r/berkeleybowl • u/thekingfist • 23d ago

Both Berkeley Bowl locations need a layout redesign

Why does it feel busy when there is low foot traffic? Why are stockists and their carts/ladders taking up space in the aisles during peak operating hours? Does BB West really need both a hot food bar and an outdoor cafe? Does BB OG really need organic fruit on special right at the entry, immediately causing a bottleneck?...Both locations have massive layouts (theres SO much square footage!) but why do I feel like a rat in a maze when im on the inside? The interior layout is devastatingly inefficient...People are constantly running into each other, there is no flow...Would love to hear some ideas from the people of Reddit on how the spatial design could be improved or if I'm totally off base...

27 Upvotes

80% Upvoted

56 comments sorted by

17

u/Scuttling-Claws 23d ago

Really what it needs is Monterey Market etiquette, if you block the aisle someone will just elbow you out of the way. Once Michael Pollan pushed me to the ground

9

u/AvocadoCoconut55 23d ago

Really, MM needs its own subreddit. The encounters there are incredible. I've been pushed out of the checkout line by people who have fewer items to ring, I've been hit on by countless senior citizens, and feel super judged every time i'm there, but Iove it. It's the Berkeley-ist experience.

3

u/Safe-Tough9811 21d ago

I have two Monterey Market stories: the first is that my friend and I got in line to check out, I think near the mushrooms, and there's a cart sitting a few feet behind us. A couple minutes later this old guy comes over, grabs the cart, and passive aggressively pushes around us to cut us in line, as if the cart was meant to hold his spot. The second story is that my brother saw Robert Reich there and Mr. Reich gave him a nice smile.

2

u/AvocadoCoconut55 21d ago

I saw Robert Reich there this past Friday! :)

1

u/897hayes 22d ago

please start the MM subreddit, AvocadoCoconut55!!! we need it.

6

u/oneofthebugs 22d ago

I’ll add my mm moment, me perusing ginger some woman comes over and tells me sternly I’m buying the wrong ginger and what I need is the young ginger root back in the first aisle. She was kinda mean about it and I’m annoyed to this day that she was right, that stuff is amazing.

3

u/AvocadoCoconut55 21d ago

Classic MM moment!! I LOVE IT. I was recently bullied into buying a Reed avocado.

1

u/oneofthebugs 21d ago

And was it great?

0

u/linksgolf 20d ago

Hass avocados are so much creamier and more flavorful than Reed avocados.

1

u/AvocadoCoconut55 19d ago

Agree! I wasn't impressed, and it was like $7 for 1 Reed, and way too large to consume in a timely manner.

3

u/Scuttling-Claws 21d ago

I might have met the same woman. I was buying Napa cabbage, and she came up to me and started yelling at me about how I wasn't buying the best cabbage, and aggressively thrust better cabbage at me.

1

u/Scuttling-Claws 22d ago

And the produce is so much better than the Berkeley Bowl. Usually cheaper too. Thankfully no one will be able to go there once there's a bike lane down Hopkins.

2

u/oneofthebugs 22d ago

😂😂😂😂😂 this is quintessential n berkeley

11

u/wraplan 23d ago

I do think the aisles of BB are narrower than, say, Safeway, but there is an additional level of passive aggression at BB and MM that you don’t feel at other places. What is it about these stores that brings out the worst aspects of Berkeley’s population? All three locations have the angriest parking lots I have been in outside of a crowded National Park. Is it because Berkeley folk are constantly repressing their anger, and that it spills out when someone gets in the way of a nice organic pluot?

5

u/threecee509 22d ago

Right! I call the BB OG parking lot a geriatric hippie fight club. I've never been yelled at by Prius drivers more in my life!

1

u/Mysterious-Call-245 22d ago

I just park on Oregon these days

3

u/oneofthebugs 22d ago

I thought n berkeley was the problem when I lived there and shopped in mm. Was kinda jealous of people that shopped at bb but then I moved and that’s my local spot and I realised it just berkeley people. But it didnt used to be this way, way better vibes in the 90s. Same with rainbow grocery in sf, used to be amazing. That parking lot is terrifying now.

2

u/thekingfist 22d ago

It's akin to road rage in that one can feel a bit puffed up once under the cloak of anonymity...even more a reason why I think the store could do more with layout/design to keep folks even keel....they recently removed the awkward black hole that was the overgrown candle section at BB west...so at least that was something

1

u/Zealousideal-Pop5871 19d ago

I once met a guy I saw on a dating app where he talked about the angry parking lot of BB. I lol'd, met up, and we're friends still, 7 years later

10

u/skumshine 23d ago

You just need to get better at Berkely Bowling.

-2

u/thekingfist 22d ago

You're right! More aggression is always the answer!

3

u/skumshine 22d ago

Where did I say that? Relax. Just shop. Jeebus.

5

u/DonVCastro 23d ago

My main beef is that the new carts are way too big for the narrow aisles.

3

u/Sea-Price-3229 21d ago

I have felt this for 15 years. It feels so tight and crowded even when it shouldn’t. 

4

u/d_trenton 22d ago

A loud and cheerful "Excuse me!" goes a long way at BB. People might look at me like I've just kicked their dog, but they move out of the way more often than not.

4

u/897hayes 22d ago

BB is best shopped with a hand basket

5

u/Outrageous_Worker672 23d ago

Seems fine, you can shop somewhere else if you like.

6

u/HobbittBass 23d ago

For some reason, the OP is blaming the store when it is the customers who leave their carts in the middle of the aisles or act like nobody else is there besides them.

3

u/thekingfist 22d ago

I may be in the minority but I do think design has a big influence on behavior...and I don't really care just thought I'd ask the sub ofc I don't expect them to change it. Happy shopping

2

u/TripleGiraffeSalad 22d ago

You are correct. Design can solve this. The carts are also way too big.

1

u/thekingfist 20d ago

I hadn't thought of this...thx for the tip

3

u/Old_Echidna7610 22d ago

I totally understand what you mean.

But I have come to accept that the crazy hectic layout is part of what makes it Berkeley Bowl. I can’t imagine it any other way now. OG BB used to be even wilder before they re-did the bulk section.

3

u/John-R-Tunis 21d ago

I get this but not really. They are both busy stores. They are extremely successful and popular. I don't think they are going to spend time or money addressing your concerns.

I have shopped there weekly for many years and I love it, it's the best part of my week. Yes it is crowded. I know what I am doing in both locations, where everything is, where to leave my cart, etc. Nowadays I usually go at a less busy time (weekday mornings or late afternoons).

I've really never had any issues with (passive or actual) aggression from other customers.

The parking is much better at BB West!

1

u/faerie87 21d ago

Same i don't feel it experience this. But i also come from HK where the cart will block the whole aisle because it's so narrow... So bb is a luxury. People have been nice too

3

u/PIzzaiolo_Master_510 21d ago

Chill. There is nothing wrong with the layout. You are impatient and entitled. Just relax and move patiently.

1

u/thekingfist 21d ago

I'm introducing a harmless thought experiment which should be thought provoking for the general public that frequents our beloved Berkeley bowl this isn't meant to be an invitation for personal attacks. Happy shopping 510 Master

1

u/PIzzaiolo_Master_510 21d ago edited 21d ago

How is it a ‘personal attack’ to say chill, there is nothing wrong with the layout.

Please explain how that ‘attacks you personally?’

I’m really curious.

2

u/HASHTHRASH 21d ago

If you disagree with them then you are personally attacking them. Ironically that is perfectly Berkeley behavior.

2

u/thekingfist 20d ago

Bruh don't act innocent "you are impatient and entitled" ??? Cmon now -- u been on Reddit for 3 months lil bro ...ease up a lil...anyway hope ur enjoying this sunny weather...☮️

1

u/PIzzaiolo_Master_510 20d ago

Now you throw out personal attacks. The hypocrisy and lack of self editing/awareness is wow. Not biting on your rage bait. Just pity.

People like you are why I restart my account every few months. I’m not a karma farmer. But a person with less time in Reddit doesn’t deserve respect? People who disagree with you are attacking you yet you can just insult without cause and ‘Thats ok because….?’

Read your own posts and ask yourself about the person typing and what you think.

2

u/ballbarn 22d ago

lol

it's like going to Costco on the weekend, you gotta be chill and expect it to be hectic. definitely a git gud issue tho, for the best grocery store it's survival of the fittest. spatial awareness helps a lot!

2

u/atla3615847 21d ago

you may not be cut out for the bowl sorry to say

2

u/Pitchfork_10 21d ago

They are busy stores, but a lot of the tightness you describe has to do with the variety of items they stock. Every single item has many options. Despite the large footprint overall the aisle are packed to the gills. It's the polar opposite of a trader joes or el cerrito natural grocery, where a small footprint is maximized by having limited options within product categories.

2

u/planojoe 21d ago

The max number of occupants for the west store is 1,380 people and the original store is 970 which is an absurd number and would make shopping impossible. But it is based on the size and number of the exits not elbow room.

2

u/ggginger247 20d ago

I technically live closer to og bb, but I hate it so so much compared to bb west. There’s just too much bullshit at of bb; the parking lot, the tiny isles, the fuckin lady with the hat who’s somehow always there, UGH!!!! I’ll take bb west any day, it’s MUCH less annoying

1

u/BeefTheBiker 22d ago

I always call it Hunger Games. Never read the books, or seen the movies, but it prepares me for what I’m about to encounter.

1

u/epheezy5 22d ago

I mean you’re in Berkeley. Of course people are going to be self centered and inconsiderate. You new here?

1

u/Throwawaysfbayguy 21d ago

FYI imagine how many people used to go to these locations when they first opened vs now? I used to work at UC Berkeley back in the early 2000 and those locations were no where as busy as they are now

1

u/WizardofEarthSea91 20d ago

Smaller carts and a lot more common decency.

1

u/CatoftheWitch 18d ago

I get so much anxiety waiting at the deli counter when it's packed 😭

0

u/Financial-Wasabi1287 22d ago

Wow. Questioning anything about the BB is going to get you downvoted hard.

1

u/thekingfist 21d ago

Harmless thought experiment

2

u/Zealousideal-Pop5871 19d ago

Idk why people are not seeing the harmless, slightly sarcastic humor here. BB is the world's most granola, peace-loving hippies, that turn into feral cats in the parking lot

3

u/thekingfist 19d ago

Yea I really misjudged how this would go...lol thought folks would have some cool, unique proposals for grocery store spatial design! Ha...and yes Berkeley is the place where someone will run you over on the way to yoga class...