“Bayview Buzz” is a recurring column on changes, tidbits and other news from Bayview. Got news? Send tips to marina@missionlocal.com.
SCRAP, the Bayview’s premier arts, crafts, and everything store will celebrate the grand opening of its new location at 141 Industrial St. from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, August 15th.
SCRAP’s new home will be permanent; it was purchased by SCRAP after the building’s previous owners, the Calvary Hill Community Church, went into foreclosure. Its old location at 2150 Newcomb Ave., which it once leased from the San Francisco Unified School District, will now be used by the district as its main kitchen hub.
The church will still occupy the building as tenants on its second floor, while SCRAP will occupy the ground floor, which will add nearly 19,000 square feet of space for its bookbinding and basket-making workshops and troves of treasures.
“This building is core to creating the foundation for San Francisco’s creative future. Permanence means consistency, for this generation of the San Francisco arts community and the next one after it, and the one after that” wrote Terry Kochanski, SCRAP’s Executive Director, in a statement.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie paid a quick visit to Bayview’s Third Street corridor last weekend.
According to Earl Shaddix, the director of the nonprofit Economic Development on Third Street, Lurie ordered breakfast from Chef Vanessa Lee’s Smoke Soul Kitchen and Lee showed the mayor several businesses that are set to open soon on Third Street.
Several have received grants from the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development, including Lee’s Chapter 3, a Black-owned bookstore inspired by Oakland’s Marcus Books.
“I was finishing up Bagelmania at Smoke Soul Kitchen, just chatting away with Vanessa when she said, ‘Oh, it’s the Mayor,’” wrote Shaddix. “It was quite a nice personal visit, and we greatly appreciated it.”
Gumbo Social is set to reopen on August 17 after a six-week-long summer closure.
Over the past three years since Gumbo Social opened on the corridor it’s grown quickly, and that’s come with some growing pains, wrote owner Dontaye Ball on the restaurant’s website. Gumbo Social has become “one of the most visible Black-owned businesses in the neighborhood,” wrote Ball, who has also taken ownership over City Hall’s Cafe Melange in March of this year.
“Either we pause for six weeks, or we risk closing in six months,” Ball continued. “We owe ourselves, our staff, and our guests a better experience, and the only way to do that is to take a step back and retool … We’re not stepping away from Gumbo Social, we’re making sure Gumbo Social is still here five, 10, and 20 years from now.”
A GoFundMe posted by Ball in July seeks to raise $7,000 to add a walk-up takeout window to Gumbo Social, which Ball says would allow the restaurant to continue serving food until 10 p.m. instead of closing at 6 p.m. So far, it’s gathered $1,700 in donations.
“We’ve been running hard and hot since the pandemic,” said Ball. Ball said he hasn’t taken a break since the restaurant opened, though he added that he likely worked more hours during the restaurant’s closure than he did while it was open.
Ball was able to install new equipment and is close to securing a takeout window and with it new, extended hours — hopefully by September, he said.
Monday is back to school in Bayview, and students and families are anxiously getting ready.
If you or someone you know needs school supplies, on Sunday, Aug. 15, the nonprofit Us4Us is hosting a backpack giveaway from 1 to 4:30 p.m. at the Southeast Community Center at 1550 Evans Ave. In addition to backpacks, parents can grab school supplies, get access to community resources, and children can enjoy activities and games before the school year begins.
Attendees must be registered and come with their child to receive a backpack, which are available for youth entering first through 12th grade.
Additionally, there are two family events this weekend for children and parents to relish in the last days of summer before the back-to-school season takes off.
The nonprofit All My Usos (“Usos” is the Samoan word for “brother”) is hosting its 11th annual Family Day Barbecue at Gilman Park at 903 Gilman Ave from 11 a.m to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 15. Families will also have access to school supplies in addition to games, face painting, a back-to-school haircut, and food.
On that same day, families can enjoy more games, art, and throw their name into a raffle during the annual Day on the Green at Potrero Hill Recreation Center at 801 Arkansas Street, also from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event is organized in partnership with the nonprofit Stand in Peace, which works with disenfranchised and low-income communities in Potrero Hill.
