NIMBY Watch: Keeping 7-Eleven out of the Mission

Fear of Major Brands in the Mission: Case # 87,679,001

Maybe adopting 'authentic cultural themes' (via Thailand) would help residents accept the 7-Eleven brand

On November 5th 2009, the owner of a 76 station at Mission and 30th submitted an application for renovations to the San Francisco Planning Department. In his letter, Somil Gandhi and his representatives stated their intent to re-brand the gas station's food mart as a 7-Eleven.  

On May 20th 2010, the San Francisco Planning Department found the renovations to be “necessary and/or desirable”, granted Somil conditional use authorization to move forward with his plans, and scheduled a hearing in a week's time to finalize their approval.

On May 27th 2010, the NIMBYs flipped their shit.  

With locally crafted pitchforks and biodegradable torches in hand, a group of “neighborhood activists” descended on the hearing.  While the overtones of an intrinsic hatred for corporate branding were present, the NIMBY mob must have realized that this sort of knee-jerk reaction wouldn't make for a solid argument when trying to sway city planners.  So instead they argued that 7-Eleven is a crime magnet and would “threaten local business” by fucking with their coffee sales. Whether or not you're delusional enough to believe that local cafe goers would switch from Philz to gas station coffee in droves, it's a moot point because the 76's food mart is already selling equally shitty coffee.

The great '7-Eleven Coffee threat' aside, let's make something very clear; this gas station is a local business and would remain a local business.  Somil Gandhi is not selling his food mart to an evil corporation so that they can rape the fertile land that is Mission and 30th.  The business will remain owned and operated by him and his family.  All that changes is the signage and a slight expansion of the building's 'office area' to comply with corporate regulations.  By doing so, Somil's suffering business will save money by being granted access to 7-Eleven's consolidated distribution network; allowing him to purchase goods at lower costs from a single retailer instead of several dozen.  

Now it's true that gas stations do get robbed, but 3400 Mission has already been a gas station for some time.  The only way that adding a 7-Eleven sign to an existing gas station could be perceived as painting a bulls-eye on the area, would be the fact that 7-Elevens typically sell alcohol and alcohol promotes crime.  But there's one little catch, and the NIMBYs seem to have missed this in the project proposal (WHICH IS PUBLIC AND EASILY ACCESSIBLE, EVEN TO HALF WIT BLOGGERS LIKE MYSELF); this 7-Eleven will not sell alcohol.  I REPEAT: THE PROPOSED 7-ELEVEN WILL NOT SELL ALCOHOL.  This fact is clearly stated twice in the application (pages 11 and 39).  

Thursday, July 1st, the Planning Department will reconvene in the case of 'Somil Gandhi and his family's financial well being VS. Yuppie sensibilities and cultural elitism'.  Be sure to pour out a Gameday beer in honor of Somil Jr's non-existant college fund; because I'm sure he wanted to work at a failing gas station for the rest of his life anyway (so long as it wasn't a 'yucky 7-Eleven', how uncouth!)  

Mission NIMBYs: enjoy your dilapidated 76 food-mart and future vacant lot.

Is the lack of Gameday beer at the proposed 7-Eleven the real reason behind opposition?

Comments (7)

Word, brother. Word.

Fuck this shit. SF bends over and takes it from fucking Whole Foods on a regular basis, giving away the farm to accomodate that union busting overpriced yuppie shithole, and they literally bent over and gave it away for fucking slave labor levis.

SF elitists are fucking snob hyporcites. I wish I could shove a 24 oz game day beer up the ass of every NIMBY asshole that opposes 7-11 and Ike’s with a fucking sledgehammer.

The owner of this station couldn’t sell alcohol if he wanted as his station is located in the Mission Alcoholic Beverage Moratorium zone.

This is not the typical franchise. 7 Eleven require that 50% of the earnings of the store be handed over to the 7/11 corporation. Since 71% of this company is foreign owned I don’t see how it can be called a local business.

Typically 7/11 crimes are robberies involving the use of a gun. Employees of this stores have been shot and killed. Not sure why 7/Elevens have been such targets of these types of crimes but it’s a major concern.

It was the cafes that sounded the alert to the neighborhood. The cafes are all owner operated and they know that 7/Elevens sell more coffee than any other beverage they sell.

This area has 14 bars and clubs (4 block area). The so-called NIMBYs have worked with those that sell alcohol to work towards a safer neighborhood, a neighborhood that has suffered from gang and random acts of violence. Shootings, stabbings, brawls etc. none of which is good for business or the people that live in and near Mission St.

So what has worked to reduce some of the violence in this neighborhood? Making sure that people go home once the clubs and bars close at 2 am. The street closes down except for Safeway. The 7 Eleven won’t be closing at 11 as the name implies. It will stay open all night long. It will become a destination for those that have had too much to drink or are interested in continuing to party (based on what has gone on in other neighborhoods). In an effort to keep the peace neighbors and merchants don’t want a 7/11. Anything but 7/11. We’re willing to work with him to come up with a better business plan. A business that does serve the neighborhood like he claims to want to do.

BTW the owner lives in Marin and owns a Shell station in Sausalito that has a car wash. His 76 station in SF used to be an independent station which offered full service auto repairs. Now it will offer fast food and plenty of trash. The Burger King down the street is home to huge numbers of rats because of the trash (leftover food).

If wanting the real local merchants to be successful and desiring a neighborhood with reduced violence is NIMBY I’d be proud to wear that label. It was only a few months ago when this very location was the site of a drive-by spray of bullets.

BTW there is no Whole Foods in this neighborhood. The businesses are owned by a wide diversity of people serving foods from all over the world. Large numbers of day laborers frequent the Latino bakery (International). 7/11 wants that business so they are targeting that population by placing free construction magazines to entice them into 7/Elevens and learning about “the tastes” of Latino male construction workers.

I’ve lived here all my adult life. Raised a family here and will die here. It’s not pac hts nor do I want it to be that. However, I do want folks to be safe on the street. The 76 station owner bought the station a year ago and he is clueless about what he’s getting himself into.

And finally, the CU permit process is in place to give neighborhoods the opportunity to weigh-in on issues such as this. The question is asked: is it desirable, needed, or necessary and merchants/neighbors don’t want or need it.

BRO HOLY SHIT YOU MUST HAVE THOUGHT YOU WERE POSTING THIS SHIT ON MISSION MISSION BLOG. THIS IS A HIPSTER BLOG GO HOME GRANPA

Don’t yell BROCHAT, you just got pwned.

Bragh, American Apparel oughta open here, since Valencia is such a “delicate flower”. Gas, leggings & Slurpees!

Somil Gandhi lives in Sausalito, local in the Bay Area sense. Sausalito just denied Peet’s a permit.