Bi-Rite Market has been a San Francisco, California, institution for 80 years, and it's committed to making sure it’s still cultivating community for 100 more.

“We consider our mission, Creating Community Through Food, a lifelong journey,” said Sam Mogannam, the second-generation owner of Bi-Rite Market and founder of the Bi-Rite Family of Businesses. “We’ll always be reaching for it, using it to guide our decisions and relationships, but something that’ll never be fully realized.”

What that looks like on a daily basis, he described, is a filter when thinking about the food: What food is being sourced, who’s making or growing it and how it shapes the food made in the kitchens. “And it’s a catalyst for our retail experiences, as we look to remove friction points in our guests’ journey and provide a true sense of hospitality at all stages,” Mogannam said.

Sam Mogannam Photo by Angela DeCenzo for Natural Foods Merchandiser

Produce is key

These values are particularly important when it comes to produce, a key pillar of the company’s retail strategy. Bi-Rite stresses the importance of constant quality control in its produce departments, used to ensure it has the best tasting produce available for all guests in its markets.

“We want guests to be able to grab any piece of fruit or vegetable and not worry about how long it’ll last or if it’ll taste good,” said Simon Richard, produce, floral and bulk category manager. “At Bi-Rite, we focus on the best of what’s in season. Staff are tasting produce all the time, so that when a guest asks which peach is best, they can describe them all. Then, they’ll cut a peach and taste it with the guests so they get exactly what they want.”

Bi-Rite has always been incredibly local and seasonally focused, so every member of the produce department staff receives in-depth training to get a strong sense of each crop. From where it’s grown, who’s growing it, how it’s grown, when it’s available, when its flavor is peaking and how to discern when it tastes best.

“Every year, we host staff field trips to farms so the team gets to meet our farmers and walk the land directly, and of course, there’s always the opportunity to chat with the farmers who deliver directly to the markets,” Richard said. “Bi-Rite also cross-trains produce line staff on how to order produce from the local farms and distribution companies, which gives them a strong sense of department operations and creates career path opportunities within Bi-Rite and the produce industry broadly.”

A local mindset

A big part of Bi-Rite’s success comes from fostering meaningful relationships with both local producers and customers.

“Bi-Rite only exists because of our community and the relationships we cultivate with them,” Mogannam said. “We’re avid listeners, and we work to take what we learn and share it with others.” Bi-Rite is involved with more than 200 hyperlocal growers, makers and producers as it views supporting local farms as a win environmentally, economically and socially.

“The food travels less distance, can be picked at peak ripeness, and is fresher, lasting longer on the shelves,” Holt said. “And it just tastes so much better, which drives guests to eat more fresh fruits and veggies, leading to healthier people, as well as a healthier planet. The money exchanged stays within our local economy and is exchanged directly between grower and retailer, giving the grower a greater share of the economic pie.”

The Bi-Rite family also includes 18 Reasons, a nonprofit community cooking school which teaches more than 7,000 Bay Area residents every year how to shop, cook and enjoy good food.

This emphasis on community also ties in with Bi-Rite’s philosophy, which is to “Lead with Love, Pursue with Passion, and Act with Integrity,” and these guide decision-making within the organization. “Our values guide how we treat each other and how we integrate into our greater community,” said Sarah Holt, director of marketing and community for the company. “A few years ago, we went through an exercise to see if they should be adapted or if others should be added. We held roundtables with staff, talking about what the values mean to them and how they impact their jobs and lives. Based on everyone’s input, we ultimately ended up modifying them to include an active verb as a way to hold ourselves accountable for living up to them in how we show up for one another, our community and ourselves.”

New expansion

Later this year, a third San Francisco-based Bi-Rite Market location will open in the Russian Hill neighborhood.

“Each Market location reflects some of the uniqueness of the neighborhood,” Holt said. “The new Bi-Rite Market Polk Street is located in a 100-plus-year-old building with incredible architectural details like transom windows and huge skylights and we’re adding a bit of a living wall to take advantage of that incredible light. The sales floor is larger than our other locations, so the layout and aisles will feel a bit more spacious.”

As with all locations, the experience that welcomes guests when they first walk in will be an expansive produce department.

“When we open this summer, it’ll be ripe with the most incredible peak-of-season fruit and vegetables, most coming directly from our local farm community, and guests will be able to taste things as they shop,” Holt said.