By Beth Lederer

Simple Pleasures Cafe, a quaint bohemian-style coffee shop with a larger-than-life personality and a beloved neighborhood destination, was honored as a San Francisco Legacy Business in June 2023.

Simple Pleasures, located on Balboa Street near 36th Avenue in the Outer Richmond, has been a neighborhood pillar adding to the contemporary history of the west side for the last 46 years.

Opening its doors in 1978, the cozy cafe contributes to the heart and soul of the neighborhood, attracting artists, writers, musicians, poets and other locals. It is a community hub with an eclectic and diverse range of customers, including local families, morning workers, students, business owners, construction and tech workers, politicians and retirees.

The cafe attracts customers with fresh roasted coffee, rich pastries, stuffed bagel sandwiches and beers on tap. Baristas joyfully interact with the clientele as soundtracks of multi-diverse music adds to the cool vibes and distinctive ambiance with nonconforming free spirited attitudes. The venue also features open mic and trivia nights.

Achieving the status of legacy business requires a lengthy review process and passing certain criteria. The highly coveted and prestigious award is given to San Francisco businesses that have served the community for 30 or more continuous years in one location, maintained the integrity of keeping their business the same in form of physical features or traditions – including craft, art form or culinary – and having a lasting impact and contribution to the neighborhood culture.

As recorded in the legacy business registration application, Sandy Berger added a bohemian style coffee shop to the neighborhood in 1978. In 1994, Ahmed Riad, the current owner, purchased Simple Pleasures and has kept Berger’s dream alive of preserving art and culture for many generations of San Franciscans.

“It’s such an honor to be recognized after all these years of contributing to the community,” Riad said.

Simple Pleasures Cafe serves old-world, bohemian-style in-house roasted coffee. The beans are usually organic and sourced from small-scale farms, many that are woman owned. Simple Pleasures is also a minority- and woman-owned business.

During the 1989 earthquake, Simple Pleasures remained open, and many neighbors gathered there to seek community and refuge. Police and fire department representatives would stop by to report time-sensitive updates.

As the clock ticks and the years go by, Simple Pleasures appears to be frozen in time. So much of the cafe has been historically preserved, both outside and inside the building itself. The outside awning, historic wall murals, old photographs that line the wall, the furniture and even an old public pay phone adds to the history of the cafe. There is a sign hanging outside showing a picture of a “phone inside.”

A big part of the charm of the cafe is created by old-time customers – the regulars – who are critical to preserving Simple Pleasures’ culture. Their presence adds to the cafe’s ambiance.

The cafe also acts as a community hub on Thursday nights for open mic sessions, attracting musicians, artists, singers, poets, writers and comedians who perform for free and showcase their talent. An older gentleman, Virgil Jackson, a regular at Simple Pleasures, is in charge of the lineup and sound board. Recently, Jackson sang a Bob Dylan song while playing the cafe’s community guitar. He received a standing ovation.

The musicians and artists that show up for the open mic performances share in each other’s triumphs and applaud each other’s artwork.

Daniel Furon, a retired photographer, has been going to Simple Pleasures since 2000. He said he gets a warm feeling from the cafe and feels comfortable in the surroundings there. He said he enjoys the many friends he’s made there over the years.

“I am happy when I can have a conversation, read a book or sit outside feeling the sun in the parklet,” Furon said.

Furon has also contributed to the cafe with his photographs that hang on its walls. Many of his pictures are a collective history of the cafe; the employees and clientele posing for portraits under the famous Simple Pleasures awning and photographs from the celebration of the opening of the first public parklet in the Outer Richmond in 2014, right outside the front door.

Trivia night was started last year by Rick Judge, a regular since he moved to San Francisco seven years ago. Trivia night is going on its tenth session. Judge estimates the friendly contest attracts about 100 participants in an evening. Judge said he has gotten to know the owners – Ahmed and Diana – and has so much appreciation for them for keeping the cafe open during the pandemic.

Judge enjoys when trivia night helps bring many generations together.

“I get a lot of kids from the high school around here,” he said. “I also get a lot of older folks who have been in the neighborhood for a long time. Then I get people who are new to the neighborhood and are just looking to get to know the Outer Richmond.”

Judge said Simple Pleasures feels like the “neighborhood’s living room” at the end of every trivia night.

Joe Benham, a tour guide and a native to the Bay Area, has frequented Simple Pleasures for a year now. He was there on a recent Sunday morning before he picked up his tour bus and headed downtown to take hotel guests to see Muir Woods and the wine country. He said he really likes the cafe’s homey feeling; the furniture feels lived in.

While San Francisco is forever changing, Simple Pleasures is a reminder of simpler days. It has adapted to the changes of the modern world as it keeps artifacts of the past and maintains its unique charm that keeps multi-generations gathering together. Receiving the coveted honor of becoming a legacy business in San Francisco just adds to Simple Pleasures Cafe’s significance.

Simple Pleasure cafe is located at 3434 Balboa St.