GETAWAYS | Caroline Wampole Longtime neighborhood resident Lynne Butcher was on a visit to Upper Lake in June 2003 when she saw a “for sale” sign on the historic Tallman Hotel. She had just sold her equipment leasing business and was looking for a new project. “The ‘for sale’ sign had been there for 41 [...]
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ORNITHOLOGY | Monte Travis From my ninth floor office near Lafayette Park, I’ve been watching a pair of red-tailed hawks engage in aerial courtship flights since early this year. In late March I saw the hawks carrying sticks to a large nest high in a eucalyptus tree in the park, undertaking a little remodeling. A [...]
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By Barbara Kate Repa Locals stumped about the best way to poach a salmon, how long to bake a stuffed pepper or how to cook a rib roast have a ready expert to consult: Lorain Arruabarrena, the lone female staffer behind Mollie Stone’s meat and fish counter at 2435 California Street, near Fillmore. The meat [...]
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ARCHITECTURE | John Field Although I’ve lived in Pacific Heights for many years and designed homes here, I never thought of myself as a Pacific Heights architect. When I was asked recently how many houses in the neighborhood I have designed, I had to stop and think. I’d never counted them. There must be 20 [...]
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Up the sidewalk to the imposing Victorian mansion at 2007 Franklin Street — the historic Haas-Lilienthal House — walks a group of senior travelers who call themselves road scholars. They are greeted by a gentleman in a vested suit and bowler hat, carrying a silver-headed cane, who welcomes them inside. It’s not John Gaul’s home, [...]
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President Obama will be back in the neighborhood for dinner tonight, after stopping in Chinatown to pick up take-out dim sum for lunch. He’s supping and posing with a few deep-pocketed supporters paying $38,500 each at the contemporary Gold Coast home of Oracle heiress Nicola Miner and author Robert Mailer Anderson. Entertainment will be provided [...]
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By Carina Woudenberg Continuing the influx of new businesses into the Fillmore Jazz District, The Social Study is now serving beverages, snacks and a cool vibe in the stylish brick-lined space at 1795 Geary, just off Fillmore. Along with creatively concocted drinks and locally roasted coffee, owner Harmony Fraga says she hopes to add to [...]
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EXCERPT | By Etta James Uncle Frank showed up in his car and whisked us up to San Francisco when I was 12. We dropped [my mother] Dorothy off in the Fillmore District, which looked like a hell-hole to me. L.A. was a vine-covered cottage compared to these slums. After the sunny skies of southern [...]
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SPIRITS | Chris Barnett Maurice Kanbar is sitting in the cluttered, comfortable living room of his Pacific Heights apartment clipping Safeway coupons. That seems rather odd for an 80-year-old entrepreneur, property investor and filmmaker-philanthropist who’s no doubt a billionaire plus. But then he also zips around town on a Vespa lookalike motor scooter because he [...]
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JAZZ | Anthony Torres Mike “Coffee Picasso” Pitre, a true original local jazz talent and music scene treasure, died of a heart attack on December 18, leaving friends and admirers stunned at the sudden departure of the Bohemian Knuckleboogie lead man. He was 44. I can still vividly remember that first sighting of Coffee and [...]
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STARBUCKS OPENING
A FILLMORE JUICE BAR
Farewell to the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, one of Fillmore’s many coffee shops, which closed on March 25 at the corner of Fillmore and Sacramento. . . . And hello to Starbucks, which is taking over the busy corner for its new chain of juice bars called Evolution Fresh, offering fresh and bottled juices, smoothies and food.
Even though this is the beginning of a new chain from Starbucks, it squeaks in under the ban on chain stores because it’s just starting and has fewer than 11 outlets. So far.
FURNITURE GIVES WAY
TO YOGA WEAR
The end is near for the Danish furniture store BoConcept, which opened less than two years ago at 1928 Fillmore. It’s retreating to its larger showroom in the design district and will be replaced by Prana, a brand of activewear for yogis, climbers and other sports enthusiasts.
SOLVING THE PUZZLE
OF FLOOR COVERING
A welcoming carpet in jaunty shades of brick, brown and purple on the sidewalk at 2226 Bush Street beckons buyers into Flor, a new store selling a modular system of floor covering that can be assembled as rugs, runners or wall-to-wall carpeting.
The floor covering is offered in 20-by-20-inch carpet tiles that range in cost from $8 per square for short nylon pile to $40 for plush wool. The squares can be assembled and changed to fit space and use needs.
ROAM BURGERS
MOVING UP TO FILLMORE
At 1923 Fillmore, Roam Burgers has signed a lease to succeed Osaka, the long-running Japanese restaurant operated by three Chinese sisters. Roam has established a big following for its gourmet burgers down the hill on Union Street.
MORE FASHION
SHOPS OPENING
Three Fillmore shops that have closed in recent weeks — Blu, Her and Ruby Living Design — will be replaced by new clothing boutiques. Alice + Olivia is already open at the corner of Fillmore and Clay Streets, former home of Blu. Look for Roberta Freymann and Steven Alan, coming soon.
DUMPLINGS & BUNS
CALLS IT QUITS
It was a dream come true for May Lee, whose family has owned the building at the key corner of Fillmore and California for many years. She’d take over the space at 2411 California and open a shop serving Chinese dumplings and buns based on her own family’s recipes.
Despite a stylish storefront and authentic offerings, the dream turned into something of a nightmare and the shop closed on February 26, barely six months after it opened.
A number of potential new food-related tenants are said to be circling, even though the space has no kitchen.
DECORATOR SHOWCASE
AT 2020 JACKSON
The Heller mansion at 2020 Jackson Street — on the market for $20 million — has been selected as the location for this year’s Decorator Showcase.
Designed by Julius Krafft, 2020 Jackson was built in 1902 by Wells Fargo Bank President Isaias Hellman as a wedding gift for his daughter, Clara, and her husband Emanuel Heller, founder of the Heller Ehrman law firm. After the 1906 earthquake, it served as the temporary headquarters of Wells Fargo.
This year the Decorator Showcase will run from April 28 to May 28.
