Community in need getting a food oasis as market comes to...

When Brahm Ahmadi received early renderings of Community Foods Market, he recoiled at the wood accents all over the interior.

“I was like, ‘No way. That’s the wrong price image,’” he said.

For the better part of a decade, Ahmadi has been carefully ironing out every detail for West Oakland’s first full-scale grocery store in decades, due to open in early May at 3105 San Pablo Ave. In a historically low-income neighborhood long considered a food desert, image matters. Now, after years of delays, Community Foods Market is nearly ready.

Nearby residents are excited for a lot of things: to finally walk to a grocery store, to have a central gathering place, to feel like West Oakland is in a revival. But there are some concerns about how the store might further gentrify the neighborhood, and whether it will be affordable enough to serve the people who need it most.

The latter is of utmost importance to Ahmadi, which is why he skipped wood accents, shades of green and other decor that might accidentally signal that Community Foods Market isn’t for everyone.

It’s also why he convened a community advisory council in 2012, which met monthly for four years, to discuss everything from products to services to workforce development. He started organizing in West Oakland in 2002 with the nonprofit People’s Grocery.

“Before you start committing to things, you want to make sure you have a real sounding board and are getting it right,” Ahmadi said.

While a Pak ’n Save sits in Emeryville less than a mile away, there isn’t a full-on grocery store in West Oakland itself — it’s mostly liquor stores and convenience stores, plus the small natural-foods shop Mandela Foods Cooperative.

Lifelong Oakland resident Philip Lang has family roots in West Oakland dating back to the 1940s. He’s noticed friend after friend leaving the neighborhood, no longer able to afford the rising rents. When he heard about West Oakland finally getting a real grocery store, he thought about those friends.

“If you were able to survive the tumultuous times, you get a grocery store. But if not, you’re probably living in another food desert,” he said.

Beyond groceries, neighbors expressed a strong desire for an all-day cafe with dinner service, live entertainment at night, community events and food that reflects the demographics of West Oakland: think gumbo and tamales.

“Everybody talks about food deserts,” said Carol Wyatt, who lives four blocks from the market. “This is bigger than that. This is about an anchor need in the community.

“Can you imagine any business coming into the community and the people starting it actually ask you what you think and what you want? That’s unheard of,” she continued. “It’s what grows neighborhoods and creates them.”

Ahmadi raised $15 million among federal grants, nonprofit lending and a direct public offering — there are currently 640 shareholders — for the 14,000-square-foot market. It covers all the basics: produce; meat; seafood; and a deli featuring made-to-order sandwiches, salads and grab-and-go items.

To handle the produce, Ahmadi brought on Bill Fujimoto, who worked as a manager at Berkeley’s Monterey Market for roughly 30 years. Because of the way Community Foods Market was funded, plus its relatively small size and its social enterprise ethos, it can keep prices low. A bunch of kale, for example, will cost $1.49 for organic and 99 cents for conventional — about half the price of many local stores.

On the mezzanine, nonprofits will provide free services to customers: Cooking Matters will offer cooking classes and store tours, while LifeLong Medical Care is expected to do health screenings and consultations.

Health is a key part of Community Foods Market’s mission, although it’s not a health-food store focused on trendy items like plant-based faux meats or shelf-stable probiotics. Ahmadi said West Oakland’s food-desert situation contributes to high rates of diet-related chronic disease, with nearly half of residents at an unhealthy weight.

For Ahmadi, the issue is also personal. Most of his grandparents died from heart disease. His mother had a quadruple bypass in her early 70s. He believes poor diet was a factor.

“It would be great to provide some opportunities for folks, so it’s not after an event that they’re trying to make changes,” he said.

A rewards program will incentivize shoppers to choose less-processed options in the central aisles.

“You’re not going to move them just into fruits, vegetables and protein — that’s never going to happen,” Ahmadi said. “But if you can move them away from the high-fructose-corn-syrup-added whatnot to a better-for-you option on that spectrum, that’s a big win.”

To help time-strapped shoppers figure out what to cook for dinner, the store will set up displays surrounding a complete dish, consisting of the recipe, nutritional information and every ingredient needed to cook it. Eventually, Ahmadi hopes to coordinate this program with free cooking classes and extra discounts when people buy all the ingredients at once.

David Peters, a West Oakland native who has lived in the neighborhood off and on for 40 years and bought shares in the market, is looking forward to walking to buy groceries and making the cafe his new weekend hangout. That said, he’s aware that it could further fuel gentrification in West Oakland.

“The market is going to make the neighborhood more desirable, and it’s going to push up prices and could lead to more displacement,” he said. “I think that’s the inevitable impact of having nice things.”

Peters remembers walking to a Safeway on San Pablo Avenue as a kid — it closed in the 1970s. Now, it feels like the neighborhood is coming full circle.

“It’s a symbol of rebirth,” he said. “People who have lived here a long time are pretty dang excited to get a market back.”

Janelle Bitker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: janelle.bitker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @janellebitker