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When you’ve had the sort of year I’ve had—funeral, Ellis eviction, illness—you learn to appreciate the simple things: toilet paper sold in single rolls, biodegradable utensils, plentiful oven-ready meals (because your new housemates refuse to get a microwave), and, hopefully, a place that sells all those things without robbing me of the pennies I’m pinching.
Fortunately for me, that place is in the Mission. I’ve been going to the family-owned-and-operated Valencia Whole Foods for years, and it’s become a literal life-saver for me in a year where I’m holding on by a thread.
Yes, I said “family-owned.” Though its name may make you do a double take, this SF Legacy Business founded in 1990 has no relation to the similarly named, overpriced chain now an Amazon subsidiary, infamous for its union-busting and poor food-labelling and anti-union practices. I avoid that place like the plague (same with fellow union-busters Trader Joe’s.)
No, Valencia Whole Foods is an independent neighborhood grocer that seems to have done something amazing: it thrives as the city changes. It isn’t as large as BiRite, but it’s still a go-to spot for organic-happy shoppers who only came to SF for name recognition. The store also appeals to Mission and Castro natives who just want affordable food from clerks whom they can chat with (or not.)
That’s the thing about Valencia Whole Foods. Yes, you can get everything from organic toothpaste to organic sausage links; yes, it accepts payment from those with coins or those who go cashless. And yes, the place seems almost hidden on its corner location of 21st Street and Valencia–but it’s there.
In spite of a several tech-related demographic shifts that could have wiped it off the map, Valencia Whole Foods is as much a Mission mainstay as having an iglesia on every corner. There are many grocers in the neighborhood, but few that so adeptly represent old-school family shops while representing new-school tastes, without condescending to either. I’m not even a Mission resident, but I’m happy to go out of my way to put money in the hands of this unique business in my hometown.
VALENCIA WHOLE FOODS 999 Valencia, SF. (415) 285-0231
