Mollie Stone’s expands to Polk Street
Bay Area supermarket chain Mollie Stone’s Markets announced it will open its 10th market in the former location of Lombardi Sports in San Francisco in 2020. The 43,900squarefoot building has been vacant since 2014, when the local sports equipment store closed.
“The new location will be our fourth in San Francisco and we are extremely excited to expand in the city by the bay,” owner Mike Stone said in a news release. “We understand the passion and expectation in the neighborhood, and look forward to providing an outstanding place to shop.
In the Bay Area since 1986 and specializing in local, natural and gourmet products, Mollie Stone’s already has locations in San Francisco’s
Castro, Twin Peaks and Pacific Heights neighborhoods as well as in Greenbrae, San Mateo, Sausalito, Palo Alto, Burlingame and San Bruno.
Because Mollie Stone’s has fewer than 11 locations, it doesn’t count as a chain store, unlike the previous company that vied to open a supermarket in the building, Whole Foods Market. Chain stores require additional city approvals to open in neighborhood retail areas, including Polk Street, where Mollie Stone’s will be located.
In 2016, Whole Foods announced plans to open one of its smaller 365 stores in the building. That application was held up over permitting issues until November, when the San Francisco Planning Commission officially turned down the Amazonowned grocer’s proposal.
“We’re a small player in a big ocean,” said Stone of the difference between his store and Whole Foods, which Amazon.com purchased in 2017. “We’re community minded and we service the local needs of the community. When you focus on that as opposed to global growth and numbers of stores, that makes a big difference.”
With headquarters in Mill Valley, Mollie Stone’s began its expansion into San Francisco in 1998 with its Pacific Heights location, where it still provides a shuttle bus for shoppers. That was followed by its renovation of Tower Market in Twin Peaks in 2006 and a location in the Castro in 2011. Following the lead of national supermarkets, the chain started offering grocery delivery in the city through Instacart in 2015. Chronicle staff writer Roland Li contributed to this report.