JLSq much better and it’s similar to Berkeley Bowl in many ways; mom and pop, locally grown, community likes it, ethnic roots but serves everyone, repurposed existing retail space into their own and used part of the old name, both successful. I much prefer this kind of place than a big box or a major anchor that isn’t invested in the local economy the same way. That said, keep it local. Maybe not Berkeley Bowl but similar. I grew up in So Cal, no need to import retail from there.
On a historic side note: JLSq use to be Oakland’s Japantown before WWII, Japanese American concentration camps, post war redevelopment, so maybe Berkeley Bowl might be fitting.
I don’t know if its a chicken and egg problem, but I just don’t see a lot of local foot traffic to JLS. The area around is just so quiet- warehouse, offices, residential buildings etc. Just not a lot of people, at least now probably because of the previous zoning, that’d just show up at JLS.
I think any grocery stores, fancy or not, is going to struggle in that area. It is a very narrow strip of land- 3 by 15 blocks, fenced in by 880 and Chinatown. And its not that far from grocery stores in Chinatown, which covers the good value angle. There’s JLS, Old Oakland and Grand Lake farmers markets, which covers the fancy angle. There are also Whole Foods, Grocery Outlet and Sprouts around 27th-29th.
