News from the Heart & Soul of San Francisco
With the opening of a number of new restaurants, Union Street is showing signs of recovery from the economic doldrums that led to a spate of shuttered shops on the street. But a new group of young residents and business owners says more aggressive change is needed in the neighborhood, and has formed the Union…
By Anne Paprocki Big changes are in store for Frankie’s Bohemian Cafe, the bar and restaurant at the corner of Divisadero and Pine that has been a local favorite for nearly two decades, known for its big beers, giant burgers, Czech flair and casual atmosphere. Soon the mugs of Krusovice beer and bar fare will…
SALOONS | Chris Barnett Fillmore hotspot Harry’s is headed for a change. It’s not a facelift; the design and decor still look fresh after a quarter century of civilized salooning and dining in the daytime and ear-splitting revelry at night. Instead, the cocktail culture is getting an update by mixologist Michael Callahan, who heads a…
NEW NEIGHBOR | Yuni Salon A bright orange awning at 2434 California Street heralds the arrival of Salon Yuni. Owned by local resident Yuni Cho, the salon manages to be both homey and starkly modern, with a mostly white interior accented by fuchsia touches and eight orange client chairs. Cho says the decision to open…
What a difference a day makes. On Saturday, Michael Blythe, a manager at the Clay Theatre on Fillmore, was grappling with what to do after the Clay played its last picture show on Sunday. But by midday Sunday, he had a happier problem on his hands: how to phrase the good news on the marquee…
Fillmore’s jewel-box cinema, the Clay Theater, is closing at the end of the month after 100 years. The sad news came in a simple sign posted in the theater’s windows. The Clay was thought to have a more secure future than many neighborhood theaters because it was part of Landmark Theatres. Landmark gave no indication…
The Sunday Chron offered up three takes by three Fillmore chefs on the same set of summer ingredients. “We went to San Francisco’s Fillmore Street,” said the Chron, “a destination for cuisine from around the globe. We chose SPQR, an Italian restaurant; Dosa, which specializes in Indian cuisine; and 1300 on Fillmore, a restaurant that…
SALOONS | Chris Barnett You rarely see a gin and tonic slide across the bar at Dosa, the Southern Indian restaurant on Fillmore at Post, no matter how many times you belly up to that stylish 50-foot slab of recycled glass, mirror chips and mother-of-pearl. But you’ll see plenty of Princetons, Bengali gimlets and other…
Athleta, the women’s athletic apparel brand that is now part of the Gap’s corporate family, is moving forward with plans to open a retail store at 2226 Fillmore Street, the longtime home of the Junior League’s Next-to-New resale shop. The city’s board of appeals has rejected a request to review whether Athleta should be considered…
FIRST PERSON | DAVE SCOTT My dad had all these books on the shelves in the basement. They were these grand philosophy books from his seminary days with fantastic titles like “The Politics of God,” “Man, Myth, Meaning” and “Truth and Ethics.” He became a psychologist. He was good at mediating, and bringing people together,…