Save Mart opens a small-footprint store in San Francisco

The Save Mart Companies opened its first small-format, full-service grocery store under the company’s Lucky banner on this week. The 9,549-square-foot store, Lucky Bayview, is located in San Francisco’s Bayview neighborhood.

“The opening of Lucky Bayview, a small-footprint, full-service store, represents a transformational new chapter in The Save Mart Companies’ storied history of serving our shoppers and fulfilling their needs with innovative and affordable solutions,” said Shane Sampson, executive chairman of the board of The Save Mart Companies, in a statement. “This store repurposes and maximizes a vacated 9,549-square-foot retail location and to affirm Lucky’s commitment to the community, ‘Bayview’ is incorporated into the store’s name.” 

The newly repurposed vacated retail Lucky Bayview space is located along Bayview’s Third Street corridor in Bayview Plaza at 3801 Third Street in California. Lucky Bayview’s full-service, small-store footprint location will offer fresh groceries, meal solutions, online shopping and home delivery with Instacart, Save Mart said in a statement. 

Lucky Bayview On-The-Go Meals. / Photo courtesy: The Save Mart Companies

“Providing communities with fresh, quality groceries at an exceptional value is at the heart of what we do, and we are excited to open our new Lucky store to serve the Bayview neighborhood,” said Reggie Chand, Lucky Bayview store manager in a statement. “We are proud to offer a full-service shopping experience at the low prices San Franciscans have come to expect from Lucky.”

Organic fruits, vegetables and seasonal products from Earl’s Organic Produce—San Francisco’s distributor of organic fruits and vegetables—as well as Bayview vendors Tallio’s Coffee & Tea, Bayview Pasta, Speakeasy Brewing and Yvonne’s Southern Sweets will also be available at the new small-store design location.

Lucky Bayview Produce. / Photo courtesy: The Save Mart Companies

“The opening of Lucky Bayview is a major step in improving food access and food security in what has historically been a food desert,” said San Francisco Mayor London Breed at the grand-opening ribbon-cutting celebration at the new store. “I am even more excited that Lucky, a local supermarket retailer and part of The Save Mart Companies, sees the promise of this community and its people, and is going above and beyond to invest in San Francisco brands by putting products of local vendors on its shelves.”

Small-format stores are becoming popular among retailers. Recently, Schnucks opened its first express small-footprint grocery store in Columbia, Missouri. It occupies about 11,000 square feet, with its own entrance and accessibility through the retailer’s EatWell Natural Food Store. The downsized market will sell “many customer favorites that are available at traditional Schnucks stores that were not previously available at EatWell,” said a Schnucks spokesperson in a statement.

Also, Meijer plans to open two small-footprint concept Meijer Grocery stores in southeast Michigan next year. The “quick in-and-out” concept stores will range in space from 75,000 square feet to 90,000 square feet, with “parking wrapped around a singular corner entrance to maximize the number of parking spaces near the door,” said Meijer. In 2018, Meijer introduced a neighborhood market small format with its Bridge Street Market in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “Meijer Grocery will now provide that same combination of freshness and value in a foods-focused format in your local community,” said Rick Keyes, Meijer president and CEO, in a statement.

The Save Mart Companies operates approximately 200 stores throughout California and Northern Nevada under the banners of Save Mart, Lucky California and FoodMaxx. Lucky stores have been serving the San Francisco community since the 1950s with locations at 1515 Sloat Blvd. and 1750 Fulton Street, according to a company release, and Lucky Bayview is the third location in San Francisco. There are currently 67 Lucky stores in the greater Bay Area and in surrounding communities.