Industry | Grocery Store |
---|---|
Founders | Glenn and Diane Yasuda |
Headquarters | Berkeley, California , United States |
Products | fruits and vegetables, groceries |
Website | Berkeley Bowl |
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]
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]