Q & A | Vasilios Kiniris Zinc Details has turned 20. How did it all begin? I was fresh out of the College of Environmental Design at the University of California at Berkeley and simply had an idea and some very strong feelings. At the university, Wendy Nishimura and I had developed an understanding and [...]
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By Carina Woudenberg Floyd Trammell — whose position as president of the Fillmore Community Benefit District ended when the group was defunded in mid-December — walked the blocks of Fillmore south of Geary on a recent morning and took note of the changes he was seeing in the neighborhood. The sidewalk was littered with plastic [...]
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PROVING ONCE AGAIN that more casual eateries are gaining in popularity in the neighbotrhood, a number of new restaurants opened just in time for the new year. Among them are spots helmed by two husband-and-wife teams with impeccable pedigrees: Roostertail — a new restaurant specializing in free-range chicken cooked on a rotisserie spit — is [...]
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REAL ESTATE | Maria Marchetti We had an exceptional year for mansion sales in 2011, with 15 homes selling for more than $5 million. And we still have a handsome selection of high-end offerings available, including eight mansions listed over $10 million and nine more listed between $5 million and $10 million. Among them: The [...]
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FRENCH BROTHERS
RESURFACE IN MARINA
Jerome and Stephane Meloni — who formerly ran the elegant Cassis restaurant at Sutter and Steiner — have re-emerged in a streamlined new space down the hill in the Marina.
They've opened Castagna — chestnut in Italian — at 2015 Chestnut Street, just west of Fillmore. They open at 8 a.m. weekdays and offer all-day dining for breakfast, lunch, dinner and in-between snacks. The food is a simpler and more casual version of the French and Italian favorites they offered at Cassis.
The Castagna decor has a South of France theme, reflecting the Meloni brothers’ hometown of Nice. The design includes custom woodwork in the style of a boat deck, along with other nautical touches. Before they came to the U.S., the brothers operated a family restaurant on the harbor in Antibes.
TWO FILLMORE SHOPS
MOVING, BUT NOT FAR
Blu, the high-end women's boutique across the street from Long Bar on the southwest corner of Fillmore and Clay, is moving to Sacramento Street. Reportedly a major label women's brand will take over the space.
After a brief stay at 1919 Fillmore, the furniture store Ruby Living Design is moving to the big space on Union Street near Van Ness that was previously home to the Ralph Lauren furniture showroom.
PROMISING NEWS
FOR THE LONG BAR
What should be one of the liveliest corners on Fillmore — at Clay Street — remains sedate, especially with the restaurant on the southeast corner dark yet again. Most recently it was the Long Bar — and before that Fillmore Grill and the longlasting La Posada. The space briefly had a "for lease" sign posted with an email address, but messages went unanswered.
The sign is gone, and now comes word that Albert Rainer — who first transformed the space into Fillmore Grill nearly a decade ago, and still controls the master lease — will return. Rainer and his brother Klaus operate the wildly successful Leopold's Austrian restaurant and beerfest at Polk and Union.
COMING & GOING
One Medical Group has opened at 2410 California Street, formerly the second location of Zinc Details. Zinc has now consolidated its operations at 1905 Fillmore.
. . . Paolo Shoes at 2000 Fillmore has unveiled a new look and is now once again open for business.
. . . Her, the clothing boutique for women, closed at the end of the year after 15 years at 2053 Fillmore.
. . . Construction has begun on Chase Bank's new branch in the neighborhood, which squeaked through the Planning Commission on a 4-3 vote in the fall. The branch will be located at 2429 California Street, the longtime home of Esrik Cleaners.
