San Francisco is losing another grocery store, and if you live in the Western Addition or NoPa, you already feel the sting.

The Lucky supermarket on Fulton Street is closing its doors on September 11, leaving yet another hole in the city's already-thinning grocery landscape. For residents who relied on the store — especially those who shifted there after the Safeway on Webster shuttered — this isn't just an inconvenience. It's a genuine quality-of-life hit.

As one SF resident put it: this was their go-to store since the Webster Safeway closed because it was "still in decent walking distance. Now it's really going to be tough."

Tough is an understatement. We talk a lot in this city about "food access" and "equity" and making sure neighborhoods aren't underserved. But when a full-service grocery store disappears and nothing replaces it, those are just words on a supervisor's press release. People need places to buy food. Preferably ones they can walk to without crossing half the city.

Meanwhile, over in the Marina, the rebuilt Safeway is apparently looking — dare we say — pretty cool. Good for the Marina. Genuinely. A modern, functional grocery store is something every neighborhood deserves. But the contrast is hard to ignore: one neighborhood gets a shiny renovation while another watches its last convenient option pack up and leave.

This is what happens when the cost of doing business in San Francisco becomes untenable. Between retail theft, sky-high commercial rents, regulatory headaches, and a city government more interested in passing resolutions than reducing the tax and compliance burden on businesses, stores close. They don't get replaced. And regular people — the ones who can't just order everything from Instacart — pay the price.

City Hall loves to talk about supporting neighborhoods. Here's a thought: maybe start by making it possible for a grocery store to actually survive in one. Cut the red tape. Streamline permitting. Stop treating every business like a revenue target. Because right now, the market is sending a clear message — and it's heading for the exit.