On the Heels of Community Victory Keeping Fillmore Safeway Open for a Year, Preston Announces New Law Regulating Grocery Store Closures

A day after Safeway announced a reversal of plans to close its Webster Street location, Supervisor Dean Preston rallied with community members, elected officials and neighborhood leaders to celebrate the reprieve and demand that Safeway meet with the community to shape future plans for the site.

At the rally, Preston announced he will introduce the Neighborhood Grocery Protection Act, a legislative effort that is both old and new. The Act seeks to resurrect a 1984 law, passed by the Board of Supervisors but vetoed by Mayor Feinstein, that requires notification and community involvement when neighborhood-serving grocery stores close.

“It was a good idea then, and it’s an even better idea now – we need notice, we need transparency, community input, and a transition plan when major neighborhood grocery stores plan to shut their doors,” said Supervisor Dean Preston. “Meeting the food security needs of our seniors and families cannot be left to unilateral backroom decisions by massive corporate entities.”

Preston’s announcement comes on the heels of a major victory for the Fillmore, Japantown, and Western Addition communities, as Safeway, which earlier this month announced plans to close in early March, backtracked and committed on Monday to keep its Webster Street location open until January 2025.

Safeway’s announcement came a day before the Board is scheduled to vote on Supervisor Preston’s resolution demanding the grocery chain reconsider and reverse its plan to close the Fillmore’s only full service grocery store, and to commit to meeting with the community on any future development or plans for the site. At the rally today, community members, neighborhood leaders, and Board President Aaron Peskin, and Supervisors Ahsha Safai and Shamann Walton focused on the latter demand to make sure neighbors are involved in a future process.

“We were relieved to hear that Safeway extended its closing date, but let’s be clear – none of this would have happened if the community did not stand up and demand Safeway start acting like a better neighbor,” said Paul Osaki, Executive Director of the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California. “It’s time that Safeway meet with Western Addition and Japantown community, hear directly from the people most impacted, and work together on finding solutions.”

"There is no question that Safeway would have closed in March without the hundreds of community members that demanded Safeway to reverse their plans,” said Erris Edgerly, founder of the Fillmore Alliance. “There should be no more backroom deals, we need Safeway, Align Real Estate and the City to attend a community meeting that is open to the public, to discuss plans for the property and to answer our questions"

On January 8, Supervisor Preston wrote a letter to Safeway officials demanding they reverse course, followed by the formal resolution introduced at the Board of Supervisors. Preston’s team also began extensive research to find any legal recourse to support pushing back on the imminent closure. They found a 1984 law written in response to an abrupt closure of a Safeway at Bush and Larkin Streets, where residents were given only one week's notice of the closure. The law was passed by the Board but ultimately vetoed by then-Mayor Dianne Feinsten vetoed the law.

Supervisor Preston, at today’s Board meeting, will be requesting that the City Attorney draft the Neighborhood Grocery Protection Act, mirroring prior efforts 40 years ago,, to require the following:

Six-months notice prior to close of a neighborhood-serving grocery store;

Requirement to meet with community members prior to closure;

Requirement to explore a replacement supermarket.

“Abrupt closure of a neighborhood-serving store is no less harmful than it was 40 years ago,” said Supervisor Preston. “Food insecurity is on the rise, especially for seniors and families, as food prices skyrocket and food programs face major cuts. We need to be doing everything in our power to maintain access to groceries in our neighborhoods.”