Christmas on 24th Street
— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |
[via Lil Tuffy]
24th street
Casa Sanchez Resists Cashing In, Retains Latino Roots
— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |
Al Jazeera America reported on the dreaded gentrification situation (UPDATE: Al Jazeera deleted the previously-embedded video for unknown reasons) at the east end of 24th Street, telling the encouraging story of Casa Sanchez turning down $200k offers from 5-star chefs in favor of keeping location a taqueria and part-time punk venue.
KQED also reported on the situation last week:
When their mother passed away two years ago, Bob and his sister Marta inherited the old Casa Sanchez restaurant on 24th Street, between York and Hampshire streets. The siblings decided they didn’t want to just rent to the highest bidder. Instead, they rented to a local family of Latino restaurateurs who had been displaced from their previous restaurant, also on 24th Street, when the owner redeveloped the building. Marta Sanchez says she and her brother wanted to give them one last shot in the neighborhood. […]
This stretch of 24th Street has had a tumultuous past. It was known in previous decades for gang violence and drug dealing. Marta Sanchez says that in the ‘80s, tortilla companies fought for turf at the street’s taco joints in what came to be called the “tortilla wars.” She says it grew so heated that tortilla delivery men were said to carry guns.
Today, upscale restaurants and cafes have popped up. On weekends, a long line forms at Wise Sons, a Jewish-inspired deli where Mark Zuckerberg has been seen dining — he is reported to have bought a house several blocks west toward Noe Valley. Tour groups now come through to see the murals, and Google employee buses stop near the BART station on their way to the tech campuses on the Peninsula and in the South Bay.
Pop's Bar on the Chopping Block
— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |
It's been a cruel year for 24th Street's venerable crop dives, with Polk Gulch's Playland buying up Jack's Club and Zoe's replacing El Mexicano. Now, Pop's Bar joins the list. Reader “MoFoPlz” fills us in:
Pop's at 24th & York is in the process of being sold. The two current owners, Malia (owner of Thee Parkside) & Harmony, have accepted an offer and it's making it's way through the SF system. You'll have to follow up with them for details other than the rumor was it went for 250K+. Let's hope not to the douche who claims everything 'local' or some other dick who wants to clean it up and rebrand it for the Marina crowd.
We reached out to bar staff, but haven't been given a confirmation either way (and nothing has popped up on the bar's ABC license, so it hasn't made it that far yet).
The identity of the buyer (or buyers) isn't clear, but with the Mission's “hyper gentrification” looming over 24th Street, and Pop's being a place of $2 tallcans and $5 bloodies that start pouring at noon, we'd imagine the new owners would look to make the cocktail glass atop the sign a bit more prominent.
What's Up With the Old El Mexicano Bar on 24th?
— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |
Reader and amateur iPhone photographer Rob writes:
Sorry for the crappy photo, but it looks like things are really coming along at the former bar El Mexicano on 24th between Folsom/Treat. They've got new glazing in that cool horseshoe shaped window out front and I noticed before the paper went up that the interior was looking sharp. One of the workers I talked to there a while back confirmed that it was to be a bar and “comfort food” place, but any more details out there?
We haven't heard anything about it, anyone else know what's up?
(Thanks Rob!)
Pig & Pie Say Goodbye
— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |
A packed house.
I've never seen more than a couple people in there at once, and the one time I walked in, I took a look at the menu and said, “This looks good.” Then I looked at the prices and said, “Let's go to Rosamunde.” So it's no surprise that Pig & Pie's chefs packed up their pie tins and bailed, despite being open less than three months.
Now three months in, chef Nate Overstreet has left he building along with his “ladyfriend,” chief pie maker Ashly Amador. Owner Miles Pickering writes with an update on the status quo:
“We are looking for a replacement but his leaving was pretty sudden so we're still in the process. I'll cite irreconcilable differences for the separation, the chemistry was bad. As I'm sure you know, opening a restaurant is a stressful process and it seldom goes exactly as planned. This is a bump in the road and we'll get over it, refocused and better for the experience.”
To be clear, the restaurant hasn't closed up yet or anything. But last month, we had a couple of nice Christians tell God he could “have Pig & Pie back” because, really, we weren't using it. I guess this means he's working his miracles?
"Working-Class Mission Bar El Mexicano Getting Set to Gentrify"
— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |
At least, that's the headline from Grub Street, which goes on to report that the bar's (at 3088 24th Street, between Lucky and Treat) liquor license changed hands today and “will likely close for a hipster makeover in the coming months.”
An Opportunity Presents Itself
— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |
The folks behind Tate & Modern, who have been bombing the city in various ways this fall, recently went on a stickering spree along Valencia and 24th streets. Like most of their past work, they are again poking fun at both the very medium that they are utilizing and the plight of building owners. But wait, a challenge has been made! The owner of this particular building on 24th at SVN has offered up their building for a mural. This is fantastic offer because it not only would allow Tate & Modern to start parodying the homogeneity of Mission murals, but the building owner is also implying REAL artists paint. Zing!