The Inner Sunset Continues its State of Flux
Also: Yo También! Cantina celebrates its 6th Anniversary this week!
It’s a strange time in the Inner Sunset right now. Things have a weird way of feeling both “Ok” (in that we’re not all stuck at home anymore) and “Not Ok” with many local businesses coming and going, often without a lot of warning. For me, it leads to a weird mix of optimism and dread I can’t quite explain.
We managed to get Arizmendi Bakery back after their closure to install a new oven, so that’s good. While we lost our favorite bank, First Republic, to the shenanigans of Silicon Valley, the space has been taken over by Angie Petit-Taylor, of the Sunset Mercantile events “empire” that runs the Inner Sunset Flea Market, the Outer Sunset Farmer’s Market, and most recently the North Beach Festival, among others.
While I miss the bank because of its excellent service (and cookies), it is nice to see this space being used for something good. Angie’s events are fun locally-oriented, and are well-run operations that make the events spaces work for everyone. I look forward to seeing what she does with the space. Already there’s been a community meeting about transforming the side of Cafe Rain Tree with a mural, and as a former resident of 8th Avenue I think this would be awesome.
About a week ago I took this photo of the taqueria’s changing of the guard, while walking home. This ended up being one of my more popular recent posts (proving once again that the most liked photos will be the ones that you took without thinking too much about it).
This came as a bit of a surprise. I used to live around the corner from La Fonda and probably went there at least once a week. Lately, however, I hadn’t, partially because I moved down the street, and partially due to a change in diet that didn’t allow for so many burritos, etc. Street Taco is fine - I’ve been to the one on Haight and liked it - but it was a bit of a shock to see this since I didn’t have the sense anything was changing (beyond a little remodeling inside the old La Fonda). I am glad that it at least remains a burrito place and not turned into a Boring Fly By Night Business, but it was just a bit of a surprise.
The same goes for the Jamba Juice on 9th and Irving, which closed. Official notices indicate that this was in fact an eviction, but it was not clear if this was a corporate-owned Jamba Juice or not. This wasn’t on my bingo card Either way there’s a new vacancy in a prime location - let’s hope something really good goes in, and not something expensive and dumb.
Word on the street is that the old Fresca space on Irving (across from Street Taco!) will become a Super Duper burger place. If we have to have a chain burger place, I’d rather it be a local one, vs. some obnoxious private equity-owned tentacle, but it would also be nice if we had businesses that aren’t all fast food too.
That said, there are plenty of signs that new things are coming to the neighborhood which give one a sense of optimism. Over at the space located 1235 9th Ave, Poorboy Coffee has been operating in startup mode and has recently shared the space with Turtle Island Sandwich Company, who are operating a pop up in the back through July. I haven’t had a sandwich from them yet, but it looks good.
Those Who Are In Charge should make it easier for these pop-ups to use vacant retail space in the interim until permanent tenants can be found. No one benefits from a vacant space that becomes a magnet for bad graffiti and worse.
People looking to start a new business get a chance to test out their operations and get customer feedback as they refine their plans. However, for this to work, the rents can’t be sky high, and landlords are going to have to bite the bullet in these weird unsettled times and try something new. This can end well for all.
The space way out on Taraval and 46th, which is now home to a new French restaurant people are really enjoying, was “vacant” for many years. However, during that time many pop-ups operated in that space, getting a chance to try out new ideas and bring variety to the area. (My favorite was the “Chicago Beef” sandwich pop up that had artisan White Castle style burgers).
This was a win/win for the area - a normally dormant space was activated while the landlord looked for a permanent tenant, and everyone got to enjoy some fun new things for lunch. Why aren’t we doing this more often?
Finally, I wanted to make sure everyone knows about Yo También! Cantina’s 6th Anniversary party this Saturday, June 29th from 11-7. YTC was a lifeline during the lockdown, and it’s been a nice bright happy place at the corner of 3rd and Hugo since it opened. They make wonderful food and really nice parklet in front that has been a wonderful addition to the area.
Last year I filmed a little footage from the party, and this year’s event promises to be even better. I will definitely stop by so perhaps I’ll see you there.
While working on this post I found this picture I took in 2018 when the cantina opened. Sometimes obsessively taking photos of minutiae can work out in your favor!
Thanks for reading and have a great week!
Also, the neighborhood's dogs and their humans are mourning the departure of Pet's Corner on 9th Avenue between Lincoln and Irving. The owner recently had a second child and with her toddler she just didn't feel like she could cope with wrangling two small humans while running the business. Understandable but saddening to many of us.