Other Avenues Grocery Cooperative is a worker cooperative, organic food grocery store, [1] and legacy business, [2] located on in the Sunset district of San Francisco. [3] It is one of two grocery cooperatives in San Francisco; the other being Rainbow Grocery Cooperative. [4]
Other Avenues Grocery Cooperative was established by volunteer staff in 1975, and many of the early shoppers were also volunteers. [3] The co-op was a part of the People's Food System, a larger network of food co-operatives that developed in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1970s. [5] The collapse of the People's Food System created challenges for the store. Shanta Nimbark Sacharoff, a longtime worker-member, said: "It was really difficult, especially for a small store like this. We had 10 years that were so difficult financially and organizationally — we almost closed down three times — but the community was our strength. Because we’re so isolated, the community that lives near us is drawn to us." [5] In 1982, the store moved to its current location at 3930 Judah Street, and it underwent a restructuring in 1987 that converted the store into a "hybrid consumer-co-op." [3] During the 1980s, many businesses in the Outer Sunset closed down due to the recession, but the co-op survived due to community and worker support. [1] In 1999, the store legally became a Worked-Owned Cooperative. In 2008, the cooperative bought the store space, with help from Arizmendi Bakery, Cheese Board Collective, Rainbow Grocery, Veritable Vegetable, and co-op members. [3]
In 2016, a book about the co-op, "Other Avenues Are Possible” was published by PM Press. [5] On January 20, 2017, the store was closed in protest of the inauguration of Donald Trump. [4] The decision was reached by consensus among the 17 staff members. [4] In 2018, the co-op became a Legacy Business in San Francisco. [1] During the COVID-19 pandemic, no workers at the co-op lost their jobs, [6] and some media publications speculated that co-operative businesses were better equipped to handle a pandemic. [6] [7]
The storefront has a mural by Carlo Grünfeld, [2] a San Francisco artist. [8]
