Nopa is located on 560 Divisadero Avenue. Just next door at 550 Divisadero, there is the exciting prospect of this currently vacant building being inhabited by a 50-year old San Francisco family business. Bi-Rite has been an important voice and outlet in the advocacy for local and sustainable agirculture in California. We share their belief in creating community through food and look forward to welcoming them to the neighborhood. 

Below is a letter from the owner, Sam Mogannam. On Thursday July 26th, there will be a hearing at  City Hall:  Room 400, at 12 noon.  If you want more information on how to support during this hearing, you can click here. And, as a matter of interest, we encourage you read the letter below. 

This image was drawn by Scott, one of the employees working in produce at Bi-Rite

Dear Neighbor,

We hope that you are as excited about the prospect of a new Bi-Rite store opening at 550 Divisadero as we are.

You may know about our business, but in case you don’t, our family has had a store at 3639 18th St, near Dolores, for about 50 years. Under my direction for the past 14 years, the business has flourished, feeding and sustaining our community with great, locally sourced food. Bi-Rite has become an important element of the neighborhood and has become a model for how a community-oriented grocer can positively impact a neighborhood. By providing employment to local residents, and serving sustainable, locally produced, and great tasting goods to our customers we are able to fulfill our mission of Creating Community Through Food.

We want to do the same thing at our new location on Divisadero, and would like your help to obtain permission from the Planning Commission to connect a small adjacent retail space with a doorway between the two spaces, as part of the new store, to be used for receiving and storage and to build a mechanical room on the roof that will house our refrigeration compressors so we can mitigate any noise issues that they could cause.

There will be a public hearing on Thursday, July 26th, at City Hall. The Planning Commission will consider this project at their regular meeting that day. Their hearings begin at noon, in Room 400, at City Hall. This case could be heard anytime after 12:00. Once the calendar is published, we may be able to give you a more definite time. We encourage you to come to that meeting and to let the Commission know how you feel about this project, especially if you think that it will be positive for the neighborhood and will provide residents and workers in the vicinity with much-needed employment opportunities and valuable service.

You could also help by submitting a letter of support, via email or regular mail. If you believe our business is a good fit for the neighborhood, please fill out the attached letter, or write one of your own, and submit it to the Planning Commission in care of Planner Sharon Young, at the address on the following page.

We would welcome any expressions of support. We hope you can come to the hearing, and look forward to seeing you at our opening, and becoming your neighbor.

Yours truly,

Sam Mogannam, Owner
Phone 415-740-4603 
email at sam@biritemarket.com