"Full-service grocery stores located in or near Palo Alto neighborhoods help reduce auto traffic and serve as important gathering places that contribute to a sense of community so valued in Palo Alto. Large, regional markets can't do that."

But we have made sure that there are no real "full service" grocery stores in Palo Alto. What we have are 20K square feet or smaller stores that cannot be considered to be "full service". Not only that, but many of these so-called "full service" groceries are overpriced when compared to shopping at larger places outside of PA.
And how many people actually walk to their grocery store--while some do, the majority drive. That is because if you are going shopping for your weekly groceries at a "full service" store in Palo Alto you have to drive to get everything home with you. In fact, because of the small size of PA "full service" grocery stores, many people have to go to more than one store, by car, in order to get everything they need.
Think PA will ever get the message that their whole "Walkable neighborhood" mantra is ridiculous and unfeasible, especially when any attempt to build a large grocery store in town is stifled by the PA Process (commissions (P&T, ARB) staffed with people who cannot do so they criticize endlessly people's work, NIMBYists and unsatisfiable neighbors). ANd the city council should also not be in the business of "protecting" small grocery stores like JJ&F--we have a free market system and we should let the consumers decide where they want to shop.

There is a huge problem with so called "full service grocery stores" in Palo Alto, they are not "full service".

Since all stores in PA including grocery stores are limited in size to 20,000 sq. ft. they cannot accommodate all the food items we have come to expect in a "full service" grocery store.

Like many South PA residents I grocery shop regularly in either Whole Foods or Safeway in Mountain View. Likewise many North Palo Alto residents shop at Safeway in Menlo Park. We drive to neighboring cities to grocery shop. Ironically, I can walk to Piazzas but it's too expensive to shop there on a regular basis, so I drive to MV.

I think more people would walk or bike to the grocery store if the stores were closer to where they live and the stores had a better selection. Currently, I bet that half the city is more than a 30 minute walk (round trip) from the nearest grocery store.

I agree with the previous posts that all the grocery stores near (or even not really near) me are not very good.

SAFEWAY in Menlo Park for me!

They hire the handicapped, donate to many causes, are sercie oriented, have wide slection, and good prices.

I can walk, but I don't due to price and selection -- Whole Foods, Ferrai, etc., SOS, Longs, WALGREEN'S, ACTUALLY Longs is very good for milk, ice cream, cereals, breads, sodas, lots of snacks, wine, etc., etc., so it is a quick in and out.

Why not let builders build, grocers do grocery stores they think people want? Why all this Iron Curtain Soviet style planning, that always is going to really get in right NEXT time?

JJ&F is all I need in a grocery store. It has excellent produce, a deli, excellent meat and fish, and dairy products. I don't need aisles and aisles of packaged foods. I can quickly find what I need in JJ&F, and I don't have to wander miles of aisles trying to find an item. JJ&F is "full service" for my needs.

JJ&F is wonderful, just the kind of family-owned business that makes Palo Alto unique.

Unfortunately, our fine city planners keep replacing the small family-owned grocery stores with Long's and Walgreen's. I've been here since 1985 and in that time we've lost the Co-Op, Midtown Market and John's Market, all replaced with Long's and Walgreen's.

I love Piazza's. I buy my fresh meat, fish and produce from Piazza's. I love their excellent selection of organic, varietal rice. Their butcher is fabulous. They do a great job with custom meat preps. They are walking distance from my home, so I am lucky that I can go there often. I have a friend who does all of her weekly shopping for a family of four there using two panniers and a backpack on her bike. Another friend uses her bike and a burley for her weekly shopping. She travels about two miles to the store...which is the about average distance for most Palo Altons to an in-town grocery. Occasionally, I ride to Mountain View for shopping.

Bicycles are a great option for shopping. You just have to rig your bike for it. A good bike shop can help you with that. They can make your bike into a really versatile transportation vehicle with a rack and good panniers quite inexpensively.

I'd love to have a farmer's market in south PA--Maybe Cubberley parking lot? It's mostly empty on weekend mornings.

I'm not sure if that would take take business from Piazza's or draw customers to them. It might be an interesting experiment.

We shop at Piazza's about twice a week and enjoy their produce, fresh meat and fish, and selection of other food items. Excellent store, friendly employees. I'm a disabled shopper with a blue card and find their handicap parking spots well located.

We were Co-op shoppers until Co-op decided to close. I don't believe the city had much to do with the Co-op closing, it just became uneconomical to keep it open.

I agree with the people who are happy with JJ&F, Piazzas, and the other stores in Palo Alto. The local Safeway, while smaller than the others, has good selection, a butcher counter, lots of nice fresh produce, including many organic items, at very reasonable prices. Getting a 'Safeway Club Card' is very easy; there is no charge, all they want is your phone number, and you get it instantly. This gives very large discounts on many items,including the organics and fresh meat and fish, and many other selected items.
It is a big mistake to engage in another PC with way to much office space and NO guaranted benefits. We have had far to many of those already and they have caused many problems, especilly parking in residential neighborhoods and general increases in congestion. There is really no advantage to the city to keep allowing more and more tall office buildings to be built.

My family has been going to JJ&F's for over 50 years, and I do not know what we would do without it. As a teenager, I love that JJ's has all that I could possibly need, but also keeps a community atmosphere. The employees are kind and remember your name, and the service and product is excellent. PLEASE do not go to the chain grocery stores to buy your food and stick with a store that has been servicing the PA community for years. Please stick with JJ&F's