Mission Buzz is a regular update on changes, tidbits and other news from the Mission’s commercial corridors. Got news? Send to tips at oscar.palma@missionlocal.com.
After being closed for nearly three months, Reem’s California at 2901 Mission St., at 25th Street, reopened last week. The restaurant closed on July 30 after a hit-and-run left structural damages amounting to $200,000.
Syrian-Palestinian chef Reem Assil started Reem’s over a decade ago when she was a member of La Cocina, the Mission-based small food business incubator. After years of selling at farmer’s markets and a physical location in Fruitvale, Reem’s opened at the storefront formerly occupied by Mission Pie just before the pandemic lockdown in 2020.
Despite the circumstances, the restaurant thrived. Assil went on to publish a cookbook, and opened a new location in Jack London Square in Oakland in June.
It’s been a year since KitKat, the beloved mascot of Randa’s Market, better known as the mayor of 16th Street, was run over by a Waymo in front of the store. The autonomous vehicle failed to detect the cat’s presence when it darted out from underneath the car as it drove away.
At the time of the incident, the company committed to making a donation to a local animal rights organization in his honor. When asked whether they had made this donation yet, a Waymo spokesperson said the company made a donation to the city’s SPCA shortly after the incident.
The representative did not say how much the company donated.
A spokesperson with the SPCA confirmed Waymo had made a donation.
KitKat’s killing angered many in the community, and it led District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder to call on state legislators to allow municipalities to ban autonomous vehicles within city limits.
The incident made international and national headlines. Today, an altar dedicated to KitKat remained outside of Randa’s Market at 3131 16th St., near Albion Street.
It’ll be a busy weekend with Halloween and Dia de los Muertos celebrations across the neighborhood.
Adults can celebrate at a parade starting at Mission Delirium on Friday evening, and on Saturday at a mobile dance party through the neighborhood. On Saturday from 5-9 p.m., children can enjoy candy and face painting at la Placita at 1 Lilac St., at 24th, with more treats and activities at businesses along the Calle 24 corridor.
Also on Saturday, the Mission Cultural Center for the Latino Arts, at 2868 Mission St., near 25th Street, which closed earlier this year, is holding a rummage sale of items that won’t be going into storage or the center’s archive as it prepares to move to a new location.
Treasure hunters will find everything from duplicate prints from the center’s printmaking studio, (which has been around since 1977), to office, program, and catering supplies. All sales benefit MCCLA. That’s on Oct. 31 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The annual Día de los Muertos celebration returns to Potrero del Sol Park on Monday, Nov. 2. This year’s theme is “Familia: Entre raíces y el Cielo” (Family: Between Roots and Heaven.)
The celebration will start at 10 a.m. with community altar-building on the park’s lawn. “Mercado de los Muertos,” with artisans, makers and food trucks along the park’s perimeter, opens at 4 p.m. alongside performances by Mariachi San Carlos.
A sunset blessing ceremony will follow at 5 p.m. and performances by Community Music Center and La Gente SF kick off at 7 p.m.
There will be large art displays around the park, including sections of the national AIDS memorial quilt and immersive art by local visual artist, Adrian Arias.
The Día de los Muertos procession through the Mission begins at 7 p.m., starting at Bryant and 22nd streets.
Community Music Center is organizing a concert this Sunday in celebration of Día de los Muertos.
All three bands are ensembles from the nonprofit. Coro de Camara will perform traditional music from Spain and Cuba; Coro Solera will perform traditional songs from Mexico and Argentina; Mariachi CMC will perform traditional mariachi tunes.
The concert is on Nov. 1 at 4 p.m. at Mission Dolores Basilica at 3321 16th St. Tickets can be purchased here. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Author and former San Francisco resident Caleb Dardick will be at Adobe Books on Saturday Nov. 7 to celebrate the release of his memoir, “The Adventures of Superfreak: My Childhood on the Hippie Trail.”
The book chronicles the 20,000-mile trip 5-year-old Dardick embarked on with his parents and two younger siblings in 1970. Dardick’s father was a wheelchair user, and his mother had an undiagnosed bipolar disorder.
The family traveled from Amsterdam to India in a VW bus, joining other seekers on the hippie trail across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
The event is free and will take place on Saturday, Nov. 7, starting at 6 p.m. at Adobe Books, 3130 24th St.
“Fog City,” a noir drama set during the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge, was shooting last Thursday and Friday on 24th Street.
Three businesses near the intersection of 24th and York streets were given 1930s makeovers: The St. Francis Fountain, Pops, and La Mexicana Bakery. Because “Fog City” is set in the Prohibition era, Pops was boarded up to look like a vacant storefront.
Vintage cars lined the streets, which is not an uncommon sight in the neighborhood. What was uncommon, though, was how dusty they were. Classic cars in the Mission are always spotless.
Deadline describes “Fog City” as being about “the interwoven stories of underground abortionist Inez Burns, police inspector Steven Walsh, Dust Bowl transplant Liza Orr, blackmailing socialite Dorothy Hargrove, and her son Martin.”
The director is local billionaire Dan Pritzker, who previously directed “Bolden” (2019), a fictional take on the famous jazz musician Charles Joseph “Buddy” Bolden.
For the last month or so, the Roxie Theater has been using the New People Cinema in Japantown for an extended series that will run through mid-December.
The partnership began earlier this year with some pop-ups after New People management reached out to its Roxie counterparts to gauge their interest in a potential collaboration.
“We saw it as an exciting opportunity to bring more cinema to San Francisco, connect with audiences in Japantown, and expand our programming,” said Isabel Fondevila, programming director at the Roxie Theater.
Screenings at New People Cinema will include Japanese cinema, new releases, new restorations, repertory favorites, special events and filmmaker appearances. Fondevila said they are treating the fall run as an experiment that will help them decide what makes sense for the future of the partnership.
The New People Cinema is located at 1746 Post St., near Webster Street. Tickets can be purchased here.
Another Mission District institution is expanding: Ritual Coffee officially opened its fifth location, the third in San Francisco, last week.
Ritual’s new location is at 259 California St., near Battery Street, in the Financial District. The new location sits at the site of a cafe that Ritual’s owner, Eileen Rinaldi, managed before she opened the first Ritual at 1026 Valencia St. in 2005.