THE BEGINNING

Brothers Joe and Bill Cordano built the market located at 3639 18th Street, San Francisco, in 1940. They continued to operate the market until 1959, at which point they sold and built another store in the Bayview neighborhood.

Two immigrant brothers, Jack and Ned Mogannam, purchased the 18th Street market in 1964, and began the work of making Bi-Rite a reliable, friendly neighborhood corner store. With many neighbors living paycheck to paycheck, the Mogannam brothers would often extend them credit so they could always be able to get fresh, good food.

Sam Mogannam grew up helping his dad, Ned, and uncle Jack in the market every day. He tackled whatever needed to be done, from delivering groceries to the seniors in the neighborhood, to helping buy the produce at the Wholesale Produce Market, learning to carefully distinguish quality and flavor from price.

After years of working in the market, Sam Mogannam chose to pursue a different path after high school. Graduating from San Francisco City College’s Hotel and Restaurant Management program, Sam then cooked in Switzerland for a year before returning to the Bay Area to cook at Oakland’s Market Hall and eventually open his own restaurant, Rendezvous Du Monde, in 1991.

But in 1997, when Ned Mogannam flatly told Sam that “You’ll never have a family if you stay in the restaurant business,” Sam and his brother, Raph, agreed to take over the family business. As long as they could do it their way.

In June 1998, Bi-Rite Market was reinvented. Featuring a kitchen in the center of the store, Bi-Rite became a new type of grocery store, one that featured fresh, farm-direct foods that were freshly-cooked and served with the hospitality of a restaurant. On that opening day, Bi-Rite Market was staffed with an incredibly talented, passionate team of six.