Clement Street has long been a cherished Richmond District destination. Neighbors and visitors browse Green Apple Books, grab dim sum or a hot bowl of Pho on a foggy day, and wheel their carts and kids to the Farmers Market on Sunday mornings.
Black Bird Bookstore and Café, the Outer Sunset staple serving coffee and good reads, was not Kathryn Grantham’s first foray into opening and operating a community-oriented, mission-driven space.
Other Avenues is a different kind of business. A new shopper may not know that Other Avenues Co-op is not owned by a single person, but its loyal customers know, celebrate, and support its unique, non-hierarchical structure. Another reason they like to shop here is that they do not have to look for organic produce. It’s all organic! And so are many of their packaged and bulk food items.
San Francisco is home to many people who call themselves craftspeople. These individuals specialize in a variety of skills and trades. Some enjoy the idea of tuning an old beat-up automobile, while others take pleasure in sculpting pottery. But Romania Daza, owner of Tabita’s Cafe, is a craftswoman in her own right. Her family history in the City stretches as far back as the mid-1960s.
Tucked snugly between a nail salon and a sushi joint on Geary Boulevard, a stone’s throw from the bustling Park Presidio Boulevard, is Golden State Tennis. This locally owned nook for all things tennis (and pickleball) is a local player’s one-stop-shop.
Riding the N-Judah streetcar past 31st Avenue, one can see the seeds of a new beauty salon beginning to bloom where the former Sunset Strip Cafe once stood.
In 2010, Mark Brodeth and his family started a family-run establishment on Geary Boulevard in the Richmond District called Lou’s Cafe. For five years, the cafe grew in popularity through word of mouth. Eventually, Brodeth and his family were able to open branch locations in other parts of San Francisco and the Bay Area.
Many passersby walking along Ninth Avenue in the Inner Sunset find it hard to resist popping their faces into the cardboard cutout of a magician pulling a bunny out of a hat just outside of Misdirections Magic Shop.
Joe’s Ice Cream is located in the Central Richmond on Geary Boulevard between 18th and 19th avenues. The exterior and parklet was colorfully arranged with balloons and decorations for its 65th anniversary. Known for its homemade ice cream, Joe’s celebrated this momentous occasion by serving free birthday cake flavored ice cream to the first 1,000 customers.
That business was Maxwell Window Shades, a local fixture in the Sunset District founded by Andy’s grandparents James and Felicity Maxwell. The elder James Maxwell, a skilled painter who had helped paint the Golden Gate Bridge, first launched the family’s entrepreneurial journey by selling paint and making window shades on the side.
Settled on the corner of Balboa Street and 19th Avenue, Love Street Vintage is in the heart of the Outer Richmond. Although the storefront is tucked away from the more business-dense avenues, Love Street packs a rich history interwoven among its quaintly decorated shelves and racks of whimsically colored clothing.
In a shop window on Clement Street between Ninth and 10th avenues, a large blue robot stands guard over the entrance to the Heroes Club, with its fists in the air, ready to battle for right against wrong.
The smell of toasted cheese, warm spices and light notes of sesame beckon passersby to the Richmond District’s latest hidden gem.
This is all too common in the Richmond District and many other San Francisco neighborhoods. We need to do better as a city. It’s time for more action and less rhetoric.
But after 40 years, the iconic neighborhood ice cream shop served its last customer. Though Marco Polo plans to reopen next spring on Noriega and 46th, locals say, “it’s terrible.” John has been around since the day the shop opened until the end of its operation. “I’ve lived here for like 40 years (and I could just) go out my front door and get a cone.”
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon 