SFist: SFist Eats: Farina

lisa

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 20:37:53 -0800

I posted this on Yelp to inform people about this incident: I wouldn't eat at Farina if it was the last place on Earth and Armageddon had just hit. I have lived around the block for the past 20 years and have a community garden plot on the side street where Farina moved in. Two weeks ago the manager of Farina lied to the police and had one of my friends from my garden wrongly arrested and accused of allegedly throwing paint on 3 of his workers' parked cars (illegally, I might add) outside the restaurant. My friend walked by and saw the paint and must have been pointing it out (to his niece visiting from out of town), and the manager called the police, lied and said that 3 people who work at the restaurant saw him throw paint on the cars, and that they had it on film. An hour later, the cops knocked on my friend's door and arrested him. My friend is a lawyer, a respectable member of the community, a home owner, and a long time Mission resident. He was outspoken in a hearing several months ago opposing Farina's plans to expand to rooftop seating since his kitchen is in ear shot of the roof, and our neighboring community garden is a quiet place to retreat amidst the urban jungle. So when he walked by, I guess he was recognized and scapegoated for his opinion and spent 14 hours in jail and is out $5000 bail. They told another neighbor "this is war." This is not just a nice restaurant moving into the neighborhood. Welcome to the neighborhood, Farina? I think not.

Ian

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:35:35 -0800

Wow. I just read the Yelp comments, and if they're at all accurate it sounds like the owner is a a real, um, personality. If you run a neighborhood restaurant and want it to succeed, it's probably not a good idea to repeatedly piss off your neighbors. It's definitely not a good idea to have one of them arrested on bogus vandalism charges, and then declare "war" on the neighborhood.

Jalapeno Girl

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:31:55 -0800

I'm looking forward to trying Farina. The atmosphere looks v. appealing.

Linda

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 12:53:45 -0800

We live in the neighborhood, and apparently there's been a lot of nastiness between the owners and the neighbors--something that's never happened with stalwarts like Delfina, Bi-Rite or Dolores Park Cafe. See Yelp for Details It's a beautiful-looking restaurant, though.