An insurance startup recently opened an all-hours cafe and workspace on the edge SF's Financial District — where most businesses go dark by 5 pm.

Corgi Cafe, located on Claude Lane, between Union Square and the Financial District, hosts events and serves as a late-night workspace for tech industry types working unconventional hours, as the Bay Area News Group reports.

The menu offers the standard coffee, tea, matcha, and hot chocolate, as well as smoothies and protein shakes, which are reportedly the most popular item, and the staff includes baristas with prior experience at Starbucks, Peet’s, and Equinox’s Earth Bar.

Founders Emily Yuan and Nico Laqua say the café emerged from a combination of practical and situational factors, as the firm already leases the building for their core business, Corgi Insurance, and they had access to a vacant ground-floor space.

Per the News Group, they also pointed to the lack of late-night activity in the area, noting that most businesses close early and that there are few 24-hour cafes in San Francisco, making the storefront a valuable way to activate an underused space after hours.

The cafe has reportedly exceeded the owners' expectations in terms of foot traffic, particularly during peak hours after the workday and consistently busy into the late night.

Corgi Insurance positions itself as a direct competitor to major legacy insurers and financial firms. The company, which employs roughly 90 people, aims to overhaul what they describe as a slow and inefficient insurance industry built around paperwork and intermediaries.

The founders say they view the cafe as an extension of the company’s ecosystem, intended to support people working in tech — while serving really good drinks.

Image: Google Maps

San Francisco's first (and only) cat cafe — where you could once hear cats purr while your tea cooled — is clawing and clamoring to stay open amid slow foot traffic and needing to meet its high overhead costs that are required to keep its rescue cats fed, healthy, and properly sheltered.

It's not been easy the past seven or so months for Bay Area small businesses — to put it mildly, and without using any expletives. Earlier in the summer, a report published by Yelp showed that some 5,000 businesses have closed — with over 2,000 of them now permanently shut down — since the global health crisis began. And San Francisco's KitTea Cafe, the only one of its kind in the city, appears to be on one of its last lives.

“Our costs are very high, especially from taking care of cats for their medical needs and food, and everything else, the care that goes into it,” Courtney Hatt, the owner and founder of KitTea, tells SFGATE. “The rent is extremely expensive for Hayes Valley. We got into this lease when it was very competitive to find a commercial space back in 2014, so we had to quickly ask for support from the community.”

A recent GoFundMe campaign organized by Hatt has raised over $53K from nearly 1,000 donors, eclipsing their initial $40K goal; the fundraiser's goal has since been upped to $60K. Hatt had made clear that all the money donated goes toward meeting their $10K monthly rent, paying her staff, keeping the utilities on — and, of course, taking care of the cats, many of which are up for adoption or able to be fostered out.

Due to the City's COVID-19 safety measures, KitTea Cafe now offers two types of "lounge" experiences, allowing patrons to share space with adult cats or kittens under strict guidelines. (Because of the regulations, the cafe is no longer offering such things like waffles and hot teas; guests can choose a bottled tea or water to enjoy once they've left the cafe, however.)

And the once hour-long lounge visits have been shortened to 40 minutes, which allows staff time to properly disinfect the space before the next party.

“Instead of the visiting times being an hour-long like how they used to be, each visit is now forty minutes long and twenty minutes go into sanitizing the space for the next guests," Hatt adds. "We wear our masks. Masks are never taken off.”

Not only is KitTea Cafe having to contend with COVID-19 slowing business, but also kitten season — the breeding season commonly referred to for domesticated cats that lasts primarily from March to October — has led to an uptick of rescue cats populating the cafe. Though, regardless of the financial hardships facing the idiosyncratic business, Hatt decided it was only right to offer some of these strayed cats shelter.

“We decided to do our part and we pulled in 25 kittens in the first round," Hatt waxes on the new kittens the cafe's taken in, later noting to SFGATE that many of the felines under its care have since been given new homes amid growing interest in adopting or fostering animals — a silver lining of the pandemic. "Then we got rid of our tea lounge entirely and we started a kitten room. Now we’re no longer a cat cafe, we’re just like a rescue space now.”

Later this month, the entire operation will be moved to a new location on Valencia Street, right next to Arizmendi Bakery — which, by then, hopefully, some (or all) of the nine adoptable kittens searching for permanent homes will find them. As for the other dozen-plus adult felines? They'll be accepting all the pats and pets they can get... whenever the cafe reopens in the next few weeks.

Related: Yelp Data Shows 5,000 San Francisco Area Businesses Have Closed Since Pandemic Began

Muttville Encourages San Franciscans to Adopt a Senior Dog While In Isolation

San Francisco SPCA Needs More Foster Families To Look After Cats and Dogs

Image: Unsplash via Erik-Jan Leusink

Cafe Bello in Glen Park fell victim to a bold thief who swiped money from the tip jar. Barista Madison Kaviyakoen, however, wasn't having any of it. Check out this video she uploaded from surveillance system that shows her going after the crook.

Glen Park Association has more:

“I don’t know what came over me,” said Kaviyakoen, who has worked at Cafe Bello on Diamond Street for two and a half years.

The suspect, followed closely behind by Kaviyakoen, ran out into the street where she grabbed his arm. He then took several swings at her, momentarily stopping traffic on Diamond Street, and ran up Bosworth Street toward Glen Park School.

The entire incident lasted around 3 minutes. Kaviyakoen later returned to the cafe and called police. "One officer took her statement while the others walked around outside, seemingly keeping an eye out for the suspect." Though no arrests were made, no one will, presumably, mess with Kaviyakoen again.

A sewage spill blanketed the inner Mission with a faint sent of fecal matter this morning. Pipes overflowed due to last night's rain. Ew. Gross. According to KRON 4 Morning News, the scene at 2100 Folsom is "stinky," but has since been cleaned up. Firefighters, Department of Public Works crews, and neighbors helped wipe up the mess.

The early morning crapfest occurred next door to Stable Cafe and two-star Michelin ranked fancypants joint, Saison. Oddly enough, the same area saw similar sewage spills in 2007 and 2009.

What Twitter employees will lack in $5 foot-longs, they'll more tham make up for in $48 roasted chicken with bread salad. Which is to say, Twitter ilk will hurl chunks of their earnings at Zuni Cafe, located at Market and 10th, once they relocate to the Tenderloin. And for whatever reason this is subscription-required news. Wall Street Journal reports the obvious: "Twitter Inc. is expected to relocate its headquarters in the middle of next year to a few blocks away from Zuni's sun-washed space, bringing well over 1,000 employees to the area. '"It will be great,' said Zuni chef and co-owner Judy Rodgers. 'For so long this was such a shaky, edgy part of town.'"

And edgy it shall be no more! Poverty solved, Judy. We can also assume that Twitter folks will blackout in droves at Rebel, Martuni's, and Chris Daly's dive, god willing. (Pst, you can buy a boatload of tar and really bad cocaine at the hotel across the street from Zuni. You know, the brick one? That smells like human feces? That's surrounded by unhinged loudmouths? That one.)

But what to eat at Zuni, those of you toiling at Twitter ask? Well, not what William Hair, a principal at Bernstein Global Wealth Management in LA "who frequently visits the Bay Area" (?!) recommends. "Start with the oysters," Mr. Los Angeles says. "But the chicken is probably the best thing." Ha! Lies. A tissue of lies. Only the greenest of the green order the chicken at Zuni. Pshaw. Any self-respecting member of the slow food mafia knows goddamn well that you only make the roast chicken at home. Be bold and get the squab, sauteed sole, or anything with sage pesto.

[WSJ]

Since last week's downpour staved off the opening, today's sunny skies mark the official opening of the Stow Lake Boathouse. While the kitchen redo nears completion, food off-site will be served from "La Cocina vendors (think empanadas and piroshkis), Let’s Be Frank, and of course, American Box (salads, sandwiches)," reports Inside Scoop.

When the kitchen finally does open, they plan on filling the joingtwith "healthy and fresh housemade items" featuring "organic and sustainable food that is healthy for people and for the environment."

Angry housewives have come unglued in the South Bay as San Jose continues to allow nearly-nude coffee shops to operate in full glory. Shameless! One particular coffee joint, Café Quyen, boasts "scantily clad women" serving lattes, dancing, and so much more. CBS 5 reports: "Recently, cell phone video of the waitresses was shot inside Café Quyen near Tully and King Roads in San Jose. The café is in Councilwoman Madison Nguyen’s district, who said angry wives often send her the videos with the hope she could do something."

This Yelp review for Café Quyen, masterfully penned by qurth y., says it all: "Yowzers. I think I jizzed in my trousers. Crowd was mainly sketchy older sleazebags. A lot of skin and flesh jiggling. Some of the bare-istas had nice tattoos. Cool design. I want to go back, but I'm afraid I'll blast in my pants again."

Delightful.

And Café Quyen isn't the only one. Scores of other caffeine houses of sin have popped up all over San Jose, showing a growing epidemic of ecdysiast-baristas looking to make an extra buck. However, none of the women go full frontal since that's illegal. Alas.

Sergeant Jason Dwyer of the San Jose Police Department had this to say: "If it’s a choice between sending people out to do gang suppression or sending them into some of these coffee shops, which can be a labor intensive operation if it’s undercover, we’re probably going to lean towards violent crime."

Kudos to you, San Jose. Who knew you could be so titillating? Odd that San Francisco doesn't have any nudie coffee shops of its own.

Full report below:

Not since the last Getty gala or progressive party canvassing spree have we come across such obnoxious and banal elitism. And how. The fine folks at Mission Mission bring your attention to this Craigslist ad posted by The Summit SF -- a creative cafe/art space located on Valencia, the city's most horrifying street -- looking for baristas only trained at the Harvard of Folgers Crystals pouring. Behold:

Baristas for The Summit SF (mission district)

The Summit is where free thinkers, craftsmen, artisans, entrepreneurs, and the public unite in a unique cafe / art bar space located in the vibrant Mission District. Located in the unique I/O Ventures incubation space, The Summit is home to 40+ telecommuters and 4 startups that are given $25,000 of seed money and mentorship from leading tech leaders. I/O Ventures is backed by the founders of seminal tech companies Myspace, Bittorrent, and others. The Summit is their public living room.

The Summit is hiring Blue Bottle, Ritual, or Four Barrel trained Baristas ONLY. DO NOT APPLY IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN TRAINED BY EITHER COMPANY:

The Summit is looking for an experienced barista coffee/tea “nerd” for a new art bar/ café serving Blue Bottle coffee and Red Blossom tea. We will provide Blue Bottle and Red Blossom training. Punctuality, personality and the ability to be professional in a fun, casual atmosphere is required. You must demonstrate a love of coffee and the ability to craft them with care and a sense of urgency. We are looking for people who are interested in food/wine/hospitality/art to join our family the ability to talk tech is a plus. Prior Blue Bottle training will get you to the top of the list.

Look, we get it. Bo, oh boy, do we. Salted-caramel street art bacon at Dolores Park with the Sunday New York Times over morning coffee in a food truck. Got it. But, really, we drink coffee for two distinct reasons, perkiness and regularity. Period. We don't care about the taste of our drugs, much less any intricate patterns atop our soy cappuccino's foam.

That said, if you're an expertly trained barista with "the ability too talk tech," check it out. This could very well be your sect.

Update: Similar to Mission Mission's original post, the owner of The Summit responds to our screed. And, well, they really do seem like a swell lot with the best intentions. Read it below.

Oh no. A tipster tells us that the Pacific Heights Bittersweeet Chocolate Cafe, a great gem that focused on "small batches, custom roasts and responsibly grown cacao" closed shop without any warning.

Our tipster writes:

Drama in Pac Heights. The owners of beloved hot chocolate purveyor Bittersweet told their employees yesterday evening that it was their last day in business and loaded up a truck and disappeared. No one had advanced notice, according to one of the employees.

SFist talked to an employee at the Rockridge location. He confirmed that, yes, the Pacific Heights Bittersweet is no more. Alas. But, he went on to tell us, they plan on opening a shop in Jack London Square soon.

When asked why the owners closed shop so suddenly, he simply said, "Blame it on the landlord."

With her pet pooch resting on her shoulder, Kaili Oteri over at SF Metblogs had an unfortunate encounter at a local cafe over the weekend while waiting in line. It seems some "foul man-pile" verbally assaulted her because her dog was in her arms at coffee joint. Having your best friend at a cafe, it seems, it against the law. "It’s the law',' screamed the cranky man. '"Are you above the law? I’ll call the Board of Health." Oteri then somehow managed not to throw hot coffee in his face.

And, yes, it's technically unlawful to bring in your pet canine into a dining establishment, but.. but all doggies need tender baby kisses and lots of special tender ove hugs. Surely, those two technicalities trump such an unfair law, right? And isn't SF, the Paris of the U.S., the place to do it?