— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |
Groger's Western Store and their crazy barn building thing has been closed up since forever; now someone finally intends for something to happen to it.
It's a big old' building that has just been put up for rent—some 5,200 sq. feet of space with a worn interior, and they have back patio nearly that large, stretching all the way to Orange Alley (which they advise would be great for “outdoor seating”). And while it's zoned for retail, this place is really screaming for a bar—a bar with swinging, wooden cafe doors that squeak when they're opened and rock back-and-forth shut; that lets the cool summer air breeze on in, day and night. A bar that serves bland beer in dirty mugs; a bar infested with hovering flies dancing to the tune of the saloon piano…where outlaws go to drink beer, harass women, and get trigger happy when they rob the place. Like that Beastie Boys song.
Reader Chumpguy, who tipped us off to Groger's classified listing, breaks down the cost of leasing this dream:
It's $3.50 per square foot, making it $18,200 per month, assuming the yard is free. That's not out of line for commercial properties in San Francisco, which can go much higher in areas like Union Square. Basically, it would make an awesome restaurant with a large outdoor area, which could pay that amount. This is why burgers are $15.
$18.2k sure sounds like a lot of money for a bar with swinging wood doors, and $15 sure sounds like a lot of money to charge an outlaw for a burger. But just look at that building—it's screaming to be the best bar in the Mission.
Comments (9)
I’d turn it into a Sperry Top-Sider shoes outlet store. But that’s just me.
BAR HELL YES
Though they can’t change the name.
Half western saloon, half barbershop with old school straight razor shaves. And some hitching posts to lock the fixies to.
It used to be a stable, so a bike corral would be appropriate.
And there was a coal yard, and a creamery next door, so you’d obviously have to have coal-fired pizza, and ice cream, and mozzarella stretched onsite.
(Yes, there is a new post in the works…)
Wow, all these years and I never knew I lived around the corner from the Orange Alley Stables and Lofts Historic District.
http://www.sf-planning.org/ftp/files/Preservation/South_Mission/Orange_A…
These functional structures comprise a rare cluster of extant, late 19th‐century/early 20th‐century accessory and commercial buildings designed according to pre‐automobile patterns of development: horse‐oriented, with upper story lofts and winch‐and‐pulley systems, located on a service alley. The grouping reflects the utilitarian, back‐alley character of a major transportation corridor in the Mission District around the turn of the century.
I demand the Bestie Boys be a real thing. You gotta fight for your right to have matching friendship bracelets. RIP MCA.
I’m thinking German beer garden
Yeah, whatever it becomes, they gotta keep it named “Groger’s Western Store.” The name perfectly describes the experience of getting a straight razor shave while drinking beer and eating coal ice cream pizza and wearing top-siders.
$1 off all drinks if you are wearing a cowboy hat….