Little Baobab, a former West African restaurant and quirky nightclub at the corner of 19th and Mission streets, will reopen next month in its third reincarnation – a Senegalese-inspired pizza joint that could begin serving in the next two weeks. “There’s no pizza around here, you have to go four blocks down,” said its proprietor, Marco Senghor. “So I...
State officials seized the liquor license of Farina Focaccia & Cucina Italiana on 18th and Dearborn streets and sold it at auction to cover nearly $275,000 in back taxes and penalties owed by the restaurant, according to a Board of Equalization notice. The license went on sale July 11 with a minimum bid of $225,000. A spokesperson for the California...
A former sheet metal shop at 80 Duboce Ave. could soon serve as an extension of the popular Mission District bar Zeitgeist. As Capp Street Crap first reported, the owners of the bar at 199 Valencia St. are seeking to extend their liquor and food license into the adjacent building in a “premise to premise” transfer that would put them...
A parking lot in Cesar Chavez street is home to a white truck flying Firepie banners. From afar it looks like any other food-truck but this particular truck is an oven. Within it is a traditional Naples oak-burning oven that can reach up to 900 degrees to cook artisan pizzas in 90 seconds. The Firepie truck, says its owner, is filling...
After recovering from the fallout of three fires near her 22nd St. location, Los Shucos owner Sofia Keck announced Thursday that she will be shutting down the Guatemalan hot dog joint after a five-year-run in the Mission. Currently only operating on weekends, Los Shuco’s last day with a storefront open to the public at 3224 1/2 22nd Street will be...
Following Doc’s Clock’s displacement from the building that housed it for some six decades, owner Carey Suckow learned this week that she will not only have to part with the space, but also the beloved Mission bar’s iconic neon sign. After the bar’s building switched hands last summer, Suckow accepted the end of an era at 2575 Mission St. when the new owner...
At a public meeting Wednesday night, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting small businesses demanded that a mom and pop grocery and liquor store drop its application for a wine and beer license. “The onsite liquor service is the issue,” said Gabriel Medina, the policy manager for the Mission Economic Development Agency, which is opposing the application. The nonprofit agency has been...
About a month ago, the just over a year-old Mexican restaurant Quereme quietly shut its doors and has been revamping its interior in its 2801 Folsom St. location to reopen in June as Alma, a Peruvian-influenced restaurant. Alma’s owners are Juan Rosas Lopez, who also owns Taqueria Vallarta at 3033 24th St. and associate Jose Ruffrage. They will be renting...
After just a year-and-a-half in its 3161 24th St. storefront, the family-run Montella Pizzeria is set to close its doors in July, and moving into its place will be Korean bar and restaurant Foxsister by San Francisco Chef Brandon Kirksey. Gustavo Lopez, son of Montella’s proprietor, Esteban Lopez, said that while business on 24th Street corridor was good, the family has...
Taqueria La Cumbre, one of the pioneers of the Mission-style burrito, is celebrating 50 years of making burritos in the Mission. Mission Local recently spoke to owner Edward Duran on everything from the inspiration for their first burritos to doing business in an ever-changing Mission District. La Cumbre’s story began in 1967, when Mexican immigrants Raul and Michaela Duran opened...
Despite the Elbo Room’s impending displacement from its 647 Valencia St. location, its owners plan to stay rooted in the Mission and on Monday the city granted it legacy business status – a possible financial lifeline. “We got officially approved yesterday,” said Matt Shapiro, one of the bar’s owners, adding that he and co-owner Erik Cantu are currently working with...
The Latino-centric bar Coronitas Bar and Grill, located where the Mission meets Bernal Heights, is in the process of trading in its liquor license for a medical marijuana permit in what it says is a bid to stay relevant in the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood. “At this point, it’s unprofitable for us to continue with [Coronitas],” said owner Jorge Esparza, who...
SF Gate reports that Loló Cevicheria, the quirky and much smaller sister restaurant of Loló on Valencia Street, closed its doors on Saturday because of an expired lease. The cevicheria was popular for its small plates, tacos and of course, a variety of ceviche, and had operated out of the 3230 22nd St. location since July 2014– some five months after the original Loló...
Valerie Luu and Katie Kwan of the long-running Vietnamese pop-up Rice Paper Scissors could be serving pho and banh mi sandwiches out of their first Folsom Street brick-and-mortar restaurant within the year – if their neighbors approve. Kwan and Luu are hoping to build out the 1,300 square foot space that once housed the Latin grocery Delicateses La Plaza at...
By Laura Waxmann, Yolanda Meng and Yaoxiang Liang, Posted
One might think that Asian business owners along 24th Street watching the efforts to preserve its Latino culture might feel left out. They don’t. Instead, the effort to protect existing Latino businesses has overwhelming support among the street’s Chinese merchants. Moreover, many said they feel secure there because they, like some of the Latino businesses, own the buildings where their...
