Searchlight Market

Reading previous reviews maybe it was the owner I encountered but the older man that was there on my visit was so RUDE! I at the last minute had found exact change and he his body language and facial expression was not happy that I did. I should of just taken my money back and left. I will probably never come back again and neither should you!

this place is definitely the best out of the little markets in this area. They have a good selection of produce too and good variety of chocolate!

After reading some of these reviews I can’t help but write a review myself.
For a small business (corner store) they have a great selection of basics. Remember this isn’t suppose to be a super market — If you want low quality and a large variety go to Safeway.
As for customer service, they’re extremely nice and welcoming. Then again I do treat them with respect and kindness. If I can’t find something I ask nicely and they are incredibly helpful.
In fact, today I went in for tea and tissues because of a cold and the owner was caring enough to provide holistic suggestions on how to how to help a cold/​sore throat.
Thanks searchlight!

Although the prices are insanely marked up here (even relative to other corner stores), I have been a long-​time customer as it is in a convenient location and I like supporting the local small business. The employees here are generally very friendly but the owner is incredibly rude and treats customers poorly. Even for frequent customers who they recognize, the owner will insist on nickel-​and-​diming you $ 0.40 for the $ 10 minimum credit card fee after you are already paying a stupid premium on your drip coffee and soda. Frankly, I am tired of being nickel-​and-​dimed and treated poorly.
Do yourself a favor: walk down Hyde Street to Hyde & Pacific Liquors or walk down the Hill to Polk Street where you have many options including Wall Greens. I would recommend Polk & Green Produce Market /​Da Boys Deli – those guys are awesome and they make mean sandwiches.

Quality and variety varies greatly. They are not customer friendly as I and another customer arrived 5mins before they officially opened, the door was unlocked but when we went in to shop for a few items we were bruskly escorted out the door to wait until she could officially open. Being in the neighborhood it’s great to have them there but given a few more minutes there are many more options on Polk St. The lack of customer service makes me think twice about going to Searchlight vs Polk St.

INSANELY expensive. That is all.

I think the only good thing about this place is the nice people working there.
+ Employees
+ Relatively clean
— It’s expensive. Very expensive.
— They have very limited selection of items and are missing many basic things.
— Hard to find what you are looking for.
Since I am living 2 blocks away, I will be back but I just wish we had a higher quality corner market like Bi-​Rite.

Rude owner, overpriced, ridiculous credit card limit, terrible products, worst wine selection, the one store in the neighborhood I would like to see shut down. One star for being convenient.

Somehow every time I had to stop by here I feel suspicious eyes on my back, like they expect I would steel something. Weird. The only place in vicinity, so no other choice for last minute items. I wish they had better bread selection.

I like these guys a lot. It’s my local market for the summer. They need more organic stuff, but are super cool if you need to stash your bike while grabbing stuff.

Pros: very convenient location, wide variety of items.
Cons: limited hours, ridiculous prices.
Sometimes I don’t feel like getting in my car just because I’m out of half & half. That’s where a corner store comes in handy and when I don’t mind paying a little extra for the convenience. Unfortunately, I usually realize this as I’m making my morning coffee at 6am and this place doesn’t open until 7:30…
The store is bigger than it looks from the outside and is very well stocked. I think only once I couldn’t find something I was looking for (clausen pickles) but other times I have been pleasantly surprised. Buckwheat soba noodles?! Prosciutto?!
This isn’t a store where you do your grocery shopping (although I guess you could if you had to) but this place is pretty decent for the neighborhood corner store that it is. A-​ok.

Just lucked into this shop while walking around the neighborhood & man — what a treat of a store!
All kinds of basic groceries & this place is extremely well-​stocked for being so small. You’ll find the general, run-​of-​the-​mill staples to help tide you over until a big-​box grocery store run & for the convenience & selection, they’re A-​OK in my book
Wine, beer, cheese selection, boxed foods, pasta /​sauces, chips, as well as fresh produce & let me just say their grapefruits were EXCEPTIONALLY delish!
This is exactly what I envision when I think of a neighborhood corner store

Jam packed with many varieties of items.
We mostly go here for beer/​wine or the odd grocery item. They have lots of high end brands & some produce.
Sometimes I feel the employees can’t be bothered. They do take credit/​debit but I think there’s a minimum.

If you are in a bind and need a little fresh produce or beer this place is convenient so you don’t have to trek down the hill to Polk. However it’s so expensive that the extra blocks might be worth it.
My gatorade and can of soup came out to almost $ 8 the other day, which seemed near impossible to me. Also that $ 10 minimum for CC purchases gets me every time. BOO.
Two stars for having produce and a nice sausage selection, then one more for its nice location for those living near Searchlight.

This place is hands down THE WORST convenience store in San Francisco. I understand why small mom and pop shops have to mark up their prices but the prices here are absolutely outrageous relevant to similar stores.
Additionally, their $ 10 credit card minimum is not only obnoxious it’s illegal… The owner should be embarrassed.
I live on the block and will NEVER shop at this store again. There are plenty of reasonable stores just blocks away on Polk where I’ll be bringing my business. I encourage anyone else reading this post to do the same unless you enjoy getting ripped off.

Eh. Better corner markets out there. I only come here because I live on the block.
Prices are about 200% marked up; a fifth is $ 27…are you kidding me?!
Most regrettably and importantly, they have a $ 10 credit card minimum. As a Visa employee, this astounds me (as I happen to know this practice is illegal)
Over it. Go to Fisherman’s Wharf and shop to your heart’s content at Trader Joe’s instead.

If eating my cupcakes with beer is wrong… then I don’t wanna be right.
Big Ass Anchor Steam Beer ($ 3.59) THE PERFECT way to end any San Francisco trip…
…with baked goods and alcohol… ain’t life grand?

One of the employees in this store brings new meaning to the word stupidity. While I think it is unkind to insult the less intelligent, it is fine to berate the unintelligent and rude.
I was recently shopping in this store and I am forced to dock its only star. After ringing up approximately twenty five dollars in groceries, probably an apple and a box of cookies at this extortionist haunt, I noticed that I forgot to get milk. I quickly made my way to the back and grabbed a gallon of milk, when I was told by the idiot Searchlight that there was a ten dollar minimum for credit card transactions. I didn’t want anything else, so I asked him to make an exception considering I had just made a purchase.
He demurred and told me that he would have to ring my milk up for ten dollars, owing to their policy. I was not about to pay ten dollars for a carton of milk, so I again asked him to make an exception, considering that I am a frequent customer. Again, he refused.
Angry, I told him to refund my groceries that I had just purchased and rering the entire transaction. He refused to do this and told me that he did not know how to do that. Really Searchlight? He was clearly not that idiotic and merely being a jerk, so I insisted. He told me that I would have to return the next day to return the groceries and speak to the owner.
Heck no, I proclaimed. You can call the owner with dispatch. He called the owner, who told him to refund my groceries He was able to refund the transaction, which is odd considering he told me he didn’t know how to. What a quick learner!
I asked him to rering the transaction, I was hungry, and he looked at me with confusion. So much trouble to save five dollars and prove a point? While I will not detail the verbal exchange that took place between me and said idiot, I will say, that next time I will starve before shopping here. I now hike four blocks and over an enormous hill to get my convenient groceries to avoid patronizing this establishment.
Is everyone who works in this store devoid of the capacity for independent thought? Dictatorship of the proletariat. I think not. Marx was a fool. Look at the fate of the Soviet Union. Capitalism prevails, idiots can work at Searchlight.

Always friendly, always clean, and always has my favorite Ben and Jerry’s. It’s the go to store for all my last minute needs.
Fresh produce (limes) fresh packaged meats (bacon) and a good selection of booze, wine and champagne. Ice, presto logs, coffee, and a screwdriver. Cheerios.
These guys are pros.

This is what I would like my corner store to be.
After a million-​calorie feast at Ghirardelli Square, what better way to work off the energy than to climb Russian Hill? Along the way, as we became a little thirsty, we stopped in at the Searchlight Market. It was clean, spacious, and well lit. The clerk was courteous. In the back they had real champagnes (Veuve Clicquot, Jouet Perrier, Moet Chandon the original), Brianna’s salad dressings, Ceres fruit juices, coffee beans with a grinder, fresh vegetables, gummi bears, baguettes of bread, and much more.
Looking over the prices, I found them to be comparable to any supermarket, so I don’t know why some other reviewers had complaints about that. We were on Russian Hill, not the TL.
If I lived here, I wouldn’t bother to go down the hill to Safeway or Cala. This would be it.