Chris McGarry

A successful corporate, real estate and land use legal practice unwittingly led Chris McGarry to what became a lifelong passion for the food business.  Eschewing the law in favor of a more than 25-year executive leadership career in the food, food retailing and supply chain industries, Chris acquired a profound and abiding respect for the power of people and community, the significance of food as a platform for social congress and community, and the importance of meeting the needs of local neighborhoods through access to food and an alluring, authentic and entertaining food experience.  These principles guided Chris in building a successful career in transforming supermarkets and other organizations, most recently as Chief Executive Officer of Save Mart Supermarkets, Northern California’s largest regional grocery chain featuring such diverse banners as Save Mart, Lucky California and FoodMaxx.

Seizing upon Save Mart’s rich history, Chris demonstrated that a company could be successful by playing to its strengths, by being true to itself, and by approaching its work with humility and with an unfailing respect for its workers, its local vendors and all members of the communities it served.  Chris showed that the goodwill and success of the company could be leveraged to provide all shoppers access to healthy food options through Save Mart’s value-focused FoodMaxx banner and through rigorous engagement with food banks throughout the State including the Bay Area.  Chris accomplished all of this while promoting a diverse executive and operational culture, as evidenced by the company’s first-ever inclusion among the Forbes “Best Employers for Women” recognition in 2020.  

In addition to leading a company to responsible and productive corporate citizenship, Chris has devoted his spare time supporting the education and development of underserved children and families through Board leadership on such organizations as New York City’s St. James School (a Catholic school that provides tuition-free education to lower-income families) and The Jersey City Child Development Centers, Inc. (commonly known as the “Head Start”  family development program that provides basic needs of individual children and families). 

Chris and the rest of the team have been drawn to this project because of its promise to reinvigorate the commercial fishing industry at the wharf, to celebrate and promote the history of this vital part of the city, and to provide San Franciscans an authentic, local, inclusive and distinctively entertaining reason to come back to the wharf.