It’s the end of the year, but that doesn’t mean the Mission is letting up. New eateries come, old shops go, and proposals for new Mission homeless and addiction services were squeaked through just before 2023.
I got you.
Gola
Wondering what 2023 has in store for you? Perhaps some Tunisian and Mediterranean food.
Rafik Bouzidi confirmed to Mission Local that his new restaurant, Gola, will take over the Brew Coop space. The spot at 819 Valencia St. near 19th Street plans to be a sit-down restaurant with a full bar, and the possibility of late-night dining on weekends. Bouzidi said Gola would offer beer and wine, for now.
It’s not Bouzidi’s first attempt at running a food business, either. He owns Tunisian eateries Dar Fatma and La Marsa. The latter, on Geary Street, shuttered, but Bouzidi is looking for a new location for La Marsa.
According to La Marsa’s website, Bouzidi immigrated from Tunisia and started working in the food industry in Las Vegas, Nevada, and in San Francisco for two decades.
While Gola’s menu remains a surprise, it’s likely to reflect Bouzidi’s other menus. Bouzidi wanted to bring a taste of his culture once he immigrated, and came up with a La Marsa menu that mixes “Mediterranean sea flavors with the desert vibes” and is “topped with a sophisticated western touch.” It’s also hella spicy, thanks to harissa, a mix of spices that are characteristic of Tunisian cooking.
“The whole menu is people’s favorites,” Bouzidi told Mission Local.
At first, Gola was advertised with two Ls and spelled “Golla.” Bouzidi found folks often mispronounced the Tunisian word by sounding the double L’s as a “y” as one might do in Spanish.
Other than an explanation of its spelling, Bouzidi did not wish to share too much about his new endeavor, but said fans of his other establishments will likely be a fan of Gola. More information to come in the new year.
Boba Guys
The Mission location of Boba Guys is as closed up as the lid of a milk tea.
That’s right, closing the Mission store is the latest and, apparently, the final move in a recent battle between Mission Boba Guys employees and owners. The Mission store has been bleeding money for months, resulting in reduced hours this fall.
The San Francisco Chronicle broke the news, and owner Andrew Chau confirmed the closure to our own Yujie Zhou earlier this week. Thirteen other locations in the Bay Area remain, as well as shops in New York and Los Angeles.
In October, Zhou first wrote about how Boba Guys staff were fired after insulting their boss during a conversation that they purportedly did not know was being recorded. Staff alleged that, in actuality, the termination was intended to break up unionizing efforts.
Shortly after the incident, Boba Guys’ owners deactivated the workers’ Slack channel and shut the shop down for an indeterminate period. It was the boba shop’s first location. Later it was revealed that closure was permanent according to an email announcing the decision. In the same missive, owners announced the Newport Beach, California, location was shuttering, too, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
When former employees spoke to Zhou in October, they alleged their boss Chau said, “if Boba Guys closes, he can lose everything.”
I guess he was willing to risk it all.
Commercial condo on 20th Street
And a new business could soon be staring back at Shotwell’s Saloon.
Anyone familiar with the intersection at 20th and Shotwell streets knows that the commercial condo opposite the Shotwell watering hole has been advertised for sale for months. Finally, it sold, according to Touchstone Commercial Partners agent Jaron Eliopoulos. Eliopoulos confirmed the sale to Mission Local, but would not offer details without the owner’s permission.
Other businesses previously linked to the location include Balance in Motion P.T., Sweet Mustard, Pilates Done Differently, and Studio 20, according to city records.
I might just have to stake out Shotwell’s to get to the bottom of this. Bottom’s up!
More services proposed for Lower Mission
If you haven’t read my latest about the proposed tiny homes near 16th and Mission streets, you should. That, plus a proposed supervised drug consumption site nearby, may make that corridor laden with services in a matter of months.
The underutilized lot that will eventually become some 300 affordable homes, also known as the Marvel in the Mission, might welcome 60 shed-like structures meant as temporary homes for the neighborhood’s unhoused. Ronen plans to hold a public meeting in January, so keep your eyes peeled for that.
In addition, Ronen and other supervisors floated legislation to open supervised drug consumption sites, known as “wellness hubs,” this week at the Board of Supervisors. The proposal gained eight votes, enough to override Mayor Breed’s potential veto — though it doesn’t really matter, according to our Joe Eskenazi, who reported that the mayor can choose to use (or not use) the funds, regardless. If you’re paying attention, you might figure out that one of the proposed sites for a ‘wellness hub’ is at St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church on 15th Street, not too far from 16th and Mission.
Discussion of possible impacts on Marshall Elementary is already happening. Stay tuned.
Drug addicts want drugs not sheds. Meanwhile, there is no help for schizophrenics wandering the streets 24/7.
These services will “transform” the area around 16th into more of a disaster than it already is. I have yet to talk to anyone who wants a “tiny homes” village or a drug consumption site in the neighborhood. We have seen how these programs worked out at 33 Gough and the TL center, respectively. Ronen needs to listen to the residents and stop using the Mission as a dumping ground.
The real problem is that Hillary Ronen doesn’t even live in the Mission – she is safe up on Bernal Hill, leaving us poor working-class chumps to deal with the disasters created by her policies! We need to elect a supervisor who is actually *in touch* with the needs of the working-class people who live in the Mission.
agreed, with tiny homes at Gough street. The neighbor hood is oversaturated with Kindness for the housing insecure. lets call it for what it is.. an old fashioned property grab property attempt at below market rates.
Ronen is kidding right? We live across the street from the on-purpose dilapidated Walgreens complex. Building a third world shanty town there is not the answer to a problem the City has deep green $ pockets and for decades has not successfully solved the homeless problem. There had been a large encampment all along Capp street from 16th to the fence of the former Walgreens parking lot. This was less than 100 feet from Marshall elementary school. For months nearby residents called 311 and other city entities including contacting Ronen’s office. She did nothing until the day before school started at Marshall.
It took a KTVU news story showing the ‘open sewer’ of all kinds of filth and threats to the safety of small children, disabled, seniors who had to walk out off the blocked sidewalk into traffic, and local residents who experienced harassment, before ANYTHING was done.
I wouldn’t want my child to have to go by a shanty town even if it’s a small step up from encampments. Build the affordable housing projects already!! Use the money the City is pocketing to actually provide real comprehensive services for homelessness, and resolve the problem of not having much more case managed supportive housing with mental health/substance abuse treatment on demand that is permanent.
Ronen is so enthralled with building a shanty town; so what’s her address? Build her dream tiny homes adjacent to her. Her kids can daily see and experience the marvel . Affordable housing for all!