Message from Rainbow Grocery
Rainbow Grocery, located in SOMO, is a worker-run cooperative. Not only do we hope to make a difference by providing healthy food and products, we believe that through our successful business model for cooperative work we have put the ideals of sustainable living into practice. At Rainbow Grocery, we provide affordable vegetarian food products which have minimal negative impact ecologically and socially. We buy goods from local organic farmers, collectives, bakers, dairies and other local businesses whenever possible. We support Fair Trade which helps small-scale producers escape from the bargaining process of today's profit-ruling world economy. We offer many products in bulk, saving you money, allowing you to purchase the exact amount you want and eliminating wasteful packaging. We also have a large Bath & Body and Vitamin section.
Editorial by Citysearch
In ShortOpened in 1975 by eight dedicated individuals who wanted to provide a wholesome alternative to commercial stores, this co-op remains true to its populist roots. The main draw is its overflowing supply of organic and earth-friendly products. If you're on the prowl for big-name products or meat, though, you'll want to head elsewhere. Buyers are strict, maintaining an almost anarchist agenda, and they make sure only the good-for-you stuff hits the shelves. Prices are somewhat higher than at the supermarket chains, but you'll at least feel better knowing that you're treating yourself to the very best.
Key Points
- Organic and Sustainable
- Worker owned and Operated
- Vitamins and Supplements
The Inside Scoop
- Save Money - From seaweed to quinoa, the heart of Rainbow Grocery is its bulk bins, where you can buy as much (or as little) as you need.
Insider Pages Reviews for Rainbow Grocery
I love this place...this is the kind of store that when you enter you can feel and taste the organic food, also the costumer service is excellent- I didn't mention that there's a big parking lot!!!__love it!!!!
Posted 10/15/09 | Report Abuse
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I like getting my herbs for teas there and fresh fruits & veggies! I appreciate the customer service and the store is very clean and accessible. Parking is great! I've never been to a store to big in my life.
Posted 10/11/09 | Report Abuse
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I was visiting my brother in San Francisco last summer. He decided he needed to get a few things at Rainbow Grocery. I couldn't believe the size of this place. The co-op that I shop in in Traverse City, Michigan could fit in one corner of this place. I could have spent hours looking around. Unfortunately I could buy very little because I was flying home the next day. What a treasure to have in your city.
Posted 10/16/08 | Report Abuse
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I come over from Berkeley just to shop at Rainbow.It's an amazing store,nothing else like it!You know your $ aren't going to some corporate conglomerate either as it's a cooperative.I think it's the most complete store for anyone who wants a healthy informed lifestyle from top to bottom. Oh,the cheese and bulk sections,so great!I wish there was one in Berkeley...
Posted 09/17/08 | Report Abuse
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Like most organic food you have to pay the price to get the quality Food is good and fresh and plentiful. I at least can get the organic fruits and feel good about what I am eating. The apple a day will truly keep the doctor away.
Posted 03/04/08 | Report Abuse
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This store is excellent for the dedicated green customer or the new to the organics type novice. Incredible prices and extremely helpful staff, I love going there.
Posted 12/23/07 | Report Abuse
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This store is strictly veggies and fresh veggies and herbs. No meat department here. ALl the fruits and vegetables are organic and locally grown. Lots of vitamins too.
Posted 10/06/06 | Report Abuse
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This store is amazing. They have a great selections of organic veggies as well as health food items. This store is a coop. The workers here are also wonderful they know their stuff. The also carry a variety of vitamins. You can find any of vitamins here. The prices are higher than your usual grocery stores but worth it if your into organic food and health food stuff.
Posted 09/29/06 | Report Abuse
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this is my favorite place to buy groceries. Everything imaginable that's healthy and organic is available, much of it in bulk bins. My sister-in-law needed dried rosebuds, and Rainbow had them! I looked high and low for malt powder to add to milk shakes, and Rainbow had it in stock! The cheese selection is awesome, and they have an unbeatable selection of soy smoothies that the chains don't carry. Do you need quinoa or amaranth grains? Do you need organic whole-wheat pastry flour?
Posted 11/29/05 | Report Abuse
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Rainbow Grocery Co is one of the best places in the city for a vegtarian or for those of us like me who sometimes want to be a vegetarian for a day. Everything that is sold is so healthy and fresh. The produce is absolutely amazing. So clean and fresh that you just want to bite into them while walking the isles. The people are very very friendly, always having your best interest. Also I really like the cheese collection that they offer. You can almost find anything. Its a wonderful place to shop!!
Posted 11/17/05 | Report Abuse
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Rainbow Grocery is wonderful. They have so many organic products and they don't carry any meat products, which is helpful to vegetarians. They also have a great selection of vitamins and alternative medicines, and their staff is very knowledgable about those items. They're also not snooty or snobby like some of those other organic grocers.
PROS: great products, socially conscious
CONS: sometimes there's a wait for parking
Posted 11/16/05 | Report Abuse
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I no longer live in SF, but when I'm up there on a road trip I always try to make it to Rainbow Grocery to stock up on spices, rice, and such.
You cannot beat their prices and quality on an array of spices and herbs - all sold in bulk, you can place in their little baggies, but you'll need jars at home.
They also have many teas, grains, cereals, and even chocolate chips - all for much less than most grocery stores. In addition, bring your own bottle and fill up on cooking oils.
To top it off they've got a really good little cheese section where you can usually flag down one of their folks if you need a little advice.
I had a different produce place while I was living there, so I didn't buy there's (but it looked very good, if pricey). I am also not a big consumer of diet / nutritional remedy stuff, but there was lots of it.
PROS: Herb, Spice, Other Bulk Prices
CONS: No Meat; Small Parking - Try your bike or park on streets
Posted 09/30/05 | Report Abuse
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This place has an extensive inventory and the prices are, I think, the best in the Bay Area for vitamins, organic foods, all those great skin care products, etc. The produce section isn't as nice to look at as some, but the prices can't be beat. I buy a cannister of a food suppliment that is a full five dollars less at Rainbow than at Whole Foods, for the very same product.
Posted 09/01/05 | Report Abuse
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The Rainbow Grocery Cooperative is a fresh alternative to the supermarket chains that plague the city, like Safeway and Albertsons. They have great food, great products, and what is more, at really affordable prices. Youre not going to beat the intensely low prices of a Safeway or an Albertsons, but you can be sure that your money is going to a MUCH better place.
Posted 08/16/05 | Report Abuse
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I visited Rainbow Grocery for the first time about a year ago when I first turned vegetarian, and although I did not buy much the first time around, as I was just looking around, I loved the place right away. This summer, after coming back to San Francisco from San Jose (where I have been living for the past year), I started visiting Rainbow Grocery again. It has quickly become my favorite grocery store. Organic items, vegan- and vegetarian-friendly products, cheap to moderately-priced products, great service, and so much more awaits you at Rainbow Grocery. The prices at Rainbow Grocery even beats many other grocery chains, such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, and Rainbow's service and selective is so much better.
Posted 08/14/05 | Report Abuse
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Rainbow Grocery has one of the best selections I've seen. Being a vegetarian I'm always frustrated by the tiny vegetarian or organic sections that most grocery stores have. It's so nice to find a place that really caters to my needs. They have so many items that you can't find elsewhere. The people working there are really friendly and helpful. Just an awesome grocery store!
Posted 07/28/05 | Report Abuse
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My baby just started eating solids and we decided we start with natural and organics food. They have wide varities of what we needed. Although a little pricey, but that's what we have expected anyways.
Posted 07/22/05 | Report Abuse
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Rainbow Grocery Co is one of the best places in the city for a vegtarian or for those of us like me who sometimes want to be a vegetarian for a day. Everything that is sold is so healthy and fresh. the produce is absolutely amazing. So clean and fresh that you just want to bite into them while walking the isles. The people are very very friendly, always having your best interest. Also I really like the cheese collection that they offer. You can almost find anything. Its a wonderful place to shop!!1
Posted 07/18/05 | Report Abuse
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The top choice in San Francisco for natural food and products. Rainbow Grocery is a cooperative grocery and offers an incredible range of natural and organic foods and products. Whether you are searching for specialty foods or products or just doing your day to day shopping, Rainbow is the place to go for everthing. Their binned selections are fresh with a high turnover rate, ensuring that you will never suffer stale or old beans or grains. their produce is top quality and affordable. Do not miss this great resource!
PROS: price, selection, service
CONS: location
Posted 06/22/05 | Report Abuse
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Co-operatively owned and operated this grocer specializes in organic and vegetarian food. They stock delicious locally made baked goods and locally grown oeganic produce. Everything is fresh and fairly priced, especially bulk goods. They do not accomdate meat-eaters, so it may not be for every one.
PROS: Fresh. Organic.
CONS:
Posted 06/20/05 | Report Abuse
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Raibow co-op rocks for those of us who are vegetarian, and love good food. Not only do the workers own stakes in the store, they also love what they do. I once knew the cheese guy, and he was THE cheese guy. He would go on business trips looking for the best quality cheese possible. The produce is all organic (big plus), and they have a huge selection of alternative health suppliments and remedies. And they have a community-minded focus.
PROS: Yeay Veggies: great selection of non-meat foods
CONS:
Posted 06/16/05 | Report Abuse
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If you ever wanted to choose between 5 different types of politically correct, animal rights concious, kinds of eggs, this is the place for you. This store is a worker owned and operated cooperative that is chock full of organic politically correct products that are natural, enviromentally concious, and often vegetarian. They have bulk food, shampoo, and teas in bins, which I really like. They also have an extensive selection of bulk olives. In addition they offer a wide range of natural health and wellness products, like licorice toothpaste and essential oils. If you ask the staff why they don't carry your favorite such and such product, they'll give you the whole entertaining, informative spiel on the particular enviromental-animal-and workers-rights issues your particular product has failed to meet satisfactorally. All in all, it's a great place to experience the granola side of San Francisco presented in a clean,high priced, Yuppie way.
Posted 02/23/05 | Report Abuse
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Latest reviews from Citysearch.
Un-Happy Hippies
by martinsten
I love the food at Rainbow. But do the workers have to take themselves so seriously? I have yet to check out and bag my own groceries at Rainbow without any attitude from the staff. Attitude for what, I wonder? They are not the only ones doing great groceries. There is just an unhappy vibe there, and it's a shame, because I would patronize often sans the attitude.
Posted 07/18/07
Best Grocery Store in America
by sky679
I thank the heavens above every time I walk into this place that I live close enough for it to be my grocery store. The bulk section is fantastic, the organic produce is outstanding, the pre-made food is delicious, and the people just rock. Plus the soundtrack is always good. They could be playing anything from Jay-Z to Journey at any given time, which makes shopping there even more fun. I've been going religiously two or three times a week since I moved here 5 years ago and I'll go for as long as they are open!
Pros: Everything
Cons: Sometimes have to wait to park
Posted 11/01/06
Overwhelmingly wonderful
by chacha1847
Rainbow Grocery is what every independent health food store wants to be when it grows up. The selection of bulk items is just unparalleled, and so terrific if you only need a little bit of something. The body care section carries everything you'd ever need, including things like shampoo and bath salts in bulk. It's also the only place to go if you're vegan; they have a vegan version of pretty much every non-vegan food there is (including dog food). The prices are a little more than Trader Joe's, but much less than Whole Foods. They have a lot of discount programs as well, for everything from bringing your own grocery bags to case discounts and vitamin discounts.
Pros: Selection, price
Cons: Parking is sometimes tricky
Posted 06/08/06
Actually, Much Cheaper Than Most Groceries
by genejackson
I think it's a myth that Rainbow is more expensive. I have noticed that their stuff is MUCH cheaper than Whole Foods, Adronico's and even Safeway. They just tend to have some higher-end items that can be costly (but SO worth it, this foodie can tell you). I won't shop anywhere else anymore because I know that I can find anything I need at Rainbow (except meat, of course, but they do have the largest selection of fake meat I've ever seen). If you can find a worker who loves to chat about food, you can find some great recommendations and products you wouldn't normally pick up. Go mid-week and avoid the crowds.
Pros: Price, Selection, Quality of Food
Cons: On Only 1 Bus Line, Crowded on Weekends
Posted 10/15/05
Rainbow has what you need
by SRosenbaum
Whatever you need, you can find it at Rainbow. Of course, you won't find bacon or PopTarts here at this health-food emporium, but you will find fresh burdock root, an amazing selection of herbs and spices, an awesome cheese selection that's super-fresh and very gourmet, and lots of useful and pretty cookware and tableware. Their body-care section is a great place for last-minute gifts--great soaps and lotions.
Posted 05/30/02