Teriyaki coming to Fillmore

Posted on April 3, 2013 by editors

OPENING SOON in the former home of Johnny Rockets at the corner of Fillmore and Pine: Glaze, which is promising to bring Seattle-style teriyaki via New York to the edge of Japantown.

It’s the brainchild of Paul Krug and Ian McCormick, childhood friends in Seattle who loved their city’s signature brand of teriyaki introduced by Japanese immigrants and modified by a later wave of arrivals from Korea. They’ve already opened two outposts in New York, and the Fillmore shop establishes a beachhead on the west coast.

“I think we’re a great fit for Fillmore,” says McCormick. “The fabric of the city is so strong here.”

The average price is under $10, and everything on the menu will be locally sourced and made daily from scratch — much like their friends at Roam Burgers across the street.

The space will be outfitted with an open kitchen and lots of recycled wood, and they’re reclaiming the original century-old wooden floors. There will also be an outdoor patio out back with communal tables and heat lamps. “It’s a fun space,” says McCormick. “It’s unique for the street and perfect for the city.”

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Oska stirs chain store fight on Fillmore

Posted on March 3, 2013 by editors

Photograph at Fillmore and California by Dickie Spritzer

By Barbara Kate Repa

SPURRED BY CONCERNS that the local shopping district is losing its charm and uniqueness as corporate labels gobble up real estate on Fillmore Street, some business owners are now attempting to block a newcomer — Oska, a German-based clothing company — from moving into the neighborhood.

The charge is being led by Miyo Ota, owner of Mio, the women’s boutique at 2035 Fillmore. She has filed an appeal of a building permit issued earlier to refurbish the space at 2130 Fillmore just left vacant by Jet Mail, where Oska intends to open a boutique. The action suspends the permit until the San Francisco Board of Appeals hears testimony on the issue at City Hall on March 20.

UPDATE: At its March 20 hearing, the Board of Appeals allowed the landlord’s permit to make upgrades to the building’s foundation to go forward. A second permit allowing Oska to build out the interior, which was also challenged, will be heard by the board on May 15.

FURTHER UPDATE: At its May 15 meeting, the Board of Appeals ruled 4-1 that Oska is a chain store and must go through the city’s conditional use process before it can open on Fillmore Street.

Ota’s resolve to act against the retailer, which boasts more than 50 stores around the world, was stoked while on a recent buying trip to Paris, where she was strolling through the formerly quaint Marais district. “I was shocked at what I saw there — it feels like Soho on weekends,” she says. “Now there are the same old chains there you see everywhere.”
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Two retail pros open their own shop

Posted on March 3, 2013 by editors

Photographs of Hudson Grace at 3350 Sacramento Street by Matthew Millman

SACRAMENTO STREET’S collection of antique shops, interior designers and home accessory stores got a boost — in offerings and experience — when Hudson Grace opened at 3350 Sacramento a few weeks ago.

The new store is the brainchild of Monelle Totah and Gary McNatton, who helped build Williams-Sonoma, Banana Republic, the Gap and Restoration Hardware into international juggernauts.

“But I’ve always wanted to have my own store,” says Totah. “Gary, too.”

So instead of working on corporate stores around the globe, they decided to focus on just one: their own. And they wanted their “shared dream” to be on Sacramento Street. They named the store after their dogs, Hudson and Grace.
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Photographer made his mark on Fillmore

Posted on March 3, 2013 by editors

A new book tells David Johnson's story and includes many of his photographs.

A HANDSOME NEW BOOK — melodiously titled A Dream Begun So Long Ago — chronicles the life of photographer David Johnson from his childhood, shuffling through the care of various adults in segregated Jacksonville, Florida, through his on-and-off relationship with the art of photography. Now it’s firmly on again as the 86-year-old relishes his recognition as one of the foremost historical chroniclers of black life in San Francisco and the Fillmore community in particular.

In the book, told in the first person and written with his wife Jacqueline Annette Sue, Johnson reminisces about his early days under the tutelage of Ansel Adams — and the day in 1946 he climbed up on a scaffold to take what would become an iconic photograph of the neighborhood called Looking South on Fillmore. Excerpts from the book follow.

I work in the darkroom alongside Ansel Adams as he produces very large black and white landscape murals. As I watch him working, we have a conversation about print quality as he applies some developer to a print. I say laughingly, “I thought you were a purist,” meaning showing the photograph just as it was taken. Ansel chuckles and says, “Yes, but I am not an absolute purist.”
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The crime of his childhood

Posted on March 3, 2013 by editors

Josh Miele commutes on BART between his home in Berkeley and his work on Fillmore.

JOSH MIELE can often be spotted on Fillmore Street, taking a lunch break or coming and going from his work as a scientist at the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute at 2318 Fillmore. In a powerful story published today, The New York Times tells how a neighbor’s attack with sulfuric acid blinded and disfigured him when he was 4 years old.

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b. patisserie: pastry heaven

Posted on March 1, 2013 by editors

Photographs of b. patisserie by Amanda Hibbert

By MICHELE MANDELL

Its unassuming storefront and the all-lowercase spelling of the new b. patisserie at 2821 California Street, near Divisadero, might convey a self-effacing vibe, but there is nothing small about Belinda Leong’s tres chic pastry shop, which opened just before Valentine’s Day.

Leong’s impressive pedigree includes stints with Michelin-starred heavyweights Manresa and Gary Danko, where she was pastry chef for nearly a decade. She also spent a year in Paris working with the legendary Pierre Herme, dubbed the “Picasso of Pastry” by French Vogue.

Pastry lovers will be in heaven here. The lengthy marble display counter is not only a showstopper, but a technological marvel. Each section of the single-level surface can be set at a different temperature to keep every item at its best. For instance, lemon tarts are in a chilled section, while croissants are displayed in a room-temperature section. The case was custom-built in Paris and is the only one of its kind in the U.S.

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When I and thou were young

Posted on March 1, 2013 by editors

Photograph of Solstice by Daniel Bahmani

FIRST PERSON | Kevin Blum

It’s last call for Solstice Lounge.

After a successful 10-year run, the neighborhood favorite at 2801 California and Divisadero will be closing its doors for good on Saturday, March 2. The landlord, who also owns Rasselas and Sheba Piano Lounge on Fillmore Street, proposed to raise the monthly rent by several thousand dollars. Despite being a successful Pacific Heights fixture, Solstice would have to sell many more raspberry mojitos and Kobe beef sliders to cover the rent hike. Consequently, Matt Sturm and Leslie Shirah, who also own the Fly Bars on Divisadero and Sutter Streets, have decided to shutter Solstice.

For me personally, Solstice’s closing marks the end of an era. I moved to the neighborhood at the same time the restaurant and bar opened. I was in my mid-20s. City life was exciting and new. My friends and I were all young and carefree. Solstice immediately became our social nucleus. We would meet at the bar weekly without worrying about curfews, spouses or babysitters. We would go there on first dates, blind dates or last dates. Most of the time, we were just trying to find dates.
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Dental school may become condos

Posted on March 1, 2013 by editors

Landscaped townhouses might replace the dental school's parking lot.

The six-story building at Webster and Sacramento Streets that is home of the dental school of the University of the Pacific — which is scheduled to move downtown next year to Fifth Street — may be converted into condominiums.

Trumark Urban, a privately owned development company based in Danville, is exploring the possibility of creating 110 to 130 high-end condos in the existing building. In addition, on the 17,000-square-foot surface parking lot to the west, they would add townhomes and landscaping between Sacramento and Clay Streets.

“We’re in the early stages of figuring out how we might re-purpose the building,” said Kim Diamond, Trumark’s development director. “But we’re really excited about the area and the building.”

Diamond and Trumark managing director Arden Hearing have been reaching out to neighborhood leaders as part of their due diligence in deciding whether to go through with their tentative agreement to buy the property. Among others, they consulted with Pacific Heights Residents Association board members Greg Scott and Paul Wermer, who raised the perennial concerns about parking and traffic but responded positively to the idea of creating residences. The building has been widely expected to become another medical building, given its location near the hospital.

“This is probably the least impactful use of the property,” said Wermer.

Diamond said her company is unlikely to proceed if there is opposition to the project. “We really want the neighborhood’s support,” she said.

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Little library now lending

Posted on February 11, 2013 by editors

The Little Free Library on Suttter Street: It's a neighborhood thing.

A MINI-TREND to establish individual Little Free Libraries, begun in the Midwest in 2009, has led to the creation of thousands of libraries throughout the United States and in at least 17 other countries.

And now there’s a Little Free Library in the Fillmore.

Bibliophiles who pass by 2223 Sutter Street, near Scott, will find a hinged wooden cabinet bearing a sign: “Little Free Library. Take a book or leave a book.” Many do.

Local resident Michael Scdoris built the library, which can hold up to 50 books, from material scavenged during morning walks with his dog.

“I’ve gotten a great response and numerous letters from people,” he says. “I’m finding out what people in the neighborhood like. Children’s books are gone instantly — and so is any how-to book.”
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Pa’ina: sleek, smart, sophisticated

Posted on February 4, 2013 by editors

Photographs of Pa'ina by Erik Anderson

SALOONS | Chris Barnett

What is a gentlemanly ex-plumber from the Sunset doing running a hot new Hawaiian-themed saloon, eatery and live music lounge in the Fillmore?

And at a time when many publords are quietly pushing up prices and skimping on portions and pours, how can James Cheng’s Pa’ina Lounge & Restaurant host an affordable, plentiful happy hour with young, attitude-free staffers eager to serve?

What’s more, how does Cheng persuade top Hawaiian reggae bands to fly across the Pacific on their own dime and perform at Pa’ina at 1865 Post, next door to the Sundance Kabuki Theatres, often at no charge?

Finally, why is his six-month-old venue so often packed with fundraisers, new product launches, corporate and political wingdings when marquee hotels downtown are begging to book this high-revenue business?

The answers can be summed up in a single sentence: Cheng and virtually his entire staff are complete rookies to the bar, restaurant and lounge world.
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