SF’s favorite worker-owned co-op grocery store is about to ring in its 50th anniversary, and the nutritional yeast will be flying at Rainbow Grocery’s 50th anniversary block party next Sunday in SoMa.

Mission Local had a report on Monday that tipped San Francisco off to the fact that Rainbow Grocery is celebrating its 50th anniversary next weekend. That outlet notes that “the co-op is planning a public block party Sunday, Aug 17, 2025, from noon to 6 pm” on the small alley Trainor Street between 13th and 14th streets.

SFist has long sang the praises of Rainbow Grocery, thanks to the excellent coffee selection and a cheese section that is non pareil. SF’s go-to grocery store for Dr Bronners soap and Tom’s of Maine toothpaste was also the first SF grocer to sell only cage-free eggs before that was cool. And it is, famously, a vegetarian store which does not even sell animal-based broths.

But there is much more to Rainbow Grocery’s history. It started in 1975 by followers of then-mystical figure Maharaji, who opened a storefront on 16th Street near Valencia, and used it as a food distribution arm of a foodie-slash-political movement of the day known as the People's Common Operating Warehouse of San Francisco. All of the employees were volunteers, though were paid a $50 stipend weekly.

Two of the volunteers eventually got paid, and eventually, all volunteers became employees. Meanwhile, the People's Common Operating Warehouse of San Francisco became embroiled in internal political fights, and got a rougher reputation because they hired so many formerly incarcerated people. Rainbow Grocery grew into its own independent business under a worker-owned co-op model where all employees have equal say, and the profits are split evenly among them.

In 1983, Rainbow Grocery moved to 15th and Mission streets. The new place eventually became so popular that it needed a bigger space, and in 1996, moved to its current Folsom and 14th Street home — a building which the co-op now owns.

And it’s kept that cult following for decades. The Examiner even reported in 2013 that music star Moby goes to Rainbow Grocery every time he’s in town.

“I have this weird habitual ritual that I have adhered to every time I go to San Francisco from 1990 or maybe even earlier, which is when I'm driving from the airport to my hotel, I always go to Rainbow Grocery,” Moby told the Examiner. “I love it because it is a gigantic workers' collective co-op health food store that could only exist in the Bay Area. I've always loved what that represents.”

The Rainbow Grocery 50th Anniversary Block Party is Sunday, August 17, from 12 noon - 6 pm on Trainor Street between 13th and 14th streets. Admission is free.

Related: Instacart Now Delivering Same-Day Rainbow Grocery [SFist]

Image: Rainbow Grocery via Yelp