Groceteria.com

In June 1987, two San Francisco, Calif. Safeway stores had condom vending machines. KRON-TV in San Francisco (Rita Cohen) prepared a news report about a vending machine. See: https://archive.org/details/DOPE044 The story begins around 36:14. There are lots of shots of the checkstands. The checkout clerks wore red vests. Big, bulky cash registers are seen. Balloons for sale near check stands. Beverage displays. Customers and Louie Gonzales of Safeway Stores are interviewed.

The store looks like a Marina from the interior ceiling, which then would narrow it down to the following possible locations:

- the flagship Market/Church store (false ceiling was added in the late 90s?)
- Marina Boulevard
- Mission/30th, Bernal Heights
- the current Grocery Outlet at Bayshore Boulevard in Visitacion Valley

The window layout is why I don't think it's the marina in the Bayview that has become FoodsCo (and that one according to Groceteria's list closed in 1986 as a Safeway).

I recall seeing pics of a marina that didn't make it to the 90s, was that the location at 690 Chestnut?

TheStranger wrote: ↑22 Jan 2026 04:06I recall seeing pics of a marina that didn't make it to the 90s, was that the location at 690 Chestnut?

Correct.

Also the location on 7th Avenue near Fulton in the Richmond was a marina variant without the "wing" extensions before it was replaced in the early 2000s.

Groceteria wrote: ↑22 Jan 2026 08:41

TheStranger wrote: ↑22 Jan 2026 04:06I recall seeing pics of a marina that didn't make it to the 90s, was that the location at 690 Chestnut?

Correct.

Also the location on 7th Avenue near Fulton in the Richmond was a marina variant without the "wing" extensions before it was replaced in the early 2000s.

I do remember getting to visit the old 7th Avenue building in the early 2000s as well (I remember it specifically for its 80s decor/wall text, similar to what the Chestnut Avenue store in South San Francisco has). When the replacement store was put in, the entrances now face into the lot, as opposed to parallel to it like before.

Are there any other clues in that news video as to hint which marina building it was?

From Herb Caen's column (24 June 1987):


Must be Market Street because Diamond Heights is not a marina. Plus it's likely they would have spotlighted the store closest to the Castro for a news story on condoms at that time. The Market Street store also was sort of a pseudo-marina anyway, having started out as a pylon store, which makes sense since this one looks a little "off-model."

No, this has to be the Diamond Heights store. Notice the lower ceiling over the check stands, and the air ducts, which match up with the appearance today. What doesn't match up today is the high pyramid-shaped ceiling in the main sales floor in the background, which can be mistaken for a Marina at first glance. That was obscured by a drop ceiling during the 2007 remodel. Look REAL closely during the first few seconds of the segment, and you can see that the lighting is perpendicular like this:
https://flickr.com/photos/voycall/49732 ... Yx-2iLDTAZ