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When you work at a local store, you become a celebrity. Therefore, it behooves you to be charming. Frank Chamberlain, who worked for 22 years at the Good Life Grocery<\/a> at 448 Cortland St., absolutely nailed the assignment. <\/p>\n When he died on Oct. 27, at age 67, his absence left a huge hole in Bernal Heights.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe didn\u2019t like anything, Frankie loved everything,\u201d said Samantha Zuvella, the owner of the neighborhood grocery store. \u201cHe loved people. He loved the Good Life Grocery. He made us his family. He made a lot of the people in this neighborhood his family.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Want the latest on the Mission and San Francisco? Sign up for our free daily newsletter below.<\/p>\n Those who knew Chamberlain can reel off those loves by memory: the House of Prime Rib<\/a>, the steak and mashed potatoes at Vega<\/a>, the blue suede smoothie at Progressive Grounds<\/a>, the soups at Moonlight Cafe<\/a>, the drinks at Wild Side West<\/a>, and the feeling of a long bike ride.<\/p>\n Chamberlain\u2019s dislikes were rare, but also passionate. \u201cHe didn\u2019t like veggie soups,\u201d said Shayne Hill-Zeck, an employee at Moonlight Cafe. Whenever Chamberlain opened the door to the cafe, Hill-Zeck recalled, and a veggie soup was on the menu, staff would yell \u201cLentils!\u201d as a warning, and\u00a0Chamberlain would make a hasty retreat. Also: smartphones. \u201cHe had an iPhone for one day and he hated it,\u201d said Zuvella. \u201cHe returned it the next day and got his flip phone back.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Customers, fellow coworkers and employees at nearby businesses described Chamberlain\u00a0as a force of kindness, friendship and compassion. He\u2019d dress up on Halloween and Easter and hand out candies to kids. He\u2019d buy a coffee, a sandwich, a smoothie, a drink, or a meal for coworkers. He would give customers samples like no one else could.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone\u2019s very sad,\u201d said Jocelyn Navarrete, an employee of nine years at the Good Life Grocery, \u201cA lot of customers have come up to us with teary eyes giving their condolences to the company. He was a big part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n It was not rare to encounter Chamberlain along the Cortland Avenue commercial corridor before and after his shifts \u2014 even though he lived downtown. One could find him having an after-work drink and playing Dolly Parton at the jukebox inside the Wild Side West, or having dinner at Vega, a restaurant he visited multiple times a week, sometimes alone, sometimes with friends.<\/p>\n Chamberlain, a former U.S. Marine and a proud veteran, grew up in the South with his two sisters \u2014 either Alabama or Oklahoma according to Zuvella. He moved to California, Stockton first, and headed with a friend to San Francisco in the 1980s.<\/p>\n On a recent Wednesday afternoon, Terry Casey, who met Chamberlain nearly 20 years ago, stood outside of the Good Life Grocery in front of a glass-covered bulletin board with Chamberlain\u2019s photo. Plastic flowers and candles adorned the image.<\/p>\n \u201cSome called him the mayor of Cortland Street. A lovely guy,\u201d said Casey. To the dogs of Bernal, Casey added, Chamberlain was also a legend. \u201cThere are owners who say that when their dogs walk by they turn in towards the store and bark because they think Frankie will come out and give them a treat.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cChildren loved him because he\u2019d give them candy,\u201d said Gustavo Lopez, as he contemplated Chamberlain\u2019s photo. \u201cHe\u2019d always put water out for dogs too.\u201d<\/p>\n Once, Casey said, she found herself $14.77 short at the register when buying groceries. As she was about to put items back, Chamberlain came running, took money out of his pocket, and made up the difference.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe didn\u2019t even know my name. He\u2019d just seen me lots of times,\u201d said Casey. \u201cI came running back that day to pay him back because I felt terrible. I was so grateful. He acted sort of surprised. He was like \u2018You could have just gotten it the next time you came.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe did that with me!\u201d Lopez said. \u201cI was a dollar short and he just said \u2018Pay me back.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Chamberlain\u2019s cause of death was unknown, but before he died he spent a month at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital in a coma. While Chamberlain was in the hospital, Good Life put out paper hearts for customers to send a message. <\/p>\n The result was overwhelming: About a thousand people wrote him notes \u2014\u00a0so many that they papered the walls of\u00a0 his hospital room. They now line the stairway leading to the employee\u2019s breakroom, and Zuvella\u2019s office.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was just so innocent, sweet, kind, gentle and pure,\u201d said Zuvella. \u201cHis kindness really just went everywhere, and it just spread everywhere. It touched strangers in ways that they remember from years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n Keep Mission Local free\u2014match your gift today!<\/p>\n We have a big year-end goal: $300,000 by Dec. 31. Thanks to generous donors, every dollar donated up to $76,500 will be doubled!<\/p>\n It’s more important than ever that everyone has access to news that reports, explains and keeps them informed. Paywalls don\u2019t serve anyone.\u00a0<\/p>\n Your support makes it possible for Mission Local\u2019s content to be forever free \u2014 for everyone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Love what you read? Love that it was free? Mission Local will never have a paywall. 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<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/frankie-1-480x640.jpg\")
The table inside of Vega where Frankie normally sat, pictured Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025. Photo by Oscar Palma.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_7044-853x640.jpeg\")
A small altar for Frankie Chamberlain outside of the Good Life Grocery, where he worked for 22 years, on Wednesday Nov. 19, 2025. Photo by Oscar Palma.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Frankie-2-480x640.jpg\")
Hundreds of paper hearts that customers and coworkers wrote for Frankie along the staircase leading to the employees break room at the Good Life Grocery on Wednesday Nov. 19, 2025. Photo by Oscar Palma.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Frankie-3-480x640.jpg\")
A photo of Frankie amongst hundreds of paper hearts customers and coworkers wrote in his honor, on Wednesday Nov. 19, 2025. Photo by Oscar Palma.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n