October 8, 2008
It's Official, No More New Bars for North Beach
Curbed's Andy J. Wang delightfully points out that North Beach might soon see a "glorious new age of shoe outlets and hammer stores," a la Union Street. Why? Because Aaron Peskin's booze-hawking restaurant and bar ban passed yesterday by a vote of 9 to 1 (with Michela Alioto-Pier, of course, being the only, lonely naysayer.) Anyway, the North Beach Chamber of Commerce is nutting hard over this one since this is bad for business. What about you? (Curbed)
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Attention entrepreneurs! Rincon Hill needs and welcomes your new casual dining and cafe establishments. We've got our share of EXPENSIVE restaurants (that I enjoy when I can slip it on the expense report at work, don't get me wrong), but we could use less pricey places so that yours truly isn't constantly hopping on Muni at 9pm to venture off to other parts of the City to get a late dinner. Back to my main point ... we welcome businesses of all varieties (except maybe the strip clubs .. then again, Gold Club is just a short jaunt away, so my straight friends tell me) in our neck of the woods!
The question is, will these landlords lower rents enough to make it profitable for "hammer stores" to move in? We do need hammer stores, and I'm miserable over the fact that the cobbler left the neighborhood. If this ordinance will actually bring those types of businesses in, then I'm for it. How many restaurants and bars does this neighborhood need, anyway? Seems like I read we're way over the limit anyway.
On the other hand, if this means the landlords will just sit on the property, then let them open yet another restaurant.
Oh my, where will the BAT people go? Cow Hollow?
I'm more or less in agreement with bluecanary on this, but more importantly, I also agree with MAP's vote, which means the apocalypse is coming. I'm gonna go get some batteries, toilet paper, and plastic tarps now - bye everybody, it's been grand and at least the planet had a good run while it lasted!
A profoundly stupid decision by an even stupider Board. Attempts to stifle development of the City in order to support the idiotic desires of people like Peskin and his hatchet faced wife to live in some dumbed down version of a Thomas Kincade painting are what has lead to San Francisco becoming a totally nonviable city, too expensive except for Dede, chock full of homeless, etc. you can't just freeze a city in amber like its France or something. Cities must change, they must grow, they must adapt to new and differing circumstances. If North Beach wants a wider array of businesses, they need to focus more attention on making the neighborhood less of a tourist trap and more of a residential district that will support these kinds of businesses. This isn't accomplished by banning the only kind of businesses that can afford to set up shop there. It's accomplished by making the neighborhood a place that is actually attractive to cobblers and hammer sellers so they'll choose it as a place to open up businesses. You can't shove a North Beach shaped neighborhood into a Marina shaped mold.
I'm with cowsaysmeow on this, btw. I loathe that unsavory Alioto-Pier woman and am feeling dirty that I agree with her on this. I must go shower now.
@the angry young man
I agree with everything you just said. But lets be honest with more 6 figure incomes coming in and more middle income families leaving SF. We are making a hollow city, I first think that people with middle incomes are more likely to use hammer shops than 6 figure families. Call it stereotyping but if I could afford to hire someone to clean my toilet and fix my windows I probably would. So the type of people that move in to this city use more of these services than what we would articulate as the normal population would. More money to spend more money to go out.
I think there needs to be better rewards for infrastructure investment. This is the same reason as to why grocery stores don’t set up shop here in SF. The profit margin is not rewarding enough to deal with the planning requirements as well as the limitations we have placed in zoned areas.
As far as any assumption that the rents will lower because of the type of business that can be placed in this are is just juvenile. Businesses will just change not be bars but restaurants without liquor licenses but BYOB polices like Shalimar or some places on the Divisadero corridor will begin to become popular. I think this is not going to really result in anything but a net loss in revenue/taxes.
Are there hammer stores on Union?
Hammer stores = Restoration Hardware.
I dont think that anyone that lives on union street can operate a hammer for any other reason then to place their art on their walls.