Showing posts with label ambiance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ambiance. Show all posts

December 4, 2014

NVV Dec 2014: We Read It So You Don't Have To


The Noe Valley Voice is published ten times a year and has been a neighborhood fixture since 1977. Here are notable highlights from the latest issue. Links are to stories we've covered here on NVSF or other resources. Follow the NVV link at the bottom for full articles and all the ads.

December 2014

Front Page: A profile of the Tom and Jerry Holiday House at 3650 21st. St; Plans move forward at the former Real Food space (you can see our take and comments from Scott Wiener here); Renovations - and temporary classrooms - commence at James Lick High School and should take about two years.

Letters: Castro Computers thanks everyone who donated recycled electronics to the recent recycling drive for the NVMPA - it was a huge success; A Clipper St resident beseeches you not to donate to local panhandlers - your taxes contribute to the $167 million spent annually on homeless programs; Gwen Anderson of Video Wave writes that the video store's lease is up in July - she asks fans of the store to watch their website and storefront for meetings about how you can help keep the 20,000 piece video collection in Noe Valley.

Feature: Details about holiday festivities in Noe Valley this month (aka 24 HoliDAYS on 24th); Scott Wiener held a local town hall with District 8 residents to discuss rising crime in Noe Valley and surrounding neighborhoods.

Short Takes: Looking for places to do good for the holidays? Folio Books is having a fundraiser for the Children's Book Project, and SF firefighters are taking food and toy donations for the needy (as are several other local businesses); The dog park at Upper Noe Rec Center will be closed on Thursdays for maintenance and to "give the turf a day off"; The Noe Valley Ministry is raising funds for a new stained glass window; The Garden Tour is looking for nominations for its 2015 event.

Cost of Living in Noe: 18 single family homes changed hands in October, all for over $1 million. The most expensive was a $4.85M home on Jersey.

Store Trek: Mapamundi Kids (1306 Castro St at 24th); Ambiance is combining two small stores into one big one in the former Sway and Streetlight Records space at 3979 24th St; An eco-friendly clothing store called Podolls will be moving into one of the spaces Ambiance is vacating - the other is still for rent.

Rumors: The former Pasta Pomodoro space will become a new restaurant serving an all-day menu of American/Mediteranean food called NōVY and will be run by the owners' daughters who also live in Noe Valley; The UPS store has temporarily moved into the Cardio-Tone space while their current space undergoes ADA and seismic work - they expect to be there until mid January; The towering retail space across the street from Shufat on 24th St is listed for $16,000 per month; L'Atelier Artist Collective is open for business - as is a new hair salon called Mio Mio on Castro above Subs, Inc; Not everyone is happy about the location of the new city carshare parking spots in front of LaBoulange because...parking. Bill Yenne (and his new book Beer: The Ultimate World Tour) was the guest of honor at Folio's one year anniversaryPorcellino is closed for good; There's a gorgeous new mural on 24th St.

[The Noe Valley Voice]

June 30, 2014

NVV July/August 2014: We Read It So You Don't Have To


The Noe Valley Voice is published ten times a year and has been a neighborhood fixture since 1977. Here are notable highlights from the latest issue. Links are to stories we've covered here on NVSF or other resources. Follow the NVV link at the bottom for full articles and all the ads.

July/August 2014

Front Page: 3 scenic walks around Noe Valley; Folio Books offers some summer reading choices including Americanah, Carsick, Midnight in Europe and more; a local gives up her car (and parking spot) and lives to tell the tale.

Letters: A Castro street resident is outraged at the city's cavalier and inept sewer contractors who have ripped up the sidewalk 3 times; a complaint about the ad in the last issue title "Considering a Move from SF to the Peninsula?" from a longtime Bernal Heights (!) resident; the unmarked crosswalk at Church and Elizabeth Streets needs signs; a 30th St resident rails against the "over-salaried, post-teenage technocrats now marinating in the city..."; the Noe Valley Garden Tour was a success with over 275 tickets sold.

Short Takes: In memory of Angus Brunner, landlord of the Just for Fun building, who died in March; an open letter from Gwen Sanderson of Video Wave about the proposed $15 minimum wage and how it hurts small businesses; the historic trains of the F Line will no longer run on Church Street; Noe resident Steve Fox's new business Urban Putt has been open for a few months in the Mission (South Van Ness at 22nd St).

Cost of Living in Noe: $2.2 million is now the average price for a single family home.

Rumors: Ambiance is moving from it's current 2 storefronts to the spot recently vacated by Sway - the move is expected to happen after the new space is retrofitted, in about 2 months; Joshua Simon is closing after more than 35 years on 24th St - the building will also need a retrofit once the store closes at the end of July; Decor Galore is closed; Wink is renting out shelf space to a pop-up store; Yes more speculation that Neutraceuticals will be applying for permits to demolish the old Real Foods building [Ed note: a permit was posted on the building today for a new roof, and a reader wrote to say she saw stacks of plywood being brought inside so a teardown is unlikely]; the Town Square is now fully funded and any additional money at this point is "for embellishments" - construction will likely start in the summer of 2015 and be done by Spring 2016; Of the 15,911 people registered to vote in our little village, 5531 of us (or about a third) took the time to cast a ballot; former Voice contributor and Noe Valley resident Bill Griffith who created the Zippy the Pinhead cartoon recently came back for a visit and discovered his former 25th St home had been "renovated beyond recognition."

[The Noe Valley Voice]

July 27, 2011

SFBG: Congrats 2011 Noe Valley Best Of Bay Winners

It's that time of year again -- the 37th Annual SF Bay Guardian Best of the Bay hit the newsstands today. Here are two Noe Valley businesses that made the Editors Picks:
BEST REFILL, NOT LANDFILL
What does it take to win a gazillion green business awards? It certainly starts with a great concept, a seriously vetted supply chain, and a commitment to spreading the eco-word. It also helps to have a pleasing storefront in Noe Valley, cute and eager staff, luscious products, and bulk-store prices without the forklifts and doublewide shopping carts. Green 11, launched by married couple Marco Pietschmann and Bettina Limaco and inspired by a Rachel Carson observation ("For the first time in history, every human being is being subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the moment of conception to death."), offers soaps, cleaning supplies, pet food, shampoo, conditioners, and lotions, all ready for your refillable, affordable use. Bring your own containers or put for up a starter container at the store. 3980 24th St., SF. (415) 425-5195. www.shopgreen11.com

BEST LEATHER-SCENTED TIME WARP
Stepping into cobbler Suzanne George's shop is like entering a hide-covered time warp. George crafts her clodhoppers in much the same way that shoes were made several hundred years ago. She works the leather by hand, stitching the pieces with thread and hammering it all together with actual nails. Not only are the shoes custom-made to fit every tootsie they encase, they are also unique pieces of art, nearly too lovely to take tramping on the dirty pavement. George shares her high-quality, low-technology workshop with Peter, a shoemaker originally from Italy who used to make sandals for Mother Teresa. Together they make some damn fine throwback sling-backs. 1787 Church, SF. (415) 775-1775. www.suzannegeorgeshoes.com

And of course the readers got to vote:

BEST BREAKFAST: Chloe's Café, 1399 Church, SF. (415) 648-4116
BEST WINE BAR: Noeteca, 1551 Dolores, SF. (415) 824-5524, www.noeteca.com
BEST BUTCHER SHOP: Drewes Bros. 1706 Church, SF. (415) 821-0515, www.drewesbros.com
BEST CLOTHING STORE (WOMEN): Ambiance, Various locations, SF. www.ambiancesf.com
BEST SHOE STORE: Shoe Biz, Various locations, SF. www.shoebizsf.com
BEST TOY STORE: The Ark, Various locations. www.thearktoys.com

All other winners are on SFBG's site. Congrats to all!