By Michael Durand
For all you lovely people out there who were following my recent health scare, thank you once again for your concern and good thoughts. Just two months after my heart attack, I’m feeling great! I am so lucky and grateful.
Richmond District resident Kelly Low’s unstoppable creative muse was at it again. A while ago, she made a beautiful quilt of crocheted squares spelling out “Richmond Review and Sunset Beacon” in braille. We bring it with us every time we are at a table at various community events, and everyone expresses delight and awe at her beautiful work.
She created another crochet project for us, and it is equally awe inspiring. Her latest quilt spells out “Meet the Editor Michael Durand” in Braille. Another amazing honor.
Thank you, Kelly @SFRichmondYarnBuddies!
Meet the Editor
I have been showing up once a month for the last several years for my “meet the editor” sessions at the One Richmond office at 802 Clement St. It’s on the second Thursday of every month from 1-2:30 p.m. Thank you to Rozie and the Richmond Neighborhood Center for hosting me. Come by and say hi!
A couple of months ago, I received a request to “collaborate” on a video from Tèa (@teyfromdabay) on Instagram. That meant sharing her work with our nearly 2,000 followers. Even though we never met, the video was good, so I shared it. Tèa Eristavi sells real estate with Vanguard Properties and the video was about “your selling point is the neighborhood, not just the house.” She was promoting the Richmond District, so our goals aligned. The video has had about 5,000 plays. Definitely way more than what we usually post.
The video she posted about “three spots you NEED to know in the Richmond District” pulled in 160,000 views with more than 5,000 likes and more than 3,000 shares.
Then Tèa posted a heads up to owners of cars parked on California Street which were to be towed if parked when President Joe Biden’s motorcade was headed through the Richmond. That one has more than 18,000 views as of December 2023.
The next video was her eating a crepe on California Street as Biden’s motorcade was driving by. “Joe Biden watched me eat the best crepe in the Richmond District,” was a pretty clever hook. She went on to promote Genki on Clement Street. That post has racked up more than 215,000 views with almost 10,000 likes.
I had to meet this person. We ended up running into each other at Clementime, the Inner Richmond holiday stroll on Clement Street. We hit it off right away and had a great conversation. She’s cool!
Her video about Tia Margarita – again, promoting a local business – was viewed almost 17,000 times. The spot she did promoting Polish Nail and Beauty Salon has 5,800 views so far. Her feature on Mel’s Drive In on Geary pulled in more than 42,000 views and more than 1,100 likes.
Her big hit so far was about the perks that come with your San Francisco Public Library card. That video recently passed 650,000 views, 28,000 likes and more than 34,000 shares!
We got together a couple of times since then for lunch and ice cream (at Joe’s). I invited her to our Richmond Review and Sunset Beacon end-of-the-year party. Of course, she couldn’t help herself and made a lovely video about me and the papers. What an amazing tribute.
I encourage you to follow her Instagram account – @teyfromdabay – to see what gem she comes up with next. Thank you, Tèa!
Copies of the Richmond Review
We publish 18,100 copies of the paper each month. Most of the issues are delivered to about half of the district one month, the other half the next. The rest are available at local libraries, coffee shops, book stores and other businesses. We replenish extra copies of the Richmond Reviews with our friends at Joe’s Ice Cream (5420 Geary Blvd.) and the Beauty Network (5748 Geary Blvd.). Visit our website for more locations. Carriers: Please contact us if you need more copies.
Best Bagels
A few months back, our friend Jean sent us a link and asked if we could promote the Laundromat (3725 Balboa St.).
“More good news about food in the Richmond. The Laundromat and House of Bagels here in the Richmond were voted among the top bagel stores in the City. Maybe the Richmond Review could give them a plug.”
OK, Jean. Here you go.
“The Laundromat in the Outer Richmond wears many hats – the all-day-ish spot does pizza and wine at night and serves incredible bagels in the morning. So, get here during the day to be hit with the smell of malt and everything seasoning radiating from the towering bagel carts filled with their plump stunners. Loose bagels and tubs of cream cheese are on deck (no sandwiches or toasters here), so take a dozen egg everythings (the best flavor) and scallion cream cheese to go and assemble it at home or nearby Golden Gate Park.” – theinfatuation.com.
House of Bagels: “This Jewish deli has been around since the ’60s, and, at this point, is a Geary Boulevard institution. They sell challah and pastries like rugelach and hamentaschen, but you’re here for their great selection of New York-style bagels that are made fresh daily. We like the everything bagels – the seasoning is on the lighter side, but this bagel is still flavorful.” – theinfatuation.com.
I can attest to the quality of the House of Bagels products. Every time I visit the amazing Abigail Glynn at Glynn Realty (one of our treasured firends and advertisers), she sends me home with a bag of bagels. They’re so good! I also tried the bagels from The Laundromat. They’re also terrific. The first 22 years of my life were spent growing up on Long Island in New York, where they make the best bagels. The Laundromat and House of Bagels bring me home.
Now that I read Clarisse Kim’s great story on page 1 about the new Batches Bakehouse, I have another source to try.
Ms. Marian’s Dance Garden
Ms. Marians Dance Garden recently celebrated 10 years of teaching students various types of dance. Congratulations! Marian is also a faithful supporter of the Richmond Review, and we are very appreciative.
Refuse Refuse
From Vince at Refuse Refuse:
“We just crossed another milestone: over 2,000 cleanups organized! I was wondering if it might be time for another story about Refuse Refuse?
“In the Richmond, we’re averaging about a dozen cleanups each month. In April, it will be our three-year anniversary.”
Great work Vince and all the community-minded volunteers. Check out the Announcements section for details about local cleanups.
New Pickleball Courts
The SF Recreation and Park Department announced the opening of the City’s newest pickleball complex at Carl Larsen Park.
“The eight new pickleball courts in the Larsen Pickleball Complex are the latest added by Rec. and Park to meet soaring demand. Over the past five years, the department has increased its number of pickleball courts seven-fold, bringing the number of courts from just 12 in 2018 to more than 80 places to play today.
“The new courts will be dedicated solely to pickleball seven days a week. A much-anticipated public pickleball complex in the Sunset District opened for play on Dec. 18, 2023.”
The park is located on Vicente Street at 19th Avenue.
End-of-the Year Celebration
Some people think I put the papers together by myself, but there is an amazing team that collaborates to bring the Richmond and Sunset districts stories and information about our terrific neighborhoods.
At the end of every year, we hold a small celebration to thank the many people who help provide the papers to our readers.
We have writers and photographers ranging from teenagers – two of our best writers are high school juniors! – to senior citizens.
Other contributors include a creator of crossword puzzles (for the Richmond Review), a cartoonist and columnists.
We appreciate the collaborative connection we have with the Western Neighborhoods Project which kindly allows us access to its amazing collection of historical photos for our “Then and Now” columns and other stories.
We also rely on the behind-the-scenes contributors who rarely get a thank you. So, thank you to our printers and delivery team.
The founder and pevious editor and publisher of the papers, Paul Kozakiewicz, gets thanked about 100 times every month. He helps copy edit every issue and continues to be a trusted mentor to me and I am infinitely thankful. Sue, our bookkeeper, keeps an eye on the finances, which is a tremendous help.
We had a very healthy turnout on Dec. 15, 2023 to celebrate another successful year. We held the event at SF Hole in the Wall Pizza on Irving Street near 19th Avenue. Their food is great and the atmosphere is very comfortable.
Joining us this year was State Senator Scott Wiener and State Assemblymemer Phil Ting.
Thanks to Assemblymember Ting, I am now a very proud of a certificate of recognition. It says:
Michael Durand
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon.
“Recognizing Michael Durand on the memorable occasion of Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon End-of-the-Year Party. Your unwavering commitment to journalism has made a significant impact on the Richmond and Sunset neighborhoods and is truly commendable. May you continue to keep our communities well informed and connected through your work and dedication to these well-respected publications. Congratulations on this remarkable occasion.”
Special Thanks
My good friend Susan Battaini knows me so well. She understands my deep love for Golden Gate Park, my backyard for the past 45 years. A dish towel featuring the Park will also be with us at our table at community events. Thank you, Susan!
Thank you to the generous contributors to our Patreon account. Your donations really help us keep this paper healthy and thriving. If you love the paper and want to see it continue to be an important part of our community, please go to our website to learn how to sign up or where to send a donation. So many worthwhile organizations are asking for money. With us, you can see exactly where your donations are going. This paper is 20 pages thanks to our generous contributors. We appreciate you.
I am sending my warmest wishing to our friends and neighbors for a heathy and happy 2024.
Michael Durand is the editor and publisher of the Richmond Review and Sunset Beacon newspapers and the RichmondSunsetNews.com website. He can be reached at Editor@RichmondSunsetNews.com.
Categories: From the Editor
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon 