Although the neighborhood lost a much-loved gathering spot when the Red Vic's projector flickered for the last time back in July, the neighborhood could be getting another community-focused space to take it's place sometime in 2012. As the ever-vigilant Tablehopper reports today, Betsy and Jack Rix, who own the building along with the Alembic next door, are looking to reinvent the former movie house as a food-centric incubator space where budding entrepreneurs and retailers can get their sea legs before moving on to their own commercial kitchens or storefronts.
Tablehopper compares the proposed project to 331 Cortland in Bernal Heights where El Porteno and Spice Hound and El Porteño got their start. Once the seats and couches have been stripped from the screening room, the space could be hosting four to six of San Francisco's next top chefs, confectioners, artisan bagel makers or whatever other food-related startup ideas local foodies dream up. To keep with the community aspect, Mrs. Rix hopes to keep a 49-seat event space open in the back and keep the location as a CSA drop-off spot.
As for the former home of wooden bowls and yeast-laden popcorn in the Red Vic's lobby — that looks like it will become some additional seating for Alembic's bar next door, which means more people partaking in their delicious cocktails.
