My Story

Black-and-white photograph of Chines American family with four children standing in a doorway that reads 1123 Grant Avenue, the site of the Ti Sun Hardware Company.
Darryl Dea, a middle-aged Chinese American man wearing an ochre hoodie, red and grey beanie, and green apron, stands next to his snack kiosk menu and smiles for the camera.

I’m a first-generation Chinese American from San Francisco, CA, born in the year of the Rabbit. The youngest of six children (and the only boy) I grew up watching my parents run their Chinatown-based hardware store—the Ti Sun Company—learning how to run a legacy retail operation and be your own boss.

Eventually I developed an interest in organics and sustainability, and created a public access TV program called Organic Renaissance, visiting with and interviewing community gardeners and organizations such as Friends of the Urban Forest and the SF Bike Coalition. I also took part in a gardening project on the rooftop of the Tenderloin YMCA where we grew vegetables and composted food from the Y’s cafeteria.

These experiences led me to join the now 50 year-old worker-owned natural foods cooperative, Other Avenues, located in the Outer Sunset. For almost 20 years I’ve been the lead produce buyer and current bread/pastry buyer, and have been extremely active in shifting the business towards greater sustainability practices, such as our acquisition of solar panels in 2015. As every worker at Other Avenues is also an owner I’ve gained a full suite of business and inventory management skills in a supportive and socially-conscious environment, serving a vibrant and evolving neighborhood.

Now that I’m nearing retirement age, I’m taking what I’ve learned about business ownership, operations, and sustainability and using them to create a small neighborhood business of my own with which I can continue to support my wonderful family and create community with my new Cow Hollow neighbors. I hope you’ll stop by and say hi.

Darryl Dea, proprietor