Sunset District group plans its own night market after bigger event canceled
The Sunset After Dark event will occupy three blocks on Irving Street on Sept. 26, offering a 'celebration of food, culture, small business and the incredible people who make the Sunset special,' said Rob Aiavao, a spokesperson for the event's organizing team, in a statement to the Chronicle. Applications for both food and non-food vendors are currently open.
Organized by local advocacy group Dear Community and Sunset restaurant Smokin D's BBQ, the event was 'born out of a desire to bring neighbors together and support the local economy,' Aiavao said, adding that neighborhood residents, merchants and school partners are involved.
While visitors may see familiar food vendors and activities at Sunset After Dark, the event is separate from the city-funded Sunset District Night Market, which has drawn thousands each year since its launch in 2023.
Many expected the market to return to the neighborhood this summer, but event organizer Sunset Night Market Collaborative announced the celebration would not be back for its third year earlier this month. It is scheduled to return in 2026.
The cancellation came amid political tension in the neighborhood, as some merchants in the area who back the recall of Supervisor Joel Engardio reportedly said they no longer support the night market.
Engardio has been a vocal supporter of the night market, but he is facing a tough battle for his political position after championing Proposition K, which proposed to close part of the Upper Great Highway to cars to create a park. City-wide voters passed the measure by 54%, but local residents on the west side were furious over the two-mile closure.
The massive growth of the night market and its varied impact on local businesses have raised questions about the future of the event, said Angie Petitt, co-founder of Sunset Mercantile — a member of the Sunset Night Market Collaborative.
While some restaurants and vendors near Irving Street flourished, others — like dry-cleaners and salons — saw significantly less business in the daytime, Petitt said. On top of crowd management and ensuring there was enough food and activities for attendees, a lot of questions were left unanswered after last year's night markets exploded in popularity.
In the meantime, Petitt said she is glad to see that businesses and local organizations are collaborating on the Sunset After Dark event, and hopes to support them in the planning process.
'While the Sunset Night Market is currently on pause, Sunset After Dark provides a fresh opportunity for the community to reimagine what a shared public celebration can be,' Aiavao said. 'We're working to ensure that it's truly rooted in local voices, organized by and for the neighborhood.'
Engardio said Friday that 'politics have no role in a night market.' For him, the fact that businesses and local organizations have proactively led plans for a smaller night market demonstrates that the event was always intended to support the community.
'The residents and the merchants of the Sunset love night markets,' he said. 'I look forward to doing whatever I can to support the night market.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
4 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
California's third-largest home insurer seeks to hike rates
Mercury Insurance, the third largest home insurer in California, submitted a request for a new rate hike on Friday — the first filing to utilize new state reforms that alter how insurance companies can price for wildfire risk. The filing asks regulators to approve a statewide increase of 6.9%, according to the company. The full details of the filing were not available online as of Friday afternoon. In a statement, Mercury said the increase was necessary to compensate for the insurer's exposure to wildfire risk and inflation that drives up the cost of paying claims. Each homeowners' exact rate change will depend on their wildfires risk — some may see increases that are lower than the average, or even decreases; others' rates will rise above the average. The company said it would also be offering new discounts for wildfire mitigation work, such as installing ember-resistant vents or clearing out brush, which could reduce customers' wildfire portion of their premiums by as much as a third. Mercury is the first company to submit for a rate increase under the Sustainable Insurance Strategy, a package of reforms spearheaded by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara aimed at making insurance more available in California. The reforms allow insurance companies to begin using forward-looking models of wildfire risk to influence premiums and to pass along some of the cost of reinsurance — insurance for insurers — to customers. These reforms were widely expected to lead to rate increases, but also come with a requirement for companies to write more policies in high wildfire-risk areas if they don't do so already. Last year, Mercury confirmed to the Chronicle that it would be among the companies that would be required to write more policies under the new regulations. In anticipation of the reforms being finalized, it announced plans to insure more than 200 homes in Paradise (Butte County), the site of the 2018 Camp Fire. Over the past few years, Los Angeles-based Mercury has scaled up its presence in California's home insurance line, rising from the seventh largest home insurer in 2021 to the third largest in 2024 behind State Farm General and Farmers Insurance Group. Over that same period, Mercury has raised home insurance rates four times — a 6.9% increase in 2021 followed by a 12.6% increase in 2023, a 7% increase in 2024 and another 12% increase that went into effect this March. It's common to see insurance companies request rate hikes of 6.9%. That's because under Proposition 103, the 1988 voter initiative that established California's system for reviewing rate hike requests, consumer groups can request a mandatory hearing for requests of 7% and above. Mercury CEO Gabriel Tirador said in a statement that he believed Lara's reforms would successfully stabilize California's home insurance market. 'Our filing is the first step toward Mercury's goal of expanding insurance options for California homeowners and underscores our 60-year commitment to California customers and agents,' Tirador wrote. 'As other companies scaled back their California operations, Mercury stepped up to provide more options for our agents and customers, and we are committed to continuing our efforts to help protect our California neighbors well into the future.' Its filing makes use of a wildfire catastrophe model made by Verisk, one of three such models recently approved for use by the department. The department will now review whether Mercury's usage of the model reliably supports its request for a 6.9% increase. It's the first of many new filings expected now that wildfire models have been approved for use. Not all companies will be required to write new policies under the regulations — some that already insure a significant number of homes in high-risk areas will only be asked to maintain that presence. But Farmers Insurance Group, California's second largest home insurer, has joined Mercury in writing more new policies to prepare for the reforms. Last year, Allstate Insurance, the eighth largest home insurer as of 2024, signaled it planned to begin writing new policies for the first time since late 2022 once it could begin raising rates under the reforms. It has not set a date for this to happen, however. Officials hope private insurers writing more policies will reverse the rapid growth of the California FAIR Plan, the state's insurer of last resort. 'Our goal is for consumers to have more options to find coverage on their own terms instead of FAIR Plan policies that cover less and cost more,' Deputy Insurance Commissioner Michael Soller said in a statement Friday. 'That will continue to be our top priority.'
Axios
a day ago
- Axios
What to know about Supervisor Joel Engardio's recall election
Over 50,000 voters in District 4 are set to receive ballots for the Sept. 16 special election to recall Supervisor Joel Engardio. Why it matters: The moderate Democrat's support for closing the Great Highway ignited a wave of backlash from his constituents, a majority of whom opposed the initiative over concerns about traffic and longer commutes. How it works: The ballot will ask voters to vote "yes" or "no" on whether to remove Engardio from office. Once filled out, voters can return them via mail or drop them off at City Hall's elections department office. Three official ballot drop boxes will also be stationed at the Ortega Branch Library, Parkside Branch Library and City Hall. If voters oppose the measure, Engardio will remain in office and fight to retain his seat when he's up for reelection in November 2026. If they approve it, Mayor Daniel Lurie will appoint a replacement to serve until the June 2026 primary, which will ask voters to decide who should fill the remainder of the term. The big picture: Engardio was put on blast after he championed Proposition K, which would convert a 2-mile stretch of the Great Highway into a park, in the lead-up to the November 2024 election. Though the measure passed with 55% of voters' approval citywide, only 36% of voters in District 4 agreed with Engardio. A recall campaign was launched shortly after amid rebuke from voters in the Sunset and Richmond districts. The Department Elections called for a special election in May after certifying the 9,911 signatures — 20% of the district's registered voters — needed to put it on the ballot. What they're saying:"District 4 voted against Prop K — overwhelmingly. If Joel Engardio didn't know that was going to happen — he was out of touch, not listening, not talking to us or he deliberately defied our will," the recall campaign's website states. The other side: "Prop. K was decided by voters in the most open, transparent, and democratic process possible," Engardio said at a Wednesday San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee endorsement hearing for Prop. A.
San Francisco Chronicle
a day ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Tariffs are slamming Bay Area Indian restaurants and grocers. It could get worse
During a recent lull between customers at Alameda's Shanvi Indian Kitchen & Grocery, owner Vikas Aggarwal took some time to update his prices on a point-of-sale tablet. Sacks of basmati rice, fragrant spices and packs of frozen naan will now cost customers 10%-20% more, and prices may rise further due to the Trump administration's 25% tariff on Indian imports, which took effect Aug. 7 — and which the president has threatened to increase to 50%. When Aggarwal buys his goods from distributors, 'Now even the invoices mention to 'please increase prices at the store,'' he said. Indian restaurants, grocery stores and food importers around the Bay Area are beginning to feel the shock of one of the highest tariff rates placed on a major U.S. trading partner. And unlike earlier rounds of tariffs, business operators told the Chronicle they must now pass on higher prices to customers — an example of the way that sometimes delayed tariff impacts are finally catching up to U.S. consumers. The Trump administration is justifying its tariffs on India as a sanction for purchasing Russian oil, with President Donald Trump vowing to increase tariffs further if U.S. and Indian leaders do not come to an agreement by Aug. 27. Last year, U.S. goods imports from India totaled $87.3 billion. San Francisco's oldest Indian grocer, New India Bazar, is preparing for that possibility. 'No deal could be signed before the deadline,' predicted owner Auro Bhatt. 'India has also got a very strong stance and the countries are not talking about a compromise.' At his Polk Street store, customers from across the city shop for lentils, dosa batter, spices and Hindu idols. Bhatt recently received an invoice for an $800 order, with an added-on $80 tariff fee clearly itemized. He has adjusted his prices accordingly, but still opts to take small hits to prevent total sticker shock. A bag of lentils may have to go by 50 cents, for example, but he may raise the price only 40 cents. Yet because customers often fill their baskets, the small increases add up quickly. 'It comes as a shock to them that they will be buying the same amount of items, but the total bill has gone up by a lot,' he said. Shanvi owner Aggarwal works with around 15 distributors, which has allowed him to shop around to offset tariff-related increases. Still, he said customers are quick to express dismay at checkout. 'They'll tell me, for example, 'last time a product was $2.99, why is it $3.50 now? '' Amod Chopra operates Berkeley's popular Vik's Chaat, as well as a wholesale distributor and market. He has been paying the extra duties to get to his shipments of saffron, beer, rice and other goods from the Port of Oakland. For some time, he did not pass on the new costs to customers, having built up an inventory brought in at a lower tariff rate. Now that these reserves have run out, he's been forced to finally raise prices. 'I don't have 10%, 25% or 50% in my margins to just eat that cost,' Chopra said. 'When the previous inventories deplete, you have no choice,' Chopra already had to contend with higher demand and increased freight prices during the peak buying season for Indian goods earlier this summer, when tariffs were just 10%. A shipment of lentils, rice, pantry goods plus the spices he will be using at Vik's Chaat for the next year were much higher than he's paid in past years, he said. To retrieve a $66,000 shipment, he had to pay $6,600 in tariffs. That price would have been $16,500 under the new rate. Escalating tariffs can often take several weeks to be felt, Chopra said, as the fastest sea freight route from India can take 40 days to arrive. The impact is more immediate for air freight. Shipments en route to the U.S before a tariff increase will have the lower levies, even if they land after a higher rate is in effect. Trump has justified his tariffs, considered a form of tax, by declaring a state of emergency to bypass Congress. In theory, his goal is to increase U.S. production of goods. But the U.S. does not have the appropriate tropical climate to grow in-demand spices such as cinnamon, clove and nutmeg. India is the world's largest exporter of spices, and spice imports from India into the U.S. in 2024 were valued at more than $410 million, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Diaspora Co., one nationally acclaimed Bay Area business that imports high-quality spices from India to the U.S., was on track to turn a profit for the first time in three years in 2025. Then came the new tariffs. If they stay in place, the company estimates it will pay $200,000 in tariffs this year, founder Sana Javeri Kadri said. Diaspora has already spent $25,000 in tariffs to date — essentially, the business' profit margin. If the 50% tariff takes effect, rather than implement a blanket price increase, the Diaspora Co. website will show customers how much tariff they're being charged per order. The 50% tariff would translate to an additional $1.50 per tin, Javeri Kadri said. This means single-origin black pepper, Diaspora's best seller, would cost $13.50, and saffron grown by a third generation farmer in Kashmir, almost $20. 'We so deeply don't want to pass on prices to consumers,' Javeri Kadri said from Mumbai, where she was on business. 'It really is a lose-lose.' Higher tariffs are also expected to squeeze Indian restaurants. Chef Srijith Gopinathan is perhaps the best known Indian chef in the Bay Area. At his celebrated Cal-Indian restaurant Copra, he taps into his memories to highlight the flavors of his native Kerala. He uses fresh produce and meats from Bay Area purveyors across the Bay Area, offering a break from tariffs. Still, his kitchen is filled with irreplaceable Indian ingredients and equipment like grinders and special biryani pots. 'To make a biryani, you would need cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. Indian cooking is all about blends,' he said. 'You cannot get Basmati rice from a different country,' he went on. Versions of the crop can be produced elsewhere, but like Champagne, it's a geographically indicated product grown on the Indian subcontinent. 'It has to be from India,' he said.
