I attended a discussion tonight at the Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Association about the possibility of Trader Joe’s coming to the Castro — to the old Tower Records space on Market between Noe and Sanchez. I came into the meeting supportive of Trader Joe’s coming into the neighborhood, and I left the meeting energized in that support.
First some history. Several years ago, Trader Joe’s tried to come into the neighborhood at Sanchez and Market, in the old Dulux Paints site that is now Chase. There was significant opposition in the neighborhood because of concerns about traffic. After all, the Trader Joe’s on Masonic has created what can only be described as a traffic disaster. There was also support for the Sanchez/Market site, but the no’s won out.
Now, Trader Joe’s is back, and I think it’s a very good fit. The Tower Records space has been vacant for years, and that vacancy has had a significant negative impact on the small businesses around it. Big empty spaces are almost never a good thing, particularly when that space used to be an anchor store that drew foot traffic into the neighborhood. And this is not an easy space to fill, given it’s size and odd configuration.
It’s critical that we fill that space with a retailer that adds to the neighborhood’s vibrancy. Trader Joe’s does exactly that. It provides reasonably priced and interesting food choices — very different than your standard Safeway fare. It also treats its employees well and has a great reputation. Trader Joe’s will benefit the neighborhood as a whole, by providing a new food alternative, and it will help the small businesses around it.
There are several concerns with the project. The biggest is traffic/parking, and we definitely need to hold Trader Joe’s feet to the fire in terms of coming up with a good plan to make sure we don’t turn into another Masonic, either on Market Street or in the Noe/Beaver area. One option is to have very limited parking so that people don’t think of driving to the store. There are 39 parking spots on the roof of the building. That’s already a relatively small number for a supermarket. It could be made even smaller to make the store a walking destination, like the Trader Joe’s in Boston, which has no parking. In any event, there will be a traffic study before anything is approved, and we’ll get to iron out whatever issues the study raises.
Another concern is the possible impact that Trader Joe’s will have on nearby small businesses, particularly small food retailers. This is a legitimate item to watch, but I don’t think it outweighs the benefits of the project. As an initial matter, I’m not convinced that Trader Joe’s will cannibalize smaller markets like Harvest Market. Larger and smaller food markets always coexist near one another. People go to a larger or smaller market for different reasons (e.g., the weekly shopping trip versus the daily small shopping trip).
But in assessing the potential impact on surrounding small businesses, it’s important to keep in mind the almost-certain positive impacts. Trader Joe’s will generate foot traffic that will benefit surrounding retailers, restaurants, etc. It will bring much-needed vibrancy to that location.
Once we work out the kinks, particularly parking and traffic, Trader Joe’s will be a solid addition to the neighborhood.
