News from the Heart & Soul of San Francisco
FIRST PERSON | Ken Samuels The other day, while selling some books to a couple of young men, I realized I’d known them since they were little kids pleading with their mothers to buy them Berenstain Bears books. That sums up my decade and a half at Browser Books on Fillmore and Sacramento selling books…
One of Fillmore Street’s iconic institutions will disappear by the end of the year when Fillmore Hardware closes its doors promptly at 5:55 for the final time. For 49 years — since 1961 — the store has been the ultimate neighborhood-serving business. Originally twice its present size, it was a full-service hardware and glass company…
There’s been no breakthrough yet, but negotiations are continuing between the owner of the Clay Theater and the San Francisco Film Society, which hopes to make the theater its home. In addition, the owner’s architect has met with the CEO of Landmark Theatres, the current operator, about renovations that might make the theater attractive to…
ARCHITECTURE | THERESE POLETTI In one of the more unusual examples of architectural ornament in San Francisco, a circle of lady bugs surrounds what appears to be a 1915 Ford Model-T Roadster. They adorn the facade of the architecturally significant 94-year-old garage that is home to Hayes Auto Repair at 2401 Bush Street, between Pierce…
Carlo Middione and his late and beloved Fillmore restaurant Vivande are back in the news today. The Chronicle reports that he’s included in a new book discussing his loss of taste and smell after he was involved a car accident. Read more: Carlo Middione can’t taste but still loves to cook And don’t miss the…
Elena Basegio and her father Doug Basegio opened the Fillmore Bakeshop at Bush and Fillmore just in time for the World Series. “We spent last night figuring out how to put the Giants in pastry form,” Elena said a few days after opening. The result: a white chiffon cake filled with chocolate mousse and covered…
THE NEWS CAME as a sudden shock: September 30 was the final day of business for Delanghe Patisserie at the corner of Fillmore and Bush. After 26 years of buttery croissants and mini eclairs, finis. It seemed impossible to the Francophiles who loved the place and the locals for whom it was always there. No…
By Stedman F. Matthew More than 60,000 people visit the St. Jude Shrine at St. Dominic’s Church every year to light a candle, say a prayer and seek solace from their suffering. The shrine — founded by the Dominican friars in 1935 in the middle of the Great Depression to bring hope to a world…
10/10/10 brought Fillmore’s newest boutique to the street: Los Angeles designer James Perse opened shortly before noon in the long-vacant space at 2028 Fillmore. Shortly after noon, the locals were already streaming in to check out what the company calls its “seamless blend of luxe and casual.” Perse offers clothing for both men and women…
The third annual San Francisco Filipino American Jazz Festival comes to Yoshi’s on Sunday, October 10, from 6 to 9 p.m. Among the headliners are composer-pianist-vocalist Primo Kim, appearing with guest vocalist Jo Canion; Tokyo’s premier jazz diva Charito; and, from Manila, the powerful singer Sandra Lim Viray. The roots of Filipino jazz in San…