“Tenderloin Buzz” is a recurring update on changes, tidbits and other news from the Tenderloin. Got news? Send us tips at tips@missionlocal.com.
Just in time for Pride month, the Transgender District — known as the world’s first to be legally recognized — commissioned a big trans history mural spanning six archways of a garage at 64 Golden Gate Ave.
The colorful collaboration of multiple artists presents a different concept in each archway, including tributes to the founders of the district and a depiction of the 1966 Compton’s Cafeteria riot.
Four new shops in the Tenderloin are among 39 across the city getting over $3 million from the Office of Workforce and Economic Development to help launch new storefronts. The list is here.
A major recipient is Reggie and Maude’s, the upcoming bar and burger venture from the owners of Outta Sight Pizza, which will receive $100,000 to use for site improvements, permits, inventory and equipment.
If you want a taste of what they’ve got cooking up before their opening, Reggie and Maude’s is hosting a “good ol fashioned burger social” on Monday, June 29 at Jules, a Hayes Valley wine and pizza spot.
Another grant recipient is Inmy Chi, the owner of two Sunset District restaurants The Pots Hot Pot and Kogi Gogi, and partner at legacy Vietnamese restaurant Sai’s on Columbus Avenue. Chi is opening a fast casual noodle joint in the Tenderloin.
Reached by phone, Chi cheerily said she was busy and had to “run the show,” but manager Kevin Huang gave us the rundown: Tender Noodle will feature a brief, affordable menu of just four noodle soups. Customers can choose a base soup that will cost about $6.99, and add proteins or other toppings as they please.
“A really simple, simple menu,” said Huang, who hopes to open at 721 Larkin St. by July. “But definitely noodle soup.”
You may also be wondering what kind of soup; Chi runs a Korean BBQ joint, a Chinese hot pot, and Sai’s of course, is Vietnamese. The answer perhaps falls somewhere in the middle — Huang chuckled at the question. For now, just expect “Asian fusion.”
There is no shortage of restaurants in the Tenderloin, and retail options are limited, so Tender Hearts Thrift could bring a nice change of pace to the neighborhood.
Mission Local found little information about the store, but its owner Amran Alsiday is taking over the former Lisa for Hair location at 683 O’Farrell St., with the help of a $50,000 grant from the city.
Ruru Kitchen, owned by Ecuadorian industrial designer Francisco Bastidas, is also opening a brick-and-mortar cafe in the Tenderloin with the help of a $75,000 grant. You may know them for slinging breakfast burritos at 1 Bush Plaza, their pandemic pop-up Total Meltdown, or you may have picked up one of their acaí bowls or pressed juices at Outside Lands.
Now, this part coffeeshop, part “healthy bar,” is opening possibly by August at 448 Larkin St., the former location of Naan N Curry.
Bastidas is expanding on his food truck offerings of juice, acaí bowls, and breakfast burritos, to include morning coffees and mocktails in the afternoon and evening. The limited options to go out at night and be social and healthy without alcohol, he said, are “frustrating” — and mocktails are often pricey.
Ideally, his will cost under $10. Nighttime “nibbles” may also be on the menu; they’re still in the pre-prototyping phase.
