What North Beach needs most is a Whole Foods grocery store, according to a new survey.

Dispirited by a storefront vacancy rate of more than 10 percent — double the district's 2015 rate — North Beach Neighbors, a 37-year-old community advocacy organization, asked 245 residents what they thought was missing from their neighborhood. (The population of North Beach is just over 18,000, so the survey sample size is small.)

The majority of respondents desired the same thing: a grocery store, specialty foods market or a food/market hall. Other survey options included childcare services, gyms, fast-casual restaurants, bars and coffee shops.

The most desired establishment among survey takers was Whole Foods Market, followed by the specialty grocery store Bi-Rite Market. Souvla, a fast-casual Greek restaurant founded in San Francisco, came in third.

The Whole Foods revelation is especially interesting given that the San Francisco Planning Commission recently blocked a proposal to build a Whole Foods 365 store in Russian Hill, just a few blocks from North Beach. The proposal was rejected because it did not include enough housing units. (You can read more about the four-year fight over the grocery store here.)

Survey respondents also seemed to contradict their lust for a Whole Foods later in the survey. When asked if they would support formula retail (chain stores and restaurants), only 28 percent said "yes." Seventy percent, however, said they would support formula retail if the business started in San Francisco.

Read Michelle Robertson's latest stories and send her news tips at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com.

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