โRichmond Buzzโ is a recurring column on changes, tidbits and other news from the Richmond. Check out our Richmond webpage for more.
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This weekโs Buzz is full of people making the most of the space they have. The Richmond is clearly abuzz, and business owners are finding ways to maximize square footage. Maybe this is nothing new, but itโs worth noting: many of the business owners below have set out to make their storefronts as versatile as possible.
After a few months vacant, the old Lamps Plus store at 4700 Geary Blvd. and 11th Avenue has a new tenant: staging company Awhile has taken over the place to use as a storage facility.ย
But thatโs not all: Awhileโs manager, Erin Thomas, showed your correspondent inside the warehouse-like space, which right now is filled with shelves upon shelves of furniture, and an open office space up front.ย
The couple behind the company, Tim Herod and Alyssa Brandfass, plan on turning that office space into a โfront-facingโ area for co-working, pop-ups or events, and may install a cafe.ย
Awhileโs previous facility was in Bayview, but the company is a real Richmond District joint: Herod and Brandfass also run Wood Goods and Hot Sauce on Balboa Street, and Thomas runs Uncommon SF, also on Balboa. They all live in the neighborhood.
The details for the space are still being ironed out, and Thomas emphasized that there was no concrete plan quite yet, but the team there is looking to open around the end of the summer.
Blue Danube, the closest cafe Clement Street has to the one from โFriends,โ at 306 Clement St near Fourth Avenue, is expanding. The cafeโs owner Jimmy Hsu, whoโs owned the place for over two decades, and now owns a handful of businesses on Clement Street, said a broker approached him to occupy a space at 2942 Lyon St., right by the Lombard Street entrance to the Presidio .ย
Hsu said the concept for that outpost is โexactly the sameโ as the current one on Clement Street โ โmore modern,โ he added, โbut it will still have that throwback bohemian vibe.โ
Heโs hoping to open that new shop in June.
While reporting on the Richmond Buzz beat Wednesday, your correspondent happened to see State Sen. Scott Wiener at Blue Danube. Wiener was speaking at the cafe with the Westside Family Democratic Club and Grow the Richmond โ the neighborhood YIMBY group that advocates to increase the supply of housing.
As campaign season ramps up, our state senator appears to be rubbing elbows in our district supervisorโs territory!
A couple of more coffee chats โ not with Wiener himself, but organized by the Wiener campaign โ are on the docket this month, if that kind of thing is your cup of tea. On May 16th, head to the Bazaar Cafe for a chat on housing with YIMBY organizer Jane Natoli; on May 18th at Simple Pleasures, there will be a chat on transit with organizer Cyrus Hall.
Another vacant storefront on Geary will also soon open its doors under a new banner: 6101 Geary Blvd. at 25th Street, formerly the antique store Past Perfect, appears slated to open as Ascent Athletics, a strength training gym, according to the gymโs Instagram.
Construction was underway at the building this week, and though no timeline has been established, the space looks close to complete.
Hayes Valley-born bakery-cafe Loquat is coming for the Inner Richmond, at the site of the former Beanstalk Cafe at 4555 California St. and Eighth Avenue. This new outpost will serve the same Four Barrel coffee (produced by Loquatโs owners) and will have more breads on offer than the original on Gough Street. The owners there plan to open in winter 2027, according to a recent Instagram post.ย
When the Spanish Table at 130 Clement St. near Second Avenue shuttered, we reported that the future of the shop wasnโt certain, and that the chainโs other storefronts around the Bay Area were closing too.
It hasnโt looked good for Spanish Table since then.
But worry no more, dear seeker of Inner Richmond kitchenware stores with cafes inside: Kitchen Commons is coming to fill the space, and should be fully set up come fall. This new venture comes from Jeff Hanak of Liho Liho Yacht Club, and Connor Bruce, who has worked in the cityโs restaurant industry and also as a photographer.
Bruce and Hanak both live in the Richmond and had been mulling over opening a kitchenware store since last summer.
That this storefrontโs previous tenant occupied a similar (if more Iberian) niche was โsomewhat of a coincidence,โ Bruce said. Kitchen Commons will be a place unto its own.
Their goal with this project, set to open late summer, is to be a โneighborhood shop for the home cook,โ Bruce said. Theyโre currently researching kitchenware to sell from local and international suppliers โ โstuff thatโs well-madeโ โ and plan to host events like cookbook signings and cooking demos.
โThis is our community, and we want this shop to be a resource that serves the community,โ Bruce said.
In case the ubiquitous turquoise posters somehow havenโt entered your field of vision in the last couple of weeks, be advised: The Heart of the Richmond District night market series is back for another year, and will take place along Clement Street from 22nd Avenue to 25th. The first market is Saturday, May 16, and will take place on every third Saturday of the month through August.
This month, the festivities will extend down 23rd Avenue to Alamo Elementary School, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary that same day, May 16.ย
At both events (theyโre kind of the same event, really) expect local vendors, live music and, if itโs anything like last year, throngs of people.
The festivities on that stretch of outer Clement donโt end there. Hologram at 2512 Clement St., Snowbird Cafeโs more spacious sister north of the park, is well into its first month and plans to celebrate accordingly. Head to the bistro-cafe May 20 for an after-hours grand opening celebration. There will be food samples, vendors and DJ sets, according to Jules Agsalog, who works at Hologram and is planning the party.
The party will be โfamily friendly fun,โ she said.
