By Kelcie Lee

In the corner of an iconic Sunset diner sits the Tennessee Grill Breakfast Club, stakeholders, merchants and residents who come together to discuss local politics and neighborhood matters.

Every Saturday morning, these conversations are met with a dozen San Franciscans, pitchers of black coffee and plates of all-American breakfast items. From controversial political opinions to recent news headlines, everything is brought to table #50 at Tennessee Grill.

“We’re not homogeneous. We like different opinions,” said Paul Kozakiewicz, co-founder of the breakfast club. “We like to argue amongst ourselves to see what’s the better position, so it’s just a lot of fun.”

The breakfast club resembles that of a charming small-town diner chat, with each member holding experience and strong opinions about the City. Most of them have business and entrepreneurial backgrounds. Regular members of the breakfast club include Greater Geary Merchants Association President David Heller and Vice President Sean Kim, People of Parkside Sunset President Albert Chow and San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Citizens’ Advisory Council member Stephen Cornell.

Kozakiewicz noted that the breakfast club is unique because “none of us are tech-bros or millionaires,” but rather “blue-collar average Joes.”

More than 20 years ago, Kozakiewicz, Heller and neighborhood activist David Hirtz began meeting every Saturday for breakfast at the Seal Rock Inn. They were inspired by the late Adolf Gasser, a San Franciscan photographer and businessman, who would meet with his chief competitor every Saturday morning. With Kozakiewicz as the founder of the Richmond Review and Sunset Beacon newspapers, and Heller as the president of the Greater Geary Merchants Association, their relationship — while first symbiotic — evolved into a friendship. As years passed, others were invited to their breakfasts, and attendees tended to stick around, ultimately expanding their group and leading to what became known as the breakfast club.

When the Seal Rock Inn closed in 2020, the breakfast club moved to try other restaurants in the City before they landed on the spacious Tennessee Grill on Taraval Street near 22nd Avenue.

Initially, Kozakiewicz, Hirtz and Heller would chat about what was happening in the neighborhood and how they could help improve the City. That soon led to discussions about politics and local campaigns.

While meetings often include informal side conversations, the group will sometimes be pulled together to discuss an important issue, like an update on the campaign to recall District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio. Kozakiewicz said the consensus is that if an issue has been breaking headlines in the City, it will most likely be a topic of conversation.

“We’re not always on the same page. Our idea is that we’re open to discussion. We’re open to everybody. That’s why we have Republicans, a Green Party member, very conservative Democrats and more liberal Democrats,” Kozakiewicz said. “We try to figure out what’s the best position. So, I don’t want to say it’s an intellectual group, but we hammer out the issues of the City and we all have a little bit of influence somewhere.”

Kozakiewicz said several politicians have joined breakfast meetings on occasion, including Engardio, California State Treasurer Fiona Ma, District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan, former District 4 Supervisor Gordon Mar, former District Attorney Chesa Boudin, City Supervisors Aaron Peskin and Rafael Mandelman, Sheriff Paul Miyamoto and more. While conversations are for the politicians to see what the breakfast club is about, it is also a chance for members to question city leaders.

The breakfast club often does not agree on various political affairs, with an example being a 50/50 split on the recall of Boudin. Kozakiewicz noted that the purpose of the debates is to shatter ongoing political polarization by understanding conflicting points on current issues.

“The smartest thing a person can do is to put themselves in the shoes of another person,” he said. “It’s all about seeing the big picture, about empathizing with those you don’t agree with, but understanding the positions you might not understand. I mean, none of us claim to be geniuses; we’re all just learning.”

Kozakiewicz emphasized the value that comes with areas of City expertise and realms of influence that each of the breakfast club regulars has, from public transit to city planning to inner workings of local politics. Members include retired Muni operator and supporter of organized labor Paul Slade, city permit expediter Henry Karnilowicz, former captain of SFPD’s Richmond Station Richard Corriea, healthcare-focused financial professional Raj Dheeraj, Green Party political activist Barry Hermanson and more.

While Kozakiewicz has thought about formally organizing the breakfast club and leveraging its influence in the past, the club realized that they enjoyed the loose informal format more. Between the club’s chatter and laughter comes direct action as well: individual letters to politicians, meetings with stakeholders and political campaign donations.

“I can’t really say that we started a movement or anything, but we’ve been part of just about everything,” he said.

One Saturday at a time, the Tennessee Grill Breakfast Club continues to meet with politicians, discuss what is best for the City and listen to one another in an ever-polarized political environment. And at the end of every meal, the Sunset and Richmond residents throw $23 into the middle of the table and wave, already looking forward to the next week.

“The one thing about all of us is we’re not armchair quarterbacks; we’re all movers and shakers, which is rare,” Kozakiewicz said. “So, this group, they show up. They love the City, and they want to do everything they can to improve it.”

Editor’s Note: Paul Kozakiewicz is the founder, former publisher and editor-in-chief and now an editor of the Richmond Review and Sunset Beacon newspapers.