Progress: Noeteca

Noeteca sports a new awning. Think they'll make the tentative opening date of September 9th?

[NVSF: Tidbits: Openings]

This Week At The Planning Commission

A weekly look at Noe Valley projects in front of the Planning Commission. Information is provided by the Planning Commission, and taken from its published agenda. All hearings are on Thursday at 1:30pm, Room 400 in City Hall.

905-907 Diamond St. - northwest corner of Diamond and Jersey Streets; Lot 026 of Assessor’s Block 6539 - Mandatory Discretionary Review for Dwelling Unit Merger Request, pursuant to Planning Code Sections 317, requiring review of dwelling unit mergers, of Building Permit Application No. 2009.04.27.7146, proposing to merge four dwelling units to two dwelling units. The property is located within a RH-2 (Residential, Two Units) Zoning District and a 40-X Height and Bulk District.

Preliminary Recommendation: Approval with Modifications and Conditions.

Photo: Hot Noe Valley Nights

"It's the view of upper 29th street, taken from Billy Goat Hill. It was clear as a bell and there was an unusually warm breeze coming over the hill."

[Flickr: bats1234: My Hood II]

Announced: Circle Bank Coming To Noe Valley

Circle Bank, a Novato-based firm specializing in fractional TIC mortgages, is going to open a full-service branch in Noe because, well, "The demographics of Noe Valley are similar to those of Marin County." They haven't announced which space, but we're thinking in the GNC/Noe Valley Video/Aveda strip. Right next door to Wells Fargo in the short-lived AAA space would work, too.

Update (8/31): Good snark.

[SFBT: Novato’s Circle Bank to expand into San Francisco]

Coming Soon: Green 11

Workers in the old Ritz space at 3980 24th St say Green 11 hopes to open on September 1. What is Green 11? A locally-owned company that lets you "refill your own containers with organic beauty & non-toxic cleaning products."

[Official Site: Green 11]

Whole Foods: "First Week Of October"

Greetings!

I’m Jennifer Dobrowolski & here’s just a quick note to introduce myself as the Marketing Team Leader of Whole Foods Market, Noe Valley. I am delighted to be a part of such a dynamic and vibrant community and I look forward to working with you to develop successful programs that connect Whole Foods Market to its customers and community in San Francisco.

Many of you have been in touch with Andrew Calabrese, who has done a fantastic job as Community Liaison and we are lucky to have him as our In-Store Educator. Whole Foods Market, Noe Valley has an awesome team of dedicated Store Leaders and Team Leaders that are passionate about our products, foundations, core values and sharing our store with customers.

We are on track with store construction and looking at being open the first week of October-we will keep you updated with any changes.

Please note a couple of important dates:

• The last day for the Tuesday Noe Valley Farmers Market in our parking lot will be today. (Saturday Farmers Markets will continue: 8am-1pm at 3861 24th Street, between Sanchez and Vicksburg Streets and across from Martha and Bros. Coffee Co.
• The last day for shuttle service to our Potrero Hill store will be Tuesday, September 22nd.

We encourage you to follow us online! We will provide updates/information whenever possible, as well as vendor profiles, events, etc:

• Facebook: Whole Foods Market Noe Valley
  
• Twitter: /WFMNoeValley

My e-mail address is Jennifer.dobrowolski@wholefoods.com

Please feel free to forward specific questions for us and & we will do our best to get back to you as soon as possible.

Looking forward to meeting you soon!

Best regards,

Jennifer Dobrowolski
Marketing Team Leader
Whole Foods Market, Noe Valley
3950 24th Street
San Francisco, CA 94114

mail: jennifer.dobrowolski@wholefoods.com

Uh Oh: SIGG Bottles Contain BPA

A week of irony, sad, sad irony.. Especially after watching all the Noe Valley mothers here in San Francisco drinking out of their SIGG bottles, then passing them on to their kids. If they only knew they were poisoning their kids one little sip at a time, negating all the thousands of dollars spent on Waldorf and Montessori educations. Despite effusive denials backed by "scientific" studies, their CEO now admits they knew that BPA could be harmful way back in 2006, and their bottles contained BPA up until August 2008.

[GetOutdoors: SIGG CEO Says BPA Found In Interior Coating Of SIGG Bottles]

Food Bites: Coming soon to Noe Valley

By Robbie Miller

No longer a rumor, Deep Modern Izakaya will be hosting a "soft opening" August 26th through September 16th, Monday-Friday. There are two seatings -- 6:30 pm and 8:30 pm. They are welcoming friends, family and the community but requesting that you make a reservation due to limited space. Email reservations@deep-sf.com or by call 415.648.DEEP (3337). 1740 Church St. @ Day.

Looks as though La Boulange Cafe and Bakery is wasting no time in preparing their storefront in the space recently known as Noe Valley Pizza Restaurant. 3898 24th St. @ Sanchez.


[NVSF: Deep Sushi To Become Izakaya...?]
[NVSF: Protested: La Boulange de Noe Valley]

Crime Beat

Information is from Mission and Ingleside District San Francisco Police Station newsletters.

August 20

Cell Phone -- 05:20pm. Dolores/Duncan. Officer Chou cited a driver who was using his cell phone while driving.

Burglary -- 08:20am. 1400 block Douglass St. Officer Creed responded to a residential burglary. The home was under construction and had various equipment on the premise. Various tools were taken.

August 21

Theft from Vehicle -- 1:30pm. Unit block of Newburg. PSA Heckenberg prepared a report at Ingleside Station regarding a theft. The victim said that he parked his car on the street at about 11:40 pm on 8/20/09. When he returned to the car the next morning, he discovered that the canvas to his vehicle's convertible roof had been cut. A suitcase, wine-bag, bottle of wine and roadmaps had been stolen from inside the car.

Fraud -- 7:00pm. 500 block of 29th St. Officer Archilla met with a woman at Ingleside Station Regarding a case of fraud. The victim had been telephoned by a suspect who identified himself as her grandson. The suspect said he had been arrested in Canada and needed bail money. The victim also spoke with other suspects who requested money on her "grandson's" behalf, including one who posed as a police officer. The suspects called back several times requesting more money for attorney fees and other costs. In all, the victim sent several large payments to the suspects.

Burglary -- 8:51pm. 1600 block of Dolores. Officer Bernal and Officer Androvich were dispatched to a reported burglary. The officers met with the victim who said that when he left his house earlier in the day, he noticed that his garage door was open. Upon further inspection, he discovered that his unlocked car had been ransacked and several items had been stolen from the garage. These items included a bicycle, a first aid kit and pumps. The victim was not sure if he had left the garage door open overnight.

Attempted Burglary -- 5:39am. Unit block of 29th St. Officer Almaguer and Officer Ng responded to a report of vandalism. They met with the witness who said that when he arrived at work he heard a loud noise from the kitchen. When he went to see what was going on, he discovered that the rear door to the building had been forced open. The witness returned to the front of the business and saw a man peering through the window. The man left when he saw the witness.

Photo: SF Street Food Festival 2009

Overheard: "...an hour and a half wait for a taco..."

Rumored: Aveda Closing

We received the following from reader Courtney:

Don't know if you guys heard about this, but I stopped into the Aveda store on 24th St today to buy some bath salts and was informed that the store is closing on the 28th of this month. So sad!

.sjb. said the same in June. If true, that same complex has lost Noe Valley Video, GNC and now Aveda in less than a year, and all that's left is Lisa Violeto. Greedy landlords anticipating Whole Foods next door? Business plans that don't fit the changing times/neighborhood? Can anyone confirm? And does anyone have more details?

Details or not, thoughts in the comments please.

[NVSF: Confirmed: GNC Closing]
[NVSF: Closing: Noe Valley Video]

Whole Foods Countdown: Shuttle Service Ending

The shuttle service Whole Foods provides once a week to get seniors to other locations while Noe Valley waits for a new grocery store? Ending September 22nd.

Update (8/22): As noted in the comments, the Tuesday Farmer's Market will end this week on the 25th - Whole Foods wants their parking lot back. Today two different vendors told us that the organizers of the FM are not interested in negotiating for more space because they...ahem...disagree with the recent Op-Ed CEO John Mackey penned for the Wall Street Journal regarding health care reform. (That'll teach him.) Rumor is they're trying to organize another market elsewhere. Stay tuned.

[NVSF: Whole Foods: Senior Shuttle]
[NVSF: NVMPA: Help the Farmer's Market Help US!]

Crime Beat: Citrus Caper

Information is from Mission and Ingleside District San Francisco Police Station newsletters.

August 14

Theft -- 9:32pm. 300 block 29th St Officer Otaguro responded to a report of a theft. The victim told the officer that she discovered that her lemon trees had been stolen out of their pots in front of her house. The victim said she last saw the lemon trees on the afternoon of 8/14/09.

This better not be a desperate attempt to gain favor with the Noe Valley Exchange.

Notice Of Violation: 947 Church St

You know how your life is inconvenienced when someone crashes into your car in the middle of the night and you have to fight the insurance companies for 3 weeks and have no way to get to work? Consider what happened to the folks living just outside our coverage area at 947 Church St after a moving truck crashed through their garage on Thursday.

Violation Description: An automotive vehicle crashed into building, entering through garage opening at front of building and into rear wall of garage before coming to a stop. Impact has caused significant damage to front facade of building and compromising the structural integrity of building. Damage to utilities. Turn off and cap all utilities.

Corrective Action: ...permit application within 30 days with plans...permit within 60 days...complete within 90 days...Failure to comply will cause abatement hearings to begin... Consult with structural engineer to assess damages, provide shoring plan and implement plan within 24 hours. Also secure building and repair/board all windows. Obtain a building permit to repair damage.

Not enough of a headache? The building is now under "Restricted Use," which is to say "Do Not Enter" without consulting the Department of Building Inspection. Not even to get your toothbrush.

Violation? Who exactly is being violated here?

[CalBeat: PHOTOS: Moving truck crumpled after it slams into a San Francisco home]
[NVSF: Fun With Maps: Where is Noe Valley?]

Grand Opening: Tuttimelon. Again.

The Coming Soon signs are still posted inside, but there are banners all over the outside of Tuttimelon/Belgano announcing a "grand opening" this weekend - more than 9 months since they first opened their doors.

Festivities begin this Saturday at noon with free froyo. The first 50 people will get a door prize, and the first 500(!!) customers will be eligible for a raffle (Apple iTouch, Nintendo DSi, gift certificates). No word if the first 500 from last year are eligible (the counter help didn't know).

What: Tuttimelon Grand Opening
When: Saturday, August 8, 2009
Where: 3901 24th St @ Sanchez
Bonus: Free froyo from 12:00-2:00PM

[NVSF: Tuttimelon: What Gives?]

Photo: Countdown To "Late September"

[NVSF: Tidbits: Openings]

Film Shoot: Kilo

The fabulous buffet.

Kilo took over Royal Cleaners on Church St this morning for another day of filming what looks to be a crime drama:

Tired of being under-utilized, officer MIN LEE jumps at an opportunity to work undercover and finally prove herself. But when she and her partner Juan lose a kilo of cocaine, she becomes desperate to make up for the loss and convinces Kevin, her arrestee, to order up a replacement kilo. With less than an hour to make it all happen, Min finds herself in a moral tug of war with her career on one side and doing the right thing on the other.

Supported by the San Francisco Film Society, Kilo looks to be a pet project of a bunch of Pixar/Disney folk. We'll have to see how it turns out before officially calling it cheesy. At any rate, it's good to see crews filming in San Francisco again.

[Official Site: Kilo]

Comment: Support Local Businesses

Many strong opinions on the state/future of Noe Valley's retail/dining scene in the La Boulange comments. This one deserves its own post:

I don't think anyone is blaming the closure of Real Foods on the protesters, especially not me. I do think the fact that they didn't finish the work they had planned and won't give the space out to other renters has been influenced by the fact that people got involved, started marches, opposed permits for renovations, etc. without considering what a huge anchor store like Real Foods could do to the neighborhood if they boarded up their doors for over 5 years. Why they are continuing to be stubborn and not even feign a reopening plan is beyond all of us.

It's definite that laying off their workers was brash and shouldn't be condoned but you have to take multiple things into consideration and the effect that store has had on the neighborhood by being closed instead of getting even a small iota of support to get them back in the store to hire *new* or rehire old employees and bring shoppers back to the neighborhood.

At this point there is no panacea to fix Noe Valley. The simple fact is that customers are just not there. The best anyone can do is consider the local businesses if they want to keep the few that are holding on for dear life in business and shop with them whenever they can. It would also be good to consider circumstances, if you oppose a liquor license permit for a new local business (La Boulange is local with several stores, does that make it a chain?) a license that was already held by the previous tenant in that location does that hold the possibility that La Boulange will give up and look elsewhere opening the door to another nail salon or possibly a real chain like Gap kids?

LibertyHiller also has a point, people do talk big about support and at times do not stand true to that. But I have seen that Noe Valley customers are our saving grace, they do come to our aid in real times of need. Their support has kept us in business all this time. We shouldn't be chastising our Noe Valley customers in a crisis like this, we should be asking for their help.

As a small independent business owner I am asking, begging you all to support us to the extent you can. By shopping locally or by simply considering possible outcomes when you protest.

There is also another aspect of all this to look at, supporting your local business comes full circle when we in turn donate to the local schools and churches in their parades and auctions. We are also the ones turned to on Halloween when the schools and parent come to our doors with trick or treaters galore. You trust us to be there and we have been. But it is hard to hand out several hundred dollars of free candy to those innocent faces when we close at $32 or our personal worst, $13 dollar days.

Rumored: A Gardening Store

"We just learned today that a new gardening store, with exotic plants as well as gardening classes and more will be opened soon on the patio behind When Modern Was." We'll believe it when we see it, but we're feeling optimistic. We were excited at the prospect of Urban Nest when it opened (promised: "garden accessories"), but they have nothing practical. It would be nice to pick up dirt, seedlings, and a pitchfork within walking distance. Look for it it out in the yard behind When Modern Was on Church St.

[NFR: Scoop: New Gardening Store Coming to Noe!]

Announced: Noe Valley Glow Day Spa

We're hoping that day spa isn't a euphemism for nails/waxing but regardless that's what's going into the old Well's Fargo space at Riki space at 4037 24th St. After some serious work on the place, a A sign in the window (and an ad on Craigslist) announces the new spa and the need (requirement) for new staff ("aestheicticians & nail technicians "). No mention of massage therapists, herbalists, landscapers or any of the other arts we associate with a spa.

Stay tuned.

[NVSF: Closed: Riki]