Bayview baker Yvonne Hines was on the East Coast, dropping off her daughter at Brown University to pursue a Master’s Degree, when she received the news that someone had shattered the window of Yvonne’s Southern Sweets, her storefront at 5128 Third St.
“I felt violated and hurt,” said Hines, 61. “I’m just a little bakery, 400 square feet. The only thing that was in there was sugar, flour and butter.”
Hines first started selling baked goods like 7-Up cake, peach cobbler, and butter pecan cookies, from her home in 2003, to help cover the cost of childcare for her newborn daughter. Reviews were enthusiastic and, three years later, Hines opened up on Third Street.
Fortunately, said Hines, her community and friends came through. They boarded up her broken window, secured her business and spoke to the police on her behalf.
But Hines quickly found that the cost of repairing the window was beyond her current means. The break-in followed close on the heels of another crisis: In January, a fire at the building next door forced her to close down for repairs.
She finally managed to reopen on May 31 for Walk The Block SF, an event organized by SF Hip Hop to highlight community and small businesses in the Bayview.
Hines was excited at the prospect of meeting Mayor Daniel Lurie and perhaps adding a photo of him to her collection of mayors (Ed Lee, London Breed) that hangs next to her awards behind the cash register. Lurie not only stopped by, but raved about her sugar cookies.
Another person who was excited to see Yvonne’s Southern Sweets reopen was Kevin Epps, the executive editor of the San Francisco Bay View and the filmmaker behind “Straight Outta Hunters Point.”
“If you’re talking about a business to support, how about Yvone’s Cookies,” he said at the time. “And shout out to her and her daughter who just graduated and on her way to Brown University, straight out of Hunters Point.” Having been back in business for exactly one day, she promptly left for the east coast.
When she returned, Hines felt too emotional to even post about the June 6 break-in on social media. “I didn’t want to reopen the wound,” she said. But until she could afford the cost of a new window, Hines couldn’t reopen the store. It was weeks before she got up the nerve to ask for donations to help cover the cost of installing a new window, and a metal roll-up door to prevent future damage.
Hines is a resident of Bayview and has family ties spanning decades.
Her great grandparents first moved to Bayview from Houston in 1945 to work at the Hunters Point shipyard. Some of her award-winning dessert recipes were passed down from her great-grandmother, Vermell Hines.
“The reason I chose Bayview for my business is because I worship here, my great grandparents lived here and I live here,” said Hines.
Hines has appreciated the community’s support.
“You can see the sentiment in the community, young and old,” she said. “Some feel sorry for me, some say they’re praying for me, some are pissed off.”
Donations to help Yvonne’s Southern Sweets are being collected here.
Why isn’t Earl Shaddix of EDOT stepping up to help Yvonne and front the money? If she goes through the City vandalism grant program, she will have to wait for reimbursement, and God only knows how long that will take. Earl has plenty of money. through his City contracts, and Barbara Gratta and Kristin Houk are his board members: their businesses directly benefit from him. Why won’t he do the right thing and help Yvonne financially?