Bayview Merchant's Association 2008

First published in a 2008 Bayview Footprints Local News print edition that focused on Bayview business.

At age 83, The Bayview Merchants Association is the wise and active senior citizen of Bayview organizations. In 1925 when the BMA was founded, the Southern Pacific train still labored through the heart of the neighborhood along Railroad Avenue (now Third Street). Young women's dresses flirted with the knees. Hunters Point Dry Docks had just become the largest drydock in the country. And cows grazed on the hills between the railroad and the water.

Al Norman was the BMA President
when this article was published.
Lashon Walker is the current BMA
President. Photo: Footprints

It was a sleepy town compared to today, but business activity had reached a threshold that required an organized presence in the rough and tumble world of San Francisco's post-earthquake boom years. A generation later, as Allied forces fought toward victory in Europe, African-Americans from the South and poor whites from the "Dust Bowl" prairie states migrated to the neighborhood in search of decent jobs building war ships at the Shipyard.

And life was good in Bayview. The economy was growing along with the population. Women gardened. Children swam in the Bay. And men, whether in overalls or uniforms, strolled confidently up Railroad Avenue with money in their pockets. Bayview businesses, especially African-American businesses, needed a new voice and powerful advocacy.

Archie Reynolds understood the needs of both the African-American community and the business community when he reshaped the Bayview Merchants' Association just two years after coming to Bayview from New Orleans. In 1943, like so many others, he moved here for a Shipyard job, worked at the Post Office for a short time, and then opened "Bayview Bar B.Q." at 4720 Third Street. Before long, Reynolds moved his business to 5130 Third Street, renaming it "Archie's Bar B.Q."

According to a 1960 Spokesman Newspaper, Reynolds was committed to family and community. He opened his own business, he said, because he wanted to be sure he could afford to send his six children to college. Fast-forward to the present day, and the need for Bayview business to have a voice is as great as ever. What is that voice saying? ThThThird Street! Al Norman, current BMA President, has a vision.

"Go to 24th Street in Noe Valley on any Saturday afternoon," he said recently, "and you'll see what business in Bayview should be like." To reach that goal, Norman wants to see the capacity of businesses on Third Street strengthened, and the corridor made safe for shoppers. "We're going to work very hard on the safety issue," he said.

Is Norman optimistic? You bet!

"There's a coming together of the minds," he said, adding that there are better relationships between the individuals and groups involved in business revitalization than there has been in a long time. Mel Washington, owner of Bay Copy and past President (1999 to 2004) of the BMA, is equally optimistic.

"Things have already improved," he said, motioning out the window of his business at Bayview Plaza as the T Third train passed by.

Mr. Washington & Ms. Knighten

Joyce Knighten, Treasurer of the BMA and owner of Doublerock Foods, agreed. "I'm optimistic," she said. "Even with the problems, small businesses are doing okay." Washington and Knighten both recalled how the BMA had risen to address serious issues many times in its history - advocating with city government, supporting civic activities, addressing issues like safety, parking, and traffic. They also remembered the BMA's 75th anniversary gala at Hunters Point Shipyard, a big and elegant event at a time when the Shipyard was mostly dormant.

In years to come, that event may be recalled as the beginning of a new period in Bayview business, and not just a celebration of the past. The Bayview Merchant's Association is here today, working toward a time when Third Street is teeming with shoppers. Now that's a vision we can all share!

It's not over until Black businesses owners in Bayview sing!

Kathy Ford of Ford's Market in Bayview with the Food Guardians.
Photo by Joe Prickett 

by Kenneth Hill for SEFA Food Guardians

For many years, Bayview has been regarded as San Francisco's Black Mecca for black businesses and enterprise. Back in the 1970’s you could find an array of Black-owned businesses - from dry cleaners, to tax preparation services and even small full-service grocery stores selling an array of grocery items, including fresh produce.

But over the years, as the demographics of Bayview have changed, so has the vast majority of business ownership. Today in Bayview there are still Black-owned businesses around, but not as nearly as many as there were in the 1970’s. 

Since the large demographic shift in Bayview, it’s been really difficult for Black business owners to stay afloat and evolve with the demand of the community. But with help from Southeast Food Access Working Group and Bayview HEAL Zone initiative, Black business owners are getting much needed help to keep up with the changing demands of the community.  

The number one goal of business owners is to make money. Before venturing into a business, most businesses owners do a considerable amount of research before opening up shop. Some of the research may include a needs assessment to determine whether or not a business is needed in the community as well as an assessment to determine financial gain for the business. 

This is in part true for Black corner store owners Kathy Ford, who succeeded her parents as owner of Ford’s Grocery, and Bob, the owner of Surf Side (better known as Bob’s) in the community. Before opening their stores in Bayview 30 plus years ago, they both saw a need for places in the community for people to purchase food.

“The people up in West Point and Harbor didn’t have a store close by to get  to and the buses didn’t come often, so I knew a corner store was needed and would do fine,” said Bob.

With the need being immensely evident, Black business owners Kathy Ford and Bob opened their corner store businesses and selling a vast array of foods that were of demand by the community.

“When my mother and father first opened Fords we sold meat, fish, breakfast food and produce” said Kathy Ford.

This reality has changed for Kathy Ford’s and Bob’s businesses over the years. During the last two decades they’ve seen peoples’ buying patterns change - from customers coming to pick up a few steaks, a bag of beans, as well as a couple bunches of collard greens, to a bag of chips and a soda.

When asked what she thought contributed to the change in peoples shopping patterns,  Ms. Ford said, “I don’t know…I really don’t know.  But what I do know is that we need to change.  We need to get back to eating collard greens, and healthy food in general.” 

The change Kathy longed for would come in due time.

From a social justice perspective, not having access to fresh affordable produce and healthy food is unfair. Until recently, finding produce and healthy food items in Fords Grocery was like trying to find water in the Arizona desert. The shelves were full of processed, high fat, salty products, and there was not one single piece of produce. But Ms. Ford was for ready for some change at her store. 

On January 16^th and 17^th of this year, Ford’s Grocery became the second corner store owner to participate in the Healthy Retail Conversion Program, and is now offering fresh affordable produce and other healthy food products. 

Lee’s Market in Bayview was the first corner store to bring healthier food and fresh produce into the store in July 2012, and continues to work with the Food Guardians on store improvement.

The Southeast Food Access Food Guardians, through the Healthy Eating Active Living Zone initiative funded by Kaiser Permanente, work with small businesses to increase access to fresh produce and healthy food for the Bayview community in an attempt to level the playing field for all Bayview residents. The Food Guardians hope to work with Bob’s or other small stores in the near future, if funding allows.

Getting produce into Ford’s Grocery was done through a comprehensive 3-legged approach called Retail for Community Health and Sustainability, which involves Community Promotion and Awareness, Retail Technical Assistance, and Policy-Supported Incentives and Regulations.

I  Promotion & Awareness: The SEFA Food Guardians, who are Bayview Hunters Point residents, are the core of the promotion and awareness leg. The Food Guardians promote the changes of the retail project before, during and after the store redesign is set. This is done by conducting various surveys and assessments, promoting the changes at community events, writing news articles, and developing district-wide healthy marketing strategies to let the community know about the healthy changes.

II  Technical Assistance: Stores that participate in the healthy store redesign project are allotted a host of technical assistance support. The technical assistance is provided by Sutti and Associates,  a retail redesign consultant firm with over 35 years of experience in the industry. Sutti provides expertise in developing schematics, produce maintenance, and  product merchandising - not only to the participating stores owners, but also to the Food Guardians so that they can continue to provide ongoing technical assistance to the stores in the long term.

III  Policy Supported Incentives and Regulation: It is hoped that these pilot healthy retail efforts result in the establishment of a citywide program that would bundle together the promotion and awareness piece with the technical assistance piece, and provide incentives such as tax breaks for small businesses making the effort to carry produce, healthy food items while decreasing the sale of junk food, alcohol and tobacco.

This effort gives Black business owners and other small business owners in the Bayview a fighting chance to change their business models to accurately reflect the community’s new ways of thinking in terms of food. The Healthy Retail Conversion program gives business owners an optimistic outlook in terms of their business’ prosperity in a new market. 

According to Scott Schaffer, business consultant with Sutti Associates, “Produce can generate just as much money as alcohol and tobacco, if not more. It’s all about the way you run your business.”