Reinforcing nearly every Noe Valley stereotype, Cardio-Tone is set to open in the recently-vacated Cary Lane on January 2nd. "We provide quality care for your child while you take one of our classes, read, enjoy a cup of coffee, have a massage or mani/pedi...just think of the options!" And with class options like Bun in the Oven, Yummy Mummy, Sympathy Belly, and Massage for Lovers they're likely to need a stroller parking lot with attendant a la Whole Foods.
Cardio-Tone
3813 24th St @ Church
"Reinforcing nearly every Noe Valley stereotype"
ReplyDeleteTruer words have never been spoken on this blog.
I'm all for the success of a new business in Noe Valley but I'm hoping that in 2010, we have a least 1 new store that does not cater to kids and goes after the 20-30s who live in the ‘hood, still want to have fun and perhaps not live in The Mission. Just think of that, a whole segment of people with discretionary income to tap into.
I'd like that too. Unfortunately, that's a pretty small demographic, and with Noe's high rents, not likely to be financially viable. I'm just glad it's a short walk to the Mission so I can escape "Nursery Valley" on occasion...
ReplyDeleteThis is on par with the place in Bernal that watches your dog while you work out. It'd be great if 24th St could get some useful businesses that'd span all demographics.
ReplyDeletein actuality most of this city is quite unchild friendly. So to have few areas in the cty that cater to people with children is the exception not the rule.
ReplyDeleteI actually think it's great to see all the kids/strollers/moms and dads walking by my house on the way to the Day St. rec center...it's very comforting...it's friendly.. and it means our 'hood is desireable..
ReplyDeleteand it means my house will be very sale able when I decide to retire and move on. think about that, all of you child unfriendly Noe Valleans.
Why is it so bad that people who are family-oriented are living in Noe? I moved here 15 years ago, I love it. I'm raising kids here.
ReplyDeleteI understand it can be a bit heavy with the kid scene...but any great city requires people who are putting roots there. You can get to a number of amazing spots in SF via public transportation or for 15 bucks in a cab...must all places be bastions to "hip spots"?
I think its fine that NV is family oriented. However, for me, the problem is dealing with the parents who are oblivious to others when they have child/children in tow, and for some reason I see this quite often in NV.
ReplyDeleteParents become annoying when they forget the importance of manners.
On another note, as a community we must face that the majority of families "putting roots here" are going to provide privileged lives for their children and send them to private schools- I doubt they will be going to James Lick Middle School or Mission HS. Think of the sense of community NV would have if the children in the neighborhood actually attended its schools!
To the last anonymous poster I wanted to point out that the public school system in San Francisco is not a neighborhood school system. You cannot just choose to send your child to a neighborhood school. You must apply to as many as 7 schools of your choice throughout the city and hope for the best. When a parent finds out they must send their 5 year old to a public school in a neighborhood across town or inconvenient for working parents, they often look to local Catholic schools or as you said, they opt for the expensive private schools.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing to note is that some of the public schools in SF particularly the elem. schools are amazing and on the rise. Many people use the public school system in this city. If you are really interested in your community get involved all the schools need and use volunteers from the community. If you don't want to be around children move out the city and live in the woods. If you choose to live in the city you live around all kinds of people young and old rich and poor.
ReplyDeleteyes! i second that, manners are VERY important. if only people took that extra second to have consideration.
ReplyDeleteAgreed on all comments, manners and otherwise. I run into just as many people with bad manners in the Mission...it's not a Noe thing. But kids with bad manners in restaurants etc are unacceptable and annoying, I agree. It's a price you pay in living in a densely populated area - you run into aholes of all stripes.
ReplyDeleteI would love to send my kids to a local Noe school, the grade school Alvarado especially. But while I live 3 blocks away from that school, I have zero choice in the matter. As others mentioned, it's a total lottery.
Mulls, no it's not a "total lottery". You live 3 blocks from Alvarado? It's very likely to be your neighborhood school. You get a level of priority. Do some research.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there are quite a few great public K-5 schools in SF; no reason to waste $20K/year to send a kid to private skool! However, parents DO have to PAY ATTENTION a year before their spawn goes to kindergarten here, otherwise they could doom themselves and their kids to private skool or an undesireable public school.
As a parent it annoys the crap out of me to see these entitled bitch-ass parents wandering the streets of our fine neighborhood (and others, Mulls you're right-on there) with their ornery, entitled, undisciplined and overall spoiled spawn. But given the cost of living here now the only ones who can afford to buy or rent our houses are those who make lots of money, which they mistake for giving them more rights than they actually have and making them think they - and their children - have some quality which makes them more deserving in some manner. Don't forget, "a walk through the ocean of most souls would scarcely get your feet wet."
So yes, this "reinforces every Noe Valley stereotype". It is a ludicrous business for the pampered, self-important blondage that block our sidewalks with their strollers. Indeed, it should be quite successful!
@Rocky's dad: I chose my home -- well before Noe became baby central -- to be an enjoyable place to live now, not so I'll have an expensive asset to sell in the future.
ReplyDeleteI personally like a mixed urban environment with people of all ages, but Noe has gone beyond that to have an unnatural concentration of infants & toddlers. I guess many must parents move out as the kids get older for more space or better schools. It's not that all the kids are spoiled & parents oblivious, it more an issue of critical mass. A few kids in a restaurant is fine. But a place like Pasta Pomodoro, with a baby or toddler at nearly every table, is overwhelming even if they're well-behaved.
Mulls - mea culpa. You're right. My wife corrected me - the only way you get priority for being "local" to a school is if you add to the "diversity" of the school...it's really a nonsensical approach that destroys the "neighborhood" nature of local schools and social structure that they provide. All my kids' friends live elsewhere because they don't go to Alvarado or Fairmount.
ReplyDelete@Godot - yeah, it really makes no sense. The fact that kids are bussed in every direction across this city does damage the neighborhood vibe of a school.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great business concept and hope it works. Obviously the "hip young" people were not shopping at Cary Lane so they moved to Hayes. Survival of the fittest and a business coming into NV should cater to the demographics.
ReplyDeleteI am a gay man living in NV and have been here for 6 years. I love to see the families in the neighborhood. It is the damn people in front of my building attacking me to sign some petition that I could do without. But I live in a city and you deal with these things as a result.
I'm a single guy living in Noe Valley who *loves* the family vibe we have here. Better yet, I'm *so glad* this store will not be a nail salon or "psychic." True, I wish we had something more suited to my demographic, but I'm well-aware that I'm in the minority here, so who's to complain?
ReplyDeleteI'm child-free and I love living in a neighborhood with kids around. I think this business is brilliant- why shouldn't parents be able to grab some exercise if they don't have a nanny? Or get a coffee with a friend and have a chance to really pay attention and listen without being constantly distracted by their kid? Yes, of course they can walk with their kid in a stroller and get exercise, but sometimes parents want a break from their kids too, and not everyone can afford a full-time nanny.
ReplyDeleteComplaining about kids in Noe Valley is like complaining about gays in the Castro. It's a defining characteristic of the neighborhood a very, very open secret. Move to another area if you hate NV so much.
ReplyDeleteCardio Tone is not only a great gym because it has child-care, it provides a great work-out for anyone who cares about fitness. The manager is young, hip, not married, and has no children. Although it offers kid's classes, the main function is a spin studio. Rather than being only for families with kids, it's a more inclusive gym that makes accommodations for kids while having the capacity to serve any adult. Don't knock it till you try it.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand the hate of NV behind most of these comments. I live in NV in a rent control apt, so not rich but liking community. I come from NYC and yes, every city has different neighborhoods with different populations. It's a smart business move to know your demographic. Also, after the trial of labor and a woman's body's hell trip through pregnancy, why not? At $6-10/hr, this is for the middle class not the rich who have nannies. Impoverished neighborhoods have more problems than when to work out, but does that mean new, working mothers who are able to shouldn't have resources? And rude parents are everywhere: rich, poor, white, black, in every color, hue and faith. I don't have kids but worked with children and gender violence, often in the same areas of a city, and one of the problems is that women don't have any choice in having time to themselves and their parenting and the child suffers. If you feel so strongly then join in the efforts to even that imbalance. Act not complain or judge.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree wholeheartedly with FoggHatt,Jessica and Amisha. Thank you for pointing out the positives and encouraging others to do the same. My response, as it has been beforehand, is this blog seems to have become a non stop negative neverending complaint forum. People need to grow up and learn to live with all of the types of people here and in the rest of the world. It is not YOUR world only.
ReplyDeleteAs a native San Franciscan who grew up and still lives in Eureka Valley ( now known as Castro ) and who owns a business here. I have to agree somewhat with most of these blogs. I am sad and frustrated with the manners in which the majority of the people who moved into NV exhibit, including the inability to monitor their children's behavior. Not instilling basic social manners in children is a great disservice to them and to society. In response to the poster "rude parents are everywhere" they are but, more so in NV, this is true . I have three children and three grandchildren and love kids yet, I value the respect that allows all of the residents to enjoy the area. I do not appreciate small children crawling under my table in restaurants while the parents blissfully ignore them. With that said NV has always been a family area..period..way way back since before those of you who are complaining were most likely born. Do I love all the changes to my hood? Not so much, however SF is most cyclical in nature. Hopefully us NV dwellers can slow down enough to offer consideration for all of the folks who walk the streets , the problem may lay in that the sense of community seems to have become extinct, we are all responsible for making it work. This is one of the best areas in one of the best cities in the world.
ReplyDeleteI am so happy that Cardio-Tone has opened and wish them the best of luck. It is very helpful to have a place that has childcare so that I can work out on my own...when I get the rare chance.
ReplyDeleteBabysitters are upwards from 16 to 22 dollars, with professional companies having a four hour minimum. That is a lot of money to add on top of the cost of a class! Most people who do not have children have no concept of these hidden costs--why should they!
Additionally, thumbs up to Pasta Pomodoro for being so kid friendly. Why should parents with kids have to be on continual take out or buying sandwiches to eat in the park. We do visit Pasta Pomodoro with our two children (3 and 16 month) because it is friendly and we do not want to bother others who are trying to enjoy a quiet meal in one of the oh-so-many non-child inclusive eateries in the city.
Just three short years ago I was a hip thirty-something with no kids--I remember what it was like. I am just happy Noe is an enclave in the city. All you hip twenty or thirty somethings out there who don't have children--let me just say this--there is a WHOLE city full of non-child friendly neighborhoods, restaurants, bars, gyms and shops that you have the luxury to choose from...Go visit them...venture out of Noe while you still have the chance, because someday--you may wake up, not knowing how it happened, but you will be a parent--with a stroller--craving Pasta Pomodoro and then needing a gym like Cardio-Tone to watch your bub while you burn off the carbs!