It’s the type of sign the Bay Area needs right now. Taped to the counter of Le Beau Market in Nob Hill it reads:

Are you elderly or know of anyone who is and are afraid of going to the store?

We have a team of neighborhood volunteers ready to help with grocery delivery!

We are young and healthy and will take proper precautions.

- Your Nob Hill Neighbors

There’s a heart next to the final line, a phone number for people to call and a sign-up sheet with the names of two dozen young, healthy neighbors willing to deliver groceries for the elderly.

“We were here for the ‘89 earthquake, I remember what we represented to the community back then,” said Joseph Omran, who has owned and operated Le Beau for 35 years. “We had no power for a week, and outside of getting food to Marina Middle School where people were sheltered, we had to do what we could for people who didn’t have anything. That’s the last time I had to deal with a situation close to this. But [the coronavirus pandemic] is an animal of itself.”

Now, Omran is dedicated to protecting the most vulnerable from this latest unique crisis, particularly those over 65 years old.

“We have a lot of people on the hill that are in that age group,” he said. “I thought it would be a good idea to reach out to the community to help volunteer to get food and provisions for them. [Seniors are] coming in right now still, and I’m telling them, 'Look, you don’t have to be here.’”

The gesture is a powerful one.

Omran works in the store every day, as do his two sons. His wife is a senior, meaning he’s increasing both his and his family’s potential exposure to coronavirus every day. He currently only allows 20 people in the store at a time, requires everyone use hand sanitizer as they enter and, of course, “if you pick up a piece of produce you take that piece of produce.” He may lower the 20-person maximum, and also reduce hours to limit exposure for his staff, but it’s a delicate balance as he tries to remain a rock of the community he’s been so integral to for three and a half decades.

“Statistics are not in our favor,” Omran said. “I’m caught between needing to provide the community service that we are in need of right now with the safety of our staff and myself. I had a very sleepless night last night.”

But the response from the neighborhood — particularly as members of the community grapple with the shelter-in-place order from San Francisco Mayor London Breed — has helped Omran get what little sleep he has had this week.

“You know, we’ve got a great little community up there. We’re a tight-knit group. As desperate as it seems at times, there’s a core group that’s been there for a long time. We all know each other by name, they know the staff — a lot of small businesses have those relationships. We’re very fortunate our community has been so supportive to let us stay there for 35 years. I’m proud that the community has rallied around businesses like ours,” he says. “Some of the people who signed up to run groceries came by and just said, ‘I want you to know that whatever you need, let us know. We’re around, we’re working from home, we’re right down the street, across the street from you.’”

What groceries will be available when they do come by is anyone’s guess, according to Omran. Traffic to the store has sky-rocketed (he says sales are up 35%), and deliveries are trickling in from vendors as they adjust supply lines following recent panic buying.

“We don’t know exactly what we’re going to get until it gets here. Yesterday, our manager ordered 200 items, we got 40,” he said. “On Thursday we’re supposed to be getting 1,000 cases, but we might get 500 cases, we don’t know until then.”

Which makes things all the more complicated when a senior submits a grocery order to be delivered by a neighbor.

“That’s going to be the biggest problem — it’s a lot easier if they could call, but it’s so slammed we’ve had a hard time answering the phone.”

Omran, who is in the middle of receiving a dairy delivery when we chat, has turned to Nextdoor to post updates on deliveries, plus provide an email address for seniors to place orders and for young and healthy folks in the neighborhood to sign up to make deliveries.

“It’s easier than signs in the window,” he says.

But no less effective — he already has a handful of emails via Nextdoor from folks offering to help. Turns out whether they’re on the street or on the internet, there are plenty of San Franciscans out there looking to help.

Le Beau Market is located at 1263 Leavenworth St. in San Francisco's Nob Hill neighborhood. It's currently open 9 a.m.-9 p.m. but hours could change due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Grant Marek is the Editorial Director of SFGATE. Email: grant.marek@sfgate.com | Twitter: @grant_marek