Today we’d like to introduce you to Ariana Rehmet.
Ariana, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Founded in 1971, O.B. People’s Co-op was an O.G. trailblazer in the organic, non-go movement. The store’s commitment to wellness via access to healthy, whole foods; coupled strongly with its commitment to cruelty-free products created the unique and wonderful organization that is O.B. People’s Organic Market and to this day remains 1 of 2 fully vegetarian grocers in the United States.
Ocean Beach People’s Organic Food Market was born as a small neighborhood buying club in 1971. The people who nurtured its growth were activists in a local movement to create alternatives to established institutions, including grocery stores. Their dream was a store that provided healthy, non-polluting, cruelty-free foods at a fair price, and a store that belongs to the community it serves. A year later, on August 19, 1972, we set up our fast-growing enterprise in an apartment storefront at 4859 Voltaire Street. Customers looked for perishable foods in the refrigerator (where else!) and added up their own purchases for the cashier.
1973 brought a very big step: O.B. People moved up the street to a former pool and dance hall. It took a lot of work just to get the building ready. Gradually, the new store filled up with products and fixtures. The store’s reputation grew too. O.B. People became known as a truly people-oriented store with a unique selection of foods and uncompromising standards for quality. For the first fourteen years, People had operated as a worker’s collective. Then, in 1985, the workers decided that since O.B. People had always been a community store, it only made sense that it become a food cooperative.
The years 2001 and 2002 found us remodeling yet again. This time, however, the Co-op moved into a whole new building. We are staying on the same site that we have occupied since 1973, but designed and constructed a new sustainable building to meet the stores growing needs and serve as a model of conscious construction. The new building was completed in the summer of 2002 and O.B. People’s, our very own community-owned Co-op, began a new chapter for the new millennium.
This year we will celebrate our 50th Birthday, half a century of service to the Ocean Beach Community.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As our history will show, we’ve had to scale and adapt to the changing needs of the community. 2020 presented us and the world with COVID, we had to weather and adapted in real-time. I am proud to say that co-op’s employees and the community pulled together, and we were able to weather the storm as a community.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My background is in finance and marketing. When the opportunity to work with People presented itself, I was thrilled to be part of the team charged with continuing its legacy.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
You can’t beat the weather here! I love being out and about around the city, I wish parking was better.
Contact Info:
- Email: pr@obpeoplefood.coop
- Website: https://www.obpeoplesfood.coop/
- Instagram: @obpeoplesorganicfoodmarket
Image Credits
Ariana Rehmet
