Comments on: New Fresh & Easy Still in Permit Process

By: Ramon

Ramon — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 17:01:17 +0000

Sorry for being late in posting on this one (I was out of town). I must reply to the person who is saddened that Rainbow grocery didn’t make an attempt to open a branch in the building where Fresh ‘n Easy will (with hope) be located soon. Have you seen the demographic of this neighborhood? While Rainbow is a fine store, many people cannot possibly afford to shop in markets such as it or Whole Foods. (This includes people of all races, and new residents as well as those who have lived here for many years,by the way.) Judging from the two F ‘n E markets that I’ve visited, this is a fairly good store and one that is much needed in the heart of the Mission. Currently, many people must take either the 12-Folsom or 27-Bryant to get to the other two markets in the extreme northern part of the Mission. Rainbow and Whole Foods (both of which are rather expensive) are accessible to those who desire to shop there. Please let the inner-Mission have a market that is easily accessible and is affordable to everyone.

By: randolph mortimer

randolph mortimer — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 03:16:29 +0000

Agreed – please keep calling in the graffiti reports. Once the city issues a notice to the responsible party, they will start fining them per day if the graffiti isn’t cleaned up within a certain time period. Costing people dollars if they neglect their responsibilities is one of the ONLY ways to get someone to take action in this city – and the city also has incentive to actually enforce the graffiti laws if they think can possibly get some fine dollars out of it.

By: randolph mortimer

randolph mortimer — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 03:12:52 +0000

Lee and Campos and their backers are the REASON the current process sucks.

By: SFSquee

SFSquee — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 02:34:13 +0000

Emilia, thanks for calling in the graffiti reports too. Over the last few months I thought I was the only one doing this but great to know there’s others out there concerned about the empty building. It got tagged again but a DPW notice was already posted today about the new tags.

For the permits: only in SF can a grocery store go out of business and the site requires over a year of meetings, permits, and notices….just to open a grocery store. I wish the planning and permitting departments in SF would hear more positive support for projects.

By: emilia

emilia — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 19:18:27 +0000

Quick update! At least there is some good news to report. Thanks to everyone who has called to report the excessive graffiti, myself included, F&E (or the landlord) had someone out this weekend to paint over the majority of the tags, with only a few remaining on the roof. I know it will continue, but at least they are making an effort. Yay!

Now I guess I need to start calling the DBI. You’d think that with the economy being in the state it is, they’d be rolling out the red carpet instead of a year’s worth of red tape when prospective businesses want to open. That’s definitely not small-business friendly at all. Does anyone know when the process became so complicated? How did places like Rainbow get through it the first time around?

By: sfmissionman

sfmissionman — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 17:36:09 +0000

You’d think that our neighborhood would be excited and positive about Fresh and Easy. But no. Instead, I hear a long list of “wishes.” Wish it were a Safeway. Wish it were Rainbow. Wish it were union; or better still, a collective. Sometimes rigid adherence to ideology means you end up with nothing, or in this case, a lot of delay, about which the same voices predictably whine. Personally, I wish the Cala, which was open 24hrs. and was a full service, economical supermarket, were still here. But it’s not. So I’m looking forward to Fresh and Easy, and I recommend the neighborhood stop wishing and whining.

By: Carla McCasland

Carla McCasland — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 05:00:00 +0000

Thanks for following up, ML. I’ve been wondering about this business and its opening timeline lately. I’m looking forward to a full-service grocery store within walking distance of my house. Having visited other F&E locations, I think their selection will meet most of my basic needs, though i suspect I’ll supplement with Rainbow occasionally. I wish they’d open sooner and maintain the property better, as some of my fellow posters have also mentioned.

By: BrokenSFPlanning

BrokenSFPlanning — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 19:25:13 +0000

I looked up the building permit process with SF Planning Dept. for the F&E project. It reads like a horror story going back and forth between 10 different departments. No wonder local businesses don’t take on projects like this. If you’re wondering why this location isn’t another Rainbow Grocer, send a message to Lee and Campos that the current process to start a business in SF sucks.

By: marco

marco — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 17:33:32 +0000

It is likely not the fault of F&E — its San Francisco’s onerous planning/building departments that make this process take so long. If you’ve ever been through it, it’s a bit like the movie “Brazil”.

By: marco

marco — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 17:31:43 +0000

Likely only the large chains can afford to wait for the Planning/Building departments’ endless backlogs.