Latest news with #Cinch
Eater
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Eater
This Titanic Polk Street Gay Bar Just Got Pulled Back from the Brink
Polk Street, where the first San Francisco Pride parade marched in 1970, just got great news: The last remaining gay bar in Polk Gulch got a big stimulus injection from a new owner. The Cinch Saloon, an icon in the area alongside the Grubstake Diner, opened in 1974. Now it'll get a second life from Scott Taylor, a beverage director at nearby Harris' Restaurant for 23 years. The news is more than just timely, given Pride. According to the San Francisco Chronicle , rumors had been in the air that the Cinch would close any day. One of the two former owners died in 2023. This Tuesday, June 3 announcement gives a spark of hope to the area that, once upon a time, was just as important a gayborhood as the Castro. Drag main character Juanita More told the paper she'd help Taylor keep the Cinch around 'for a hundred years.' New Oakland restaurant event debuts this summer The Oakland Restaurant Collective — a new-ish collection of business owners in the Town including chef Nelson German of alaMar Dominican Kitchen and the teams behind Jaji and the Caffè by Mr. Espresso — is about to run its first Summer Affair. The event runs all of June and is meant to highlight the some 30 restaurants in the cadre who will host special, restaurant-week-esque menus. There are a ton of events at participating restaurants to peep, too. Ferry Building croissant favorite set to shutter Back across the water, Grande Creperie on the waterfront is in jeopardy. The business, which opened in 2022, was informed its lease will end on June 30, 2025. The San Francisco Standard reports owners Patrick and Joanna Ascaso were told in January they'd have an extended lease. They say they were told by building management their outfit no longer fits the 'cultural mix' of the Ferry Building. Michelin star-holding restaurant rolls out affordable menu One of the city's newest additions to the ol' tire guide has just unveiled a plan to bring in diners on those nights that are decidedly less special occasion-y. On Monday, June 2 the team at 7 Adams released its 7 at 7 menu. In an Instagram post, the business owners said the idea is to offer a nightly, $127 seven-course menu somewhere between the $87 five-course menu and the $157 chef's counter experience. Sign up for our newsletter.
San Francisco Chronicle
a day ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
One of S.F.'s oldest gay bars saved by new owner
The last remaining gay bar on Polk Street has found a new owner just in time for LGBTQ Pride month. Scott Taylor, the beverage director at nearby Harris' Restaurant, is taking over the bar, according to a Tuesday announcement; Taylor has spent the past 23 years working in the industry managing various restaurants, bars and nightclubs throughout San Francisco. 'There will be minimal changes to the bar's look. I want to hold onto its history,' Taylor said. That history is rich. The Cinch was founded in 1974, and is one of the oldest gay bars in the city. During that decade, it was part of a vibrant gay scene in Polk Gulch that competed with the Castro as an epicenter of queer life in the city. At its height, there were more than 60 gay bars, peepshows, bathhouses and other gay establishments in the area. The first Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco (now San Francisco Pride) was held on Polk Street in June 1970. Before news of the sale, rumors had flown that the Cinch's days could be numbered. Taylor assumes ownership from Robby Morgenstein, who ran the bar with business partner Bob Thornton. Thornton died in May 2023. The building's famed western facade is the last from the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition. LGBTQ community leader Juanita More noted that when she first moved to Nob Hill in 1982, 'I often adventured down to the bars on Polk Street, with which I had been familiar since high school. And the Cinch is where I felt comfortable and began making many new friends (sometimes at the urinal).' More said she will lend her support to Taylor and 'will be by his side to ensure it succeeds and lives on for a hundred years.' On June 22, More and drag king and activist Alex U. Inn will lead the 'People's March & Rally — Unite to Fight!' for the sixth year. Beginning at 11:00 a.m. the intersection of Washington St. and Polk St., near the Cinch. The event is inspired by the first Gay Liberation protest in the neighborhood, and will progress down Polk to Civic Center for an afternoon celebration with DJs, performers and artists' booths from 12:30-4 p.m.
Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Topshop confirms it'll open STORES as website to launch later this year
IN a sea of closures and retail struggle, Topshop is bucking the trend and opening stores this year. The brand aims to relaunch Topshop and Topman for its loyal millennial fans and newcomers, both online and brick-and-mortar. 2 Topshop was a high street staple, with a flagship store on Oxford Street, London Credit: Alamy In 2021, Topshop and Miss Selfridge were purchased by Asos, following the collapse of former owner Arcadia. They were sold for a combined price of £330million. But in September last year, Asos sold a 75 percent stake in Topshop and Topman for around £135million to Danish holding company Heartland. At the time of the deal, Asos planned on relaunching and by August this year. Michelle Wilson, MD at Topshop and Topman, told Drapers that the brand has something up its sleeve for August. But that's just the beginning - Topshop and Topman will return to the high street for autumn via a wholesale partner. 'We have something planned in August to bring Topshop back into real life again, with a more semi-permanent presence than the one-day pop-up,' she said. 'In the shorter term that will be something with partner support and in the longer term we will do something standalone." Wilson said she was "excited to see Topshop back in person" and said their collaboration "will surprise people". In April this year, Topshop launched a pop-up at Defected Records and shoppers went wild for it. Pull&Bear Opens New Flagship Store at Silverburn: Fashion Fans Celebrate in Glasgow! They recorded a sale every three minutes, which Topshop bosses have said is proof that there is demand for the adored store. Wilson added that they aren't trying to "recreate" the Topshop that millions knew and loved. She explained that the clothing store will be given a 2025 makeover to allow it to compete with the current climate. Wilson hinted that the shop will offer experiences, much like its industry-leading Oxford Street flagship store. The once-thriving London branch offered nail bars and piercing parlours. Topshop and Topman bosses also revealed that it is "not going after a specific age demographic." However, for the now thirty-somethings whose wardrobes were packed full of Topshop garms in the early 2000s, there's more good news. Traditional favourites like the Jamie and Joni jeans will be here to stay, as well as the new Asos-era bestsellers like the wide-leg Cinch jean. Wilson teased shoppers and said that they should expect Topshop's more casual side, as well as the formal "going out" pieces. In April, Asos CEO José Antonio Ramos Calamonte, announced the return of He said: "The first step of this comeback is This will be a standalone website, which will exclusively sell the legendary brand's clothing and is expected to launch in the second half of the year. Topshop was founded in 1964 youth-focused offshoot of the department store Peter Robinson. It became a leader in trend-driven fashion and was a staple on the high street. Topshop was known for offering affordable, yet stylish, clothing that closely mirrored runway trends. However, the retail landscape began to shift in the 2010s, with growing competition from online retailers and changing consumer habits. The Sun has approached Topshop for comment.
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Telegraph
Electric car tax trick costs Treasury £48m
Savvy electric car owners cost the Treasury £48m by exploiting a tax renewal quirk in the lead-up to significant rule changes. Electric vehicles (EVs) lost their tax-free status on April 1 2025 as the Government looked to boost dwindling car tax receipts. The changes mean EVs now attract a £195-per-year bill, bringing them in line with most petrol and diesels. But owners who renewed before April were able to swerve the vehicle excise duty (VED) charge – taxing their car for free for another 12 months. Figures from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency found that renewals for electric cars surged by 1,467pc in March. The data, obtained via a Freedom of Information request by used car retailer Cinch, shows that 245,000 tax renewals were completed for EVs. With around 1.3m electric cars on UK roads, the figures suggest around one in five EV owners re-taxed free of charge in March. The mass number of renewals meant drivers saved £48m in tax. Sam Sheehan, motoring editor at Cinch, said: 'Such a big increase in renewals shows just how many EV drivers might have got themselves another year of road tax-free motoring.' Those who sidestepped the bill were able to renew regardless of how many months were left on their previous year of car tax. An EV owner due to renew in May, for example, was able to do so free of charge before April, prolonging their tax bill until 2026. When they next come to renew, the annual rate for electric cars registered from 2017 onwards is £195. The Government opted to close the long-standing tax break for EVs in a bid to offset falling fuel duty receipts brought about by fewer people filling up at the pumps. The changes to VED – which also include increases for some petrol, diesel and hybrid drivers – are expected to raise an extra £900m for the Treasury in 2025, according to forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility. But with hundreds of thousands of EV owners avoiding the payment, that revenue projection is being questioned. A Treasury spokesman said: 'We are committed to maintaining a sustainable tax contribution from motoring. As with all tax policy changes, the Government sets out details on expected impacts at fiscal events.' Declining uptake The loss of free car tax means the incentives to influence EV uptake continues to decline. Unlike other European countries, Britain has not offered an electric car grant since 2022 when the Tories ended a £1,500 scheme nearly a year earlier than the industry expected. Since April, all electric models worth more than £40,000 also incur a £425 annual charge between the second and sixth years of their lifespan. With most EVs breaking the £40,000 threshold, drivers will be forced to foot a hefty £3,110 in tax bills during the first six years. Fewer than one in four drivers intend to buy an EV in the next three years, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Research shows a typical EV now retains only 49pc of its value after 24 months, compared with 70pc for diesel and petrol cars, according to Cox Automotive. Sheena McGuinness, of tax firm RSM, said: 'The current price point of EVs may be unaffordable for many and driving consumers to seek out cheaper options.'
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Britain's ailing councils are fleecing drivers
Is your council unfairly charging motorists? We want to hear from you. Email money@ On our street the sight of the postman is greeted with jubilation, such is the irregularity of his visits. But in our house the postie's arrival induces panic: has my wife received another penalty charge notice from the council? There goes another £35, or £70 if we forget to pay within a fortnight. More pain comes every April when the cost of our parking permit rises – it now costs a shade under £200 a year for the privilege of leaving our humble Honda Jazz on our potholed road. If anyone comes to visit, it costs £4.15 a day for them to park, too. And spare a thought for my colleague in London who has to pay £46 a day for a builder to park outside her house. Teetering on the edge of financial ruin, councils across Britain are now dangerously reliant on milking the dwindling number of us who dare to own a car. To be clear, I'm not a petrol head who hates public transport and cycling; quite the contrary. But for many people a car remains a necessity: my immediate neighbours include a disabled lady who walks with the aid of crutches, an electrician who must have a van for work and a teacher who needs to drive to a village school – or spend double the time walking and waiting for unreliable rural buses. New data from Cinch, an online car retailer, has found councils across the country collected £360m from residential parking permits over the past five years (the number would be higher but some authorities did not reply to the Freedom of Information request). My council, Brighton and Hove, came third in the list of local authorities ranked by revenue, raking in £28m from permits between 2020 and 2024. The others on the list were all London boroughs (see full table, below). But it's not only a London problem: Windsor and Maidenhead and Hampshire County Council have both more than tripled how much revenue they receive from permits in recent years. On top of permits for our own cars and our guests, we find ourselves paying ever-rising fines for often very minor infringements. A couple of years ago my council opened a new 'bus gate' and it caught out 38,500 drivers in one year alone. That one street generated £1.5m in fines. Is a £35 or £70 fine really appropriate for mistakenly going down a road that is perhaps 200m long? Of course not. The imposed 'low traffic neighbourhoods' – with their £130 fines, reduced to £65 if paid within 14 days – is yet another way drivers are being scalped. What happens to all this money? The 1984 Road Traffic Regulation Act makes clear that 'profit' from parking income must be spent on related costs, such as maintaining on and off-street parking. In Brighton, the council says any surplus generated by permits is 'spent on improving our local transport system for all'. But many suspect local authorities use the money taken from drivers on other projects. In 2013 the London Borough of Barnet lost a high court battle over its proposal to raise the cost of parking permits from £40 to £100 and visitors' permits from £1 to £4. At the time, Mrs Justice Land said the 1984 Act, which Barnet used to increase the charges, did 'not authorise the authority to use its powers to charge local residents for parking in order to raise surplus revenue for other transport purposes'. The next target is likely to be electric car owners, previously regarded as saints. Earlier this year, Dover District Council raised electric car parking permits by 162pc, from £40 to £105, in line with other types of vehicles. In Brighton permits are still £50 cheaper a year for electric cars. As more people ditch internal combustion engines, councils will either have to give up hundreds of thousands of pounds … or charge Teslas the same as a diesel van from the 1980s. No prizes for guessing what they'll choose. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
