San Francisco, CA - Mayor London N. Breed today swore in Janet Tarlov to serve on the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) Board of Directors. Tarlov was the founder and long-time owner of Canyon Market, a full-service natural foods grocery located in the Glen Park neighborhood. She was nominated to the Board by Mayor Breed in November last year.
Tarlov currently serves as the President of the Glen Park Merchants Association and formerly served as Vice President of the San Francisco Council of District Merchants Associations in 2022 and 2023.
“I’m proud to swear in Janet to serve on the SFMTA Board of Directors,” said Mayor Breed. “Our public transit agency will benefit from her experience as a small business owner and community leader. Running the beloved Canyon Market in Glen Park and working with merchants citywide has provided her with valuable insights regarding the work of SFMTA and how critical it is to supporting residents, workers, and small businesses.”
“Through the nominations and confirmation process, I have had the opportunity to meet with many people who care deeply about the mission of SFMTA--community leaders, who strive for access, safety and equity for riders, drivers, pedestrians and multimodal travelers and our elected officials, who doggedly advocate for their constituents’ needs and the function of San Francisco as a whole,” said Janet Tarlov. “I have been fortunate to hit the ground running with the help of my fellow board members and the many dedicated SFMTA staff members who have shared their time and expertise with me. Although the responsibility I have been asked to assume is formidable, I feel energized and optimistic as well as deeply humbled.”
Tarlov founded Canyon Market with her husband Richard in 2006. The Market is a busy natural foods grocery located in the heart of Glen Park offering award-winning prepared foods, organic produce, scratch-baked breads and pastries, a full-service butcher counter and catering. The Tarlovs ran the store for over 16 years until they sold it to Gus's Community Markets in 2022.
Tarlov’s contribution to the SFMTA Board will be informed by her experience running a business in Glen Park, a regional transit hub with a BART station, five MUNI bus lines, the J Church light rail and multiple corporate employee shuttles. Her employees at Canyon Market relied primarily on public transit to get to and from work.
Her work with the San Francisco Council of District Merchants Associations in the City has deepened her understanding of how many of our neighborhood business communities collaborate and communicate internally and how small business owners respond to the many challenges they face daily. The San Francisco Council of District Merchants Associations advocates for measures to improve the business climate in San Francisco.
“Fostering our City’s economic recovery and supporting small businesses are essential to SFTMA’s mission,” said Jeff Tumlin, Director of Transportation of the SFMTA. “Janet’s experience managing a market in one of our most compact neighborhood commercial districts means she can help us get the details right to improve street safety while also supporting business success.”
Tarlov was raised in Pennsylvania. Prior to opening Canyon Market, she managed procurement and distribution for a variety of independent food stores, working extensively in the world of farmstead cheese, representing makers and affineurs from the US and abroad. Tarlov is a graduate of Oberlin College, earning a bachelor’s degree in theater (perfect training for a career in retail service, she asserts). She is also a longtime volunteer for the San Francisco Arts Education Project and has served on its Board of Directors for the last six years. She currently lives in the Eureka Valley neighborhood of San Francisco.
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