Berkeley Bowl
IndustryGrocery Store
FoundersGlenn and Diane Yasuda
Headquarters
Berkeley, California
,
United States
Productsfruits and vegetables, groceries
WebsiteBerkeley Bowl
The Berkeley Bowl produce section.

Berkeley Bowl is an independent grocery store in Berkeley, California.[1] Founded by Glenn and Diane Yasuda,[2] it sells organic and natural products and is known for its extensive produce section. In 2008, the Los Angeles Times wrote that it was "[Berkeley]'s most popular grocery store" and "one of the nation's most renowned retailers of exotic fruits and vegetables."[3] It has two locations in the city.

The business name is a reference to the former bowling alley that became the store's first location.[1]

History

In 1977, Glenn and Diane Yasuda opened a small neighborhood market in a converted building that formerly housed a bowling alley at 2777 Shattuck Avenue.[4][5] By the late 1990s, it had outgrown the building, and in 1999 moved to a renovated Safeway at 2020 Oregon Street.[6] Labor organizers pushed to unionize the store's 250 employees in 2003, but after a series of disputes, the National Labor Relations Board accused the company of "pervasive and serious" labor issues that prevented a fair election.[6][7] The company reached a settlement recognizing the United Food and Commercial Workers as representatives of Berkeley Bowl workers, and paying but not reinstating two employees who claimed that they were unfairly fired.[7] A second location, Berkeley Bowl West, opened in 2009. The union was decertified after an employee vote in 2010.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 Tager, Sally (September 19, 1984). "Want 15 kinds of lettuce, 5 kinds of berries? Try the Berkeley Bowl". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved June 3, 2012.
  2. de Turenne, Veronique (June 16, 1999). "Bowling for Produce". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 3, 2012.
  3. Glionna, John M. (September 22, 2008). "Where the nuts are off the shelf". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 21, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  4. Batey, Eve (February 20, 2020). "Glenn Yasuda, Co-Founder of Famed Produce Mart Berkeley Bowl, Dies at 85". Eater SF. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  5. Wasman, Sharon (August 3, 2005). "You Think You've Got Tomatoes". The New York Times. Retrieved June 3, 2012.
  6. 1 2 Romney, Lee (October 30, 2003). "Labor Fight Seen as Un-Berkeley". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  7. 1 2 Raine, George (August 11, 2004). "Berkeley Bowl joins union after long fight". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  8. West, Jackson (June 26, 2010). "Berkeley Bowl Soon to Be Non-Union Again". NBC Bay Area. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
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