Sam Mogannam

Sam Mogannam worked at his family’s Bi-Rite Market in San Francisco as a kid and all through high school, then left the grocery business behind to become a chef. When he was just 23 he opened his first restaurant in the city, Rendezvous du Monde. The California-Mediterranean menu reflected what was available at the farmers market, and that concept proved to be a blueprint when Sam and his brother, Raphael, took over Bi-Rite in 1997. Back then, it was a basic bodega with metal grates over the windows, selling a bit of fresh produce, packaged food, cigarettes, and liquor.

“I re-envisioned it with a chef’s perspective,” Mogannam, 49, says. 

After eight months of renovation, which included adding a full kitchen, Bi-Rite reopened with a staff of six. The Mission District market was no longer just a neighborhood anchor; it soon became a destination for curated specialty items, and high-quality meat, poultry, and seafood. The prepared foods were restaurant quality, changing with the seasons.

Some of the ingredients came from a new rooftop garden, buzzing with beehives. A neighbor let them borrow her backyard to grow organic produce. Dabbling in farming became a serious business, with the family eventually acquiring three acres of land in Sonoma, 45 miles north of San Francisco. There, they harvest tomatoes, lettuce, hops, raspberries, squash, herbs, broccoli, kale, and beets, showcased alongside other local, organic farm products at Bi-Rite.

“The whole intent of the farm is to better understand the challenges of growing organically and for our staff to learn firsthand the values of being in the soil and communicating that to our guests,” Mogannam says. 

Additional advantages of working at Bi-Rite include employer-sponsored health insurance, a free meal with each shift, a 25 percent discount on groceries, a 401K plan, and profit-sharing program. Today, there are 320 employees spread out among the flagship market, a second Bi-Rite on Divisadero Street, the Sonoma farm, Bi-Rite Creamery Ice Cream & Baked Goods shop, and a catering division.

Then there’s 18 Reasons, a nonprofit, subsidized cooking school whose programming is designed to give consumers confidence to buy, cook, and eat good food every day. Outreach includes going to underserved neighborhoods—at schools, clinics, churches, and community centers—to teach basic nutrition and cooking to kids and teens as well as adults.

Through various programs, Mogannam and his team connect with roughly 6,000 students and community members per year. His days are so varied and rewarding, he says, “It’s hard to believe it’s work. Coming back to the family business is my hobby and my pleasure.”

Highlights

1940: Bi-Rite Market, a simple neighborhood grocer, opens in San Francisco’s Mission District.

1964: Brothers Ned (Sam’s father) and Jack Mogannam buy Bi-Rite.

1989: The brothers retire and sell the market, but retain ownership of the building.

1991: Sam Mogannam opens a seasonally-influenced bistro, Rendezvous du Monde, in San Francisco.

1997: Sam and Raphael Mogannam buy back Bi-Rite Market, gut the interior, and add a full kitchen.

1998: Reopens Bi-Rite, introducing a line of restaurant-quality prepared food plus meat, seafood, and specialty items; Sam closes Rendezvous du Monde.

2006: Opens Bi-Rite Creamery Ice Cream & Baked Goods, San Francisco’s first organic ice cream shop featuring Straus Family Creamery.

2008: Starts 18 Reasons, a nonprofit community cooking school; plants an organic farm in Sonoma.

2011: Publishes “Bi-Rite Market’s Eat Good Food: A Grocer’s Guide to Shopping, Cooking, and Creating Community through Food.”

2012: Publishes “Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones: 90 Recipes for Making Your Own Ice Cream and Frozen Treats from Bi-Rite Creamery.”

2013: Opens Bi-Rite Divisadero, the company’s second market; expands catering operation.

2015: Becomes a Certified B Corporation.

2018: Will open Bi-Rite Cafe in San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza.