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San Francisco Chronicle
24-05-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
People love the new Great Highway park. Do they love it enough to spare Supervisor Joel Engardio?
What controversy? Being able to take a snooze in a beachfront hammock on a sunny afternoon has made all the turmoil over closing the Upper Great Highway to create Sunset Dunes, San Francisco's newest park, worth it. At least it did for Fred Reynolds, who lives nearby, when I spoke to him on a recent Saturday. 'I thought it worked very well during COVID,' Reynolds said of the pandemic closure of the roadway. 'So, it seems like a natural progression. I think it's turning out to be a great asset for the city.' Now the question is if Reynolds' neighbors feel similarly enough about the park and its new amenities to extinguish their political furor. While San Francisco voted to pass Prop K in November, closing the Great Highway to cars, Sunset residents overwhelmingly opposed the measure — and responded to its passage by revolting against their supervisor, Joel Engardio, who championed the roadway's closure. The campaign to recall Engardio said it had enough petition signatures from District 4 residents by Thursday's deadline to submit to the San Francisco Elections Department for a ballot measure. If the signatures are certified, the department must hold a recall election 105 to 120 days afterward. There's also a lawsuit seeking to reopen the Great Highway and the possibility of a ballot measure to reverse Prop K. The recall campaign also opened another front in the city's moderate-progressive political war. Meanwhile, Sunset Dunes park, the source of all this acrimony, opened officially to great fanfare on April 12. Politics aside, it's still doing well. Sunset Dunes is still largely a four-lane road. There's new murals, paintings on the asphalt, sculptures and some added amenities, such as hammocks and tree trunks repurposed into seating. That's enough for Sunset Dunes to become the third most-visited park in the city during the week, averaging 3,400 visitors a day, and fourth overall on weekends, averaging 7,800 visitors a day, according to the Recreation and Park Department. 'I've been coming out on the weekends pretty much, but I want to start coming out at night every day just for exercise, too,' Sunset resident Osmond Li said after trying out a piano set up for visitors. So far, 62% of the visitors to Sunset Dunes are from San Francisco, and 35% of them are from the adjacent Sunset, Parkside and West Portal neighborhoods, according to the Recreation and Park Department's sensors that can track cell phone registrations. A 'honeymoon' surge to a new park is normal, but 'weekday consistency suggests lasting success. Our numbers there have been higher than expected,' said Tamara Barak Aparton, a spokesperson for the Recreation and Park Department. Is all that foot traffic translating into more sales for area businesses? It's probably too early for anything conclusive, but I checked with a couple of businesses I talked to just after the November election. Andytown Coffee Roasters co-owner Lauren Crabbe said her count of foot traffic at her Outer Sunset shops is up 20% over last year, compared to 5% at her Richmond District location. 'There's obviously something going on there beyond just the weather if we're seeing one neighborhood performing better than the other,' Crabbe said. At Aqua Surf Shop in the Sunset, store manager Dagan Ministero, who opposed Prop K, said he hasn't had an influx of customers since the park opened. 'I don't know if it's just the nation overall, but business is kind of down these days,' Ministero said. 'I haven't seen an increase.' Traffic congestion was one of the chief concerns for Ministero and many opposed to closing the Great Highway. Traffic is at or below pre-pandemic levels on the lower Great Highway adjacent to the park and nearby 46th Avenue, according to monitors set up by the group Friends of Sunset Dunes. However, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is collecting more comprehensive data on the area's traffic conditions that it expects to release this summer, according to Parisa Safarzadeh, a spokesperson for the agency. 'We do anticipate that with every road change there is an adjustment period,' Safarzadeh said, noting that new traffic patterns and potential problems become clearer after drivers settle into routines. To help traffic flow, there are new stoplights at Lincoln Way and 41st Avenue, and at Sloat and Skyline boulevards. Sunset Boulevard, the closest major north-south route, has been repaved. Speed bumps were added to some streets near the Great Highway to discourage cut-through traffic. Safarzadeh said traffic data will be evaluated to determine if further changes are needed. 'It's too early to even understand what that would look like.' Drivers accustomed to using the closed 2-mile stretch of the Upper Great Highway from Lincoln Way to Sloat Boulevard will bear the brunt of these changes. Anecdotal evidence suggests commutes could be longer and not everybody is happy. Ministero said he's witnessed several fender benders in the area that he attributed to an uptick in traffic and that better infrastructure changes should have been in place before the closure. 'I feel like it was kind of putting the cart before the horse,' Ministero said. Despite his opposition to the Great Highway's closure, Ministero, who lives in the Richmond, said he loves the new public space and surfs the area almost daily, despite the 'problematic' traffic. Sunset voters who felt betrayed by Engardio now appear to have a chance at retribution by recalling him. Or can the new park win them over before Election Day? Either way, the park will remain. We can throw Engardio out and relitigate this at the polls and the courts. But to what end? Engardio has a vested interest in making sure Sunset Dunes is a success, so ousting him could jeopardize that. No doubt, commuters will be inconvenienced. I live in the Sunset, and I'll be one of them, too, when I drive. We should make sure the city upholds its responsibility to make traffic improvements. Because in the end, Sunset Dunes could become a great city asset, and that's what we should all want. Harry Mok is an assistant editor, editorial board member and columnist for the Opinion section.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Local SF coffee chain opens in FiDi next week amid recent Starbucks closures nearby
(KRON) — One of the more popular San Francisco-based coffee shops is opening another location in the city. Andytown Coffee Roasters is opening a new cafe in San Francisco's Finanicial District next week. Andytown, located at 747 Front St., is having its grand opening on Tuesday, May 27. The cafe's hours are on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Andytown says it plans to potentially expand hours later this summer. The opening of Andytown comes at a time when the neighborhood has lost two Starbucks locations this year. Popular Yemeni coffee chain spreading throughout the Bay Area Bay Area Backroads: Searching for 'The Secret' in Golden Gate Park Last Friday, Starbucks at 1255 Battery St. permanently closed. About six blocks away, the Starbucks at 99 Jackson St. shut down in February. That closure promoted a rally cry from seniors living in the area to try and save that cafe. The Front Street location is Andytown's sixth in San Francisco and seventh overall. It is the second one to open downtown, joining 181 Fremont St. The lone shop outside of San Francisco is at 1302 El Camino Real in Menlo Park. Andytown Coffee Roasters was founded in 2014 by Michael McCrory and Lauren Crabbe in the Outer Sunset of San Francisco. It has since risen in popularity among local SF-founded cafes, amassing more than 25,000 Instagram followers. 'We've passed final inspections and now we're gearing up to open our newest cafe,' Andytown wrote on Instagram. 'We look forward to meeting our new neighbors and serving you all delicious coffee for years to come.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
San Francisco Chronicle
30-04-2025
- General
- San Francisco Chronicle
Finally, a S.F. restaurant for soup sycophants like me
I can recall parts of my life through soup. As a kid, when my mom worked late, a can of soup was a cheap shortcut to dinner. I've expressed love by making caldos. They bring to mind my grandmother, who often took me to her favorite restaurant, Souplantation, a now-closed buffet chain from a bygone era. These memories trickled back recently when I visited Rusty Ladle, a tranquil soup counter in San Francisco's Outer Sunset, mere minutes away from Ocean Beach. These soups are a remedy for the neighborhood's sharp wind chill and a soothing balm for hard times. As food prices spike and the possibility of a recession looms, affordable dining options like Rusty Ladle are more vital than ever. You leave the restaurant with a happy belly for under 15 bucks. Housed in a narrow 700-square-foot building, the counter-service restaurant offers four options (cup for $7.50, bowl for $10.50). Two are standbys, tomato soup and clam chowder, and the rest change weekly. You might find Mexican meatball stew, miso vegetable soup or gumbo. Of the classic offerings, I liked the chowder best. With plenty of Bodega Bay clams and a side of bacon bits, it was surprisingly thick for a gluten-free stew; chef-owner John Lindsey thickens it with potato starch — a trick he borrowed from celebrity chef Jacques Pépin. I was into the subtle tang and sweetness of the tomato soup, especially with a drizzle of basil cream. (If you skip it, however, it's vegan.) The tomato soup is strongest, however, as a dip for the obscenely cheesy Schmelty ($9), a grilled cheese sandwich with a shiny, crisp skirt. What makes it shine is schiacciata bread, made by next door neighbor Andytown Coffee Roasters. A specialty of Tuscany, it has a focaccia-like fluffiness and ciabatta-like texture. The soup nicely offset the sandwich's salty richness and made me feel like a kid again. I'm not the only one. Rusty is a big hit with kids, which surprised Lindsey. 'There's a lot of soup sycophants… (but) I forgot how much kids love soup.' It's an easy way for parents to get their children to eat vegetables without forcing the issue. Lindsey opened Rusty late last year. In the '90s, Lindsey worked at Zuni Café, Hayes Street Grill and the café at the now-closed San Francisco Art Institute. He stopped cooking after a back injury and took up graphic design before opening an art studio and gallery next to the building where Rusty currently resides. He saw the space transform from a bodega to a deli to a brewery, which closed in 2022. When the building was available, Lindsey seized the opportunity and returned to the kitchen. His penchant for art lives on at the restaurant. The bar is effectively an art installation. Beneath glass are rows of thousands of pennies, each of which Lindsey and his daughter cleaned, patinaed and glued to the counter. It's a memorable piece of decor that works to add age to the 6-month-old restaurant. I got the sense that many of Rusty's patrons are regulars — Lindsey confirmed that a third of his clientele are repeat customers. The bar is stocked with dozens of ways to customize your bowl including oyster crackers, seasonings and about a dozen different bottled hot sauces — I loved the vinegary burn of the Binko's Fresno pepper flavor. The restaurant has a way of making you feel like you share history with it, even with only one visit. Perhaps that's owed to the universal nature of soup. Lindsey likes to joke that he sells water. So I asked him: Why soup? 'Everybody loves soup,' he said. But his age also had something to do with it. 'I'm 59 years old, I don't want to make composed things.' He finds making soup to be a meditative art, one that can't be rushed. The humble counter nudged me back into the warm embrace of soup, my old friend. Rusty Ladle. Noon-8 p.m. Thursday-Sunday. 3645 Lawton St., San Francisco. or 415-205-0860
San Francisco Chronicle
23-04-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco businesses hit by tariffs join Pelosi in calling for Trump to halt trade war
In a warehouse at San Francisco's wholesale produce market Wednesday morning, a local coffee shop owner, a K-pop merchandiser, fresh produce sellers and representatives from the San Francisco Flower Market implored President Donald Trump to reverse his tariff policies, citing the harm they have had on the city's businesses. 'Don't tax our coffee,' said Lauren Crabbe, the co-owner of Andytown Coffee Roasters. 'Don't put this burden on small businesses and working people.' Trump's proposed tariffs on about 90 countries, which are currently on a 90-day pause, would significantly raise the price of coffee because it cannot be grown in the continental United States, Crabbe said. She orders coffee beans from Guatemala, Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia, Rwanda, the Philippines and Indonesia. Crabbe and other business owners joined Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday in criticizing Trump's tariff policies. 'The Trump administration's ineptitude is tanking our economy with self-inflicted disaster that leaves hardworking Americans bearing the brunt of the pain,' said Pelosi, who organized the event as part of the House Democrats' national Cost of Living Week, which she said was meant to amplify the voices of small businesses affected by Trump's economic policies. 'Make no mistake, President Trump, senseless tariffs are driving prices higher, draining retirement savings and pushing us to the brink of a recession,' she said. 'Here in San Francisco, Trump's economic policies are hurting small business owners and their employees by instilling fear and uncertainty.' 'Hopefully they will listen to small business as they listen to big business,' she added, blasting what she said was the administration's chaotic and inconsistent approach to tariff policies. Trump has been a longtime proponent of imposing tariffs on imports as a way to reduce the U.S. trade deficit and boost domestic manufacturing. Economists generally agree that the cost of tariffs is ultimately borne by American consumers, that tariffs are the wrong solution to address trade imbalances and that erecting trade barriers alone is unlikely to quickly spark a U.S. manufacturing renaissance. Since taking office for his second term, Trump has enacted a flurry of tariffs, notably, a 10% baseline tax on global imports and a 145% tariff on Chinese imports, inciting retaliation by China of 125% tariffs on U.S. products. Trump said Tuesday that he will lower the Chinese tariffs 'substantially.' The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that administration officials are considering slashing them by more than half. On April 2,a day Trump called 'Liberation Day,' he imposed sweeping tariffs on about 90 countries before backtracking days later, after stock markets took a historic plunge. He instituted a 90-day pause on the tariffs as his administration negotiates trade deals with 75 of the countries. The uncertainty has roiled businesses, leading to some holding back from making investments and large purchases. The tariffs that are in place have also already resulted in price increases of everyday items and imported luxuries alike. Wilmar Ramirez, the head of purchases for Arcadio's Produce at the SF Market, where the press conference took place, said he received a letter from a fruit producer Wednesday saying the price of bananas from Ecuador, Guatemala and Costa Rica are going up. Starting tomorrow, bananas will cost him about $18.50 per 40-pound case, up from $17.25. Plantains and pineapples will also cost him about $1 to $2 more a carton. As wholesalers raise prices accordingly, the cost will ultimately be paid by the customer, he said. Already, sales have plummeted about 15 to 20% from March, he said. 'Just based on fear,' he said. 'People don't want to spend their money. People don't want to go out to eat, because the economy might crash.' Kevin Teng, co-owner of a K-pop merchandise store called SarangHello on Taraval Street in San Francisco, said he is very afraid of the threat of tariffs as all his products are imported. About 95% come from South Korea and 5% from China. He estimated that if the threatened 25% tariff on South Korea takes effect, it could raise prices by about $5 per item. 'We understand we are not a necessity business,' he said, adding that he opened the store in 2020 with the goal of creating a positive, safe space for the younger generation to express their love for K-pop music. 'It's difficult for us as business owners, as a positive force, to continue to be positive because we ourselves are feeling that fear.' Already, he's stopped ordering the photocard binders he used to import from China. He's also seen an approximately $2 per item increase in shipping costs, which he said he believes is a tariff-related impact. He said he has had no choice but to raise prices because his profit margins are already small, being an import reseller. Crabbe said her espresso machine supplier from Italy emailed Tuesday to say it is raising prices by 6% preemptively, in anticipation of tariffs. Her company is about to buy two espresso machines for new locations and is planning to bear the higher costs. She has not raised prices yet, acknowledging that coffee is already expensive. In her speech Wednesday, Crabbe recalled how in 1773, Americans dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor as a protest against British taxation on tea.
