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| 2009 broken window |
Real Foods is anything but "low priority." It's a thorn in the neighborhood's side, and I want to remove that thorn. I'm trying to figure out if there's a better way of communicating with Real Foods. I'm also trying to figure out if we can get them to sell the building so it can be transformed into a useful part of 24th Street.Hmmm… sounds like more of the same for now, and Labor Day is just around corner. Here’s hoping…
Got ideas for what Real Foods should become? Leave them in the comments (and please keep it more civil than on the last thread).
In an ideal world, it become a community space. Art, live local music and theater, gathering space.
ReplyDeleteAs I said before, a Habitots like play space would be a slam dunk. The space could then also be used for preschool classes - the neighborhood is very underserved for preschools right now, especially ones with reasonably large spaces. Combined with drop in it would bring a lot of foot traffic to 24th Street by catering to the demographic that already lives in the neighborhood. In the evenings the space could be used for Adult classes.
ReplyDeleteDepending on what you could (legally) do with the space, another interesting idea would be when the building was reconstructed to remove the storefront completely and put a series of smaller retail around an interior courtyard (perhaps coupled with moving and elongating one of the parklets).
Sadly it seems NC/RF is uninteresting in doing anything, including selling the building.
In an ideal world, this would be the Elizabeth Street Brewery.
ReplyDeletePreschool in the morning, Elizabeth Street Brewery at night: the perfect solution! :)
ReplyDeleteBuilding on the previous comments ... it should be the Elizabeth Street Brewery with a movie screen similar to the McMenamins Mission Theater in Portland http://www.mcmenamins.com/210-mission-theater-home ... and preschool during the day :)
ReplyDeleteYou could probably fit two title companies in there, maybe a nail/waxing salon in back.
ReplyDeleteMan, wouldn't a brewpub / movie theater be great? Why doesn't San Francisco have those?
Well, we certainly can see who "appears" to have a financial investment in the Habitots franchise. Just saying...
ReplyDeleteAs for potential solutions, there are many, but putting in a cute, little "suburban style" courtyard with silly shops is not a good idea. It's not an urban solution at all. Storefronts, to succeed, must have immediate, visible street frontage.
I'd like to see the building torn down and re-built to 3-4 stories with quality retail (no brew pub) on the ground level, and build BMR housing on the upper levels.
I wish Scott Weiner luck in moving something forward, but I am very skeptical.
"Well, we certainly can see who "appears" to have a financial investment in the Habitots franchise. Just saying..."
ReplyDeleteI think the best business plan for Noe Valley would be a Tin Foil Hat store.
"It's not an urban solution at all. Storefronts, to succeed, must have immediate, visible street frontage."
Wait, did I just spend time rebutting someone who calls a brewpub not "quality retail"
Wrong approach to try comparing The Ramblas to 24th St. totally different urban scale and traffic.
ReplyDeleteSmall boutique style shops that would not be visible to 24th St, but rather facing a (very) small courtyard would have a very hard time succeeding. Besides, it's a suburban mentality approach and pretty out of character with Noe V.
suburban mentality approach (sic) - well then it ought to fit in just nicely in our little suburb.
ReplyDeleteIt should be a BEER GARDEN! Sausages and kraut! Open to the street. Open late!
ReplyDeleteHow bout tearing it down and using it for a stacking lane for whole foods :-)
ReplyDeleteBeing sarcastic
No "beer gardens" please. Go to Germany if you want that.
ReplyDeleteAnd no more cute, overpriced "kiddie" stores.
How 'bout a new bookstore? a watch repair shop? a french laundry? a decent hardware? a bike repair shop that's not high end like Bespoke? a wine bar? a men's clothing store?
I could go on and on.
I liked the other thread better.
ReplyDeleteA gym and a brewery - is that doable?
ReplyDeleteI'm jealous of the sake shop in Hayes Valley. And the place that freezes ice cream to order.
ReplyDeleteWhatever happens here, it will take about 18 years to get it approved by the city. Someone should just run it down with a bulldozer and throw some grass seed on the pile.
ReplyDeleteSome interesting history...
http://www.iww.org/bg/unions/iu660/realfood/realfood4.shtml
I think it should be a pavement to park.
ReplyDeletegay bar with a stripper pole.
ReplyDelete"How 'bout a new bookstore? a watch repair shop? a french laundry? a decent hardware? a bike repair shop that's not high end like Bespoke? a wine bar? a men's clothing store? "
ReplyDeleteBest troll ever!
Good Vibrations should move in.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I want a movie brewpub with 80s arcade games. (Mash up the Portland moviepub with Portland's Ground Kontrol arcade-bar.)
ReplyDeleteBut the best thing for the neighborhood is to build higher mixed-use. It's a one-story building with excellent transit across the street from a grocery store. Crazy to renovate that space without building higher.
Is there a zoning reg that prevents second floor commercial space? Let's get the nail salons and title companies above the street.
Second floor commercial will fail.
ReplyDeleteYes - 2nd floor title companies would suffer from lack of walk-by traffic...
ReplyDeleteA watch repair shop? Bookstore? What a terrifically astute business concept! Why not a typewriter repair shop, too? I'm sure someone could earn a terrific return on their investment fixing wristwatches.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, has anyone noticed what happened a few blocks away on Valencia Street. Vacant storefronts are disappearing fast. Bars, restaurants and shops are opening and people are actually walking to and fro and spending money. What mysterious spell have they cast down there to revitalize their neighborhood???
still loving the idea of pre-school by day, brewpub by evening. likely not do-able but jeez, would be grand. no need to stay open late either (most of the strip dies down by then). dream.
ReplyDeleteDream on.
ReplyDeleteBrew pubs are hipsterish trash and baby stores or baby gyms or baby anything are bad for Noe.
We need a jail for stroller infractions.
I agree with the previous post. Brew Pubs, which have been sprouting up only in the past couple years because of the Hipsters is trash. Why have a place that makes good food and brews local beer? It makes no sense. I can go buy an $8 six pack of miller light at the dimly lit liquor store around the corner. Who in their right minds would want another local restaurant that brings more money to our small neighborhood. It makes no sense at all. Stupid hipsters and their good food and carefully brewed ales. I'm happy enough sitting in my living room calling the DPT on people who park on sidewalks.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for the babies in the area? If you want a gym so badly, buy the building and make one. Babies are lazy, they don't vote and they're bad for the neighborhood. We don't want you here, so why stay? Re-population is bad for the neighborhood. And baby clothes? How hard is it to make a dress out of an old t shirt, give me a break, you don't need an entire store.
My suggestion? Make it into an empty lot that will look ugly and drive new people away. Its too hard to park and there are too many "hipsters" "babies" "parents" "dogs" "teenagers" "old people" and "walkers" around here. Its bad for our neighborhood.
Love Always,
Typical Cranky Noe Neighbor
I am voting for a scotch tape shop and looking for some financial backers of venture capitalists to give the current owners a billion dollars so that we could make them an offer they couldn't refuse. Am I being unrealistic? Ok, then maybe a quarter of a billion dollars.
ReplyDeleteMost of the comments have been pretty damn funny, and full of snark.
ReplyDeleteWhat does that really tell us?
That actually most of us in Noe V really do NOT give a damn what happens to the Real Food store. It's very old news and life goes on.
I do hope that murph really hears this. He needs to.
Not being able to do anything about it doesn't imply not giving a damn.
ReplyDeleteStop beating the proverbial dead horse. Move on.
ReplyDeleteThis empty store has absolutely NO effect on the quality of life in wonderful Noe Valley.
Or...buy the horse and bring it back to life. No point in just talking about how dead the horse is. Do something about it.
ReplyDeleteExactly.
ReplyDeleteBuy the damn horse or shut up.
Somebody once said "All that is necessary for the forces of evil to win is for enough good people to do nothing."
ReplyDelete"Or...buy the horse and bring it back to life."
ReplyDelete"I'm also trying to figure out if we can get them to sell the building so it can be transformed into a useful part of 24th Street."
Loving all the comments here. I am the owner of Elizabeth Street Brewery LLC and I literally lose sleep on a regular basis knowing that the Real Foods space is sitting there going unused. It would be perfect for my wife and I to realize our dream of opening a full-scale family brewpub/restaurant for the neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteWe finished the second iteration of our business plan a year ago but still haven't taken the next step because of how important Noe Valley is to us and our family. This has been our home for 10 years now, our children go to school here, and we can't imagine doing it anywhere else. So we patiently wait.
Wanting to turn our home-based passion into a profession and community service all stemmed from us simply opening up our back gate on brew days and inviting passers by in to be a part of it. So if and when we do get to that stage, I'm more interested in meeting with those folks who don't want us to do it rather than those who do. That feedback will be critical in making sure that our pub - or rather "hub" - is truly a part of the community and not just a restaurant focused on dollars and cents. After all, if this was about money, we wouldn't be doing it to begin with.
Please feel free to email me at richard@elizabethstreetbrewery.com. I'm always up for a chat over a coffee down at Bernie's or a pint in our homebrew pub.
Cheers,
Richard.
I love the idea of Richard's brewpub. I've met him before, and I know him to be a devoted family man and great believer in community. I believe any pub that he might create would in fact serve as a hub and would be a lovely addition to the neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteHe's also a damn fine brewer.
Godspeed, Richard! ESB is as local as Noe Valley gets and it's something our neighborhood should be proud of and be proud to support.
ReplyDeleteThe Brewer-Hays are lovely folks so I do hope they end up taking over the space. It would be perfect. I can't imagine a better use of the Real Foods space. Real Foods closed a month after I moved to Noe Valley. It is a blight, as it ends up being a hangout for troublemakers at night after Whole Foods closes. I never walk on that side of the street after dark for that reason.
ReplyDeleteIt is a big retail space so many of the other suggestions are simply not financially tenable.
Yay for preschool/kidspace by day, brewpub by night!
ReplyDeleteHow about an enema clinic and a driver/pedestrian school?
ReplyDeleteA GYM!! Plain and simple. We need a big gym. Do you see how packed the two tiny little hole in the wall gyms are in Noe??!! People walk or run to the gym, not drive, so it won't add any more car traffic. Gyms wont bring trashy hipsters like a bar would, nor stroller babies like a preschool. No preschool please...I can just see it now....an innocent child runs out from school and gets hit by a Prius accelerating for a coveted whole foods parking spot. It would be a mess. I have lived in Noe for 7 years. Please not another baby related store. Please.
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of gyms: What about a pool? A multi-lane swimming pool for us adults to work out in, and subsidized by swimming classes lessons for the kid population? Add some free weights and cardio and it would be *awesome*.
ReplyDeleteA great gym, a brewery/movie theater or a wine bar all get my vote! Or another noteworthy restaurant, like NOPA, or Tacolicious?
ReplyDelete