Sprouts & Shutters: Two Markets Reflect San Leandro's Ethnic Shift

Two recent changes in the local grocery market lineup speak volumes about the changing demographics of San Leandro.

On the sad side, Porter's Market is about to close after decades of serving Washington Manor.

Owners Jim Barry, Billy Barry and Burt Vaugh told the San Leandro Times they wanted to retire and had been unable to find a buyer for the business.

The story was much the same when Mon Cafe, another Washington Manor favorite, shut earlier this year.

What's going on?

"As an old timer in San Leandro I have noticed changes coming for many years," former Mayor Tony Santos told Patch.

Santos sees the signs of renewal in the Marina Faire Shopping Center, near the intersection of Fairway and Doolittle Drives, where New Sang Chong market opened a few months ago .

Like Foodnet on western Lewelling Boulevard, New Song Chong has a distinctly Asian character in everything from merchandise to signage to staff.

It's all about demographics. A few lines from San Leandro's Wikipedia entry say it all:

San Leandro was an 86.4% white-non Hispanic community according to the 1970 census. The city's demographics began to diversify in the 1980s. By 2010, Asian-Americans had become a plurality population in San Leandro, with approximately one third of the population, with non-Hispanic Whites accounting for 27.1% of the population.

What other shop openings and closings have you noticed that reflect the city's population shifts? Share your thoughts in the comments.