Less than three years after it opened its doors, the Lucky grocery store in the Bayview District has announced it will soon close up shop. The announcement caught many customers and city leaders off guard.

Anthony Davenport has worked in the Bayview Hunters Point area for the last 34 years. In that time, he's seen a number of businesses come and go.

"I love this community, said Davenport. "I've been here a long time. The last thing I want to see is companies leaving."

The news of this Lucky grocery store closing on November 1 didn't catch Davenport by surprise.

"It's sad to me because I would utilize this spot almost every day just to get that little extra thing that I need to have for my lunch or my dinner," he said.

The store opened in October of 2022, with excited residents welcoming a major supermarket to the community after Walgreens decided to leave the same location. But Davenport feels Lucky was never fully invested in this location.

"I notice when I go in there very little staff," he said. "It is so minimal in there that was always concerning to me. I wondered how long it would last and it seems like they were set up to just kind of try something."

District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton just heard about the closure this week.

"This is a devastating blow to a community that thought we had a grocery store that was here to stay for a while," said Supervisor Walton.

He worked hard to bring Lucky here and says he's in talks with the parent company, Save Mart, to try to put a pause on the closure.

"We're going to fight to make sure this store remains," he said. "Again, we've been in this position before, and if, for some reason, Lucky does decide to leave, we're gonna fight like hell to make sure that we bring another grocery store into the plaza."

SaveMart sent a statement confirming the closure of the 3rd Street location but did not give a reason. It added that employees will be offered positions at nearby locations based on seniority and availability.

In 2019, the U.S. Department of Agriculture officially designated this area as a low-income, low-access food area, also known as a food desert. Some feel the city and county will need to get creative to bring a long-lasting solution to the community.

"Hopefully," said Davenport. "Hopefully, at some point, they can come back into the community and give us a real Safeway. Give us a real Lucky or even open up some kind of nonprofit grocery store that ain't looking to make money but is looking to serve the community."