Little Chihuahua To Take Over Bistro 24

Yet another great tip from a reader:

...Some people have overheard the owner of The Little Chihuahua saying that he plans on opening a 2nd restaurant near 24th & Castro. It sounds like it might be the Bistro 24 space. Build-out to be complete in late May or June. Little Chihuahua, if you've never been, makes a damn good burrito... rivaling Papalote IMHO.

We sent a note to owner Andrew Johnstone but haven't heard back yet. But check this out: Stefano Coppola has (finally?) sold his beer and wine license to Andrew Johnstone, who intends to open The Little Chihuahua at 4123 24th St. Status: pending.

What to Expect? From Little Chihuahua's website: "Our goal is to make delicious, healthy, Mexican-inspired food, while at the same time, make choices that help protect our Earth. The key to our concept is preparing food fresh and in-house, with a conscience." And don't forget the beer and wine.

Stay tuned.

Update: we heard from Andrew Johnstone:

Yes! The rumor is correct.

Hopefully we will be open in May after some interior updates to fit the concept. We will be operating with the same menu and format as our Divisadero restaurant, with both takeout and dine-in etc. We will expand into our brunch menu once we are up and running.

We are very happy to be coming to Noe Valley. The bigger space will be great and we are excited to share what we have to offer to the neighborhood.

[The Little Chihuahua]

NVV: 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 highlights from the latest issue. Links are to stories we've covered here on NVSF.

November 2009

Front page: Supervisor candidates faced off early at a forum at the Noe Valley Recreation Center on Oct. 22 – and William Hemenger of Diamond Heights has also just entered the race; Omnivore cookbook signings; Billy Goat Hill gets $50,000 for trail and habitat restoration from the Measure A Parks Bond passed by voters in 2008.

Feature: Tough times for 24th Street and upper Noe merchants continues – although the Whole Foods opening has brought some life and foot traffic back for many. Retailers hurt by Whole Foods are 24th St Cheese Co. and Drewes Meats. Whole Foods employs 100 workers--nearly 4 times as many Bell Market.

Letters: A poem to honor the passing of Noe Valley resident Bruce Sherman; a 7 paragraph tangent from the owner of Chloe's Café about working as a caterer on the set of Dirty Dancing with Patrick Swayze.

Op-Ed: A reader in a moss-green hemp-based hoodie ogles the faux ground beef, imitation sausage and fake chicken nuggets at Whole Foods – and decides the store is an OK addition to Noe after all.

Cost of Living in Noe: Average sales price 1.16 Million. Rents: down a little but still expensive.

Short Takes: Noel Stroll and a hay ride return to 24th Street on Dec. 5 from 4:30 – 7:30PM, and Santa will be at Zephyr from 11-2 for more family fun. [Ed. -- for now the link to Noel Stroll on last year's post redirects to Cooks Boulevard]. Ladybug Gardeners are at the Upper Noe Rec Center on Nov. 14 at 9AM planting and trimming- volunteers welcome.

Store Trek: Curator; Green11.

Rumors: Bevan Dufty proposes "removing conditional use criteria for full-service restaurants and permit small self-service restaurants and self-service specialty food establishments with conditional use" (Ed.--Translation: more restaurants on and around 24th Street assuming it passes through lengthy planning process and endless community meetings); Noe Soup will never open-–the owners abandoned the idea when they heard Whole Foods was coming and oh, because of a "complicated vent system;" the fusion restaurant on Church Street is stalled because of the "downturn in the economy;" Bistro 24 closed and is for sale for only $198K – although it may reopen (again!?) with a different partner if a buyer isn't found; Mi Lindo Yucatan closed and the space is under construction; La Boulange will open this month; Just Awesome Games reopens in West Portal after running from high rents in Noe (old space owned by Carol and Bill Yenne); Phoenix building (owned by Sue Bowie) still for sale for $2.25 million and the Streetlight building is listed for $2.2 million.

[The Noe Valley Voice]

Closed: Bistro 24

Bistro 24 closes after just 3 months. Stefano Coppola need more time for Lupa? Again?

[ESF: Three Months Later, Bistro 24 Is the Short-Lived Bistro 24]
[NVSF: Another Noe Valley Restaurant/Cafe For Sale]
[NVSF: Announced: Bistro 24]

NVV: 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 highlights from the latest issue. Links are to stories we've covered at NVSF.

September 2009

Front page: Whole Foods opening; Blue Church on outer Church inches closer to demolition (and condos); Senior lunch program extended at NV Ministry; local artist maps her NV memories; librarian Carol Small retires.

Letters: A plea to allow parking in driveways as long as a potted plant is in the car; an open letter to the annoying woman who leans on her horn whenever drivers stop for pedestrians; an appeal to neighbors to shop at local stores once Whole Foods opens to avoid transforming Noe Valley "into a cookie-cutter, third-rate Union Street"; and a reminder that Valencia St stores are open for business during the Streetscape Improvement Project.

Op-Ed: Farewell to Noe Valley Pizza founder Tony Vozaites. Following the La Boulange buyout, Tony and his wife are going on an extended vacation back to their native Greece.

Obits: Remembering longtime Noe Valley resident Mary K. "Micki" Ryan and musician Bruce Sherman.

Cost of Living in Noe: 37 single-family homes sold in June and July – the 2nd highest tally in 10 years according to Zephyr Real Estate. Rent: Still expensive.

Short Takes: The Noe Valley Association is holding a survey to see what businesses residents want to see on 24th St. Take the survey online Sept 7-21 or email suggestions to Debra Niemann at debra@noevalleyassociation.org. (Ed--The survey was not online yet as of this posting but here's your chance to veto any future title companies, banks, nail salons, psychics or pawn shops.)

Store Trek: Bistro 24, Successories in the Button Box.

Traveling Voice: Spotted in Turkey, North Carolina and Edinburgh, Scotland.

Rumors: Camel's milk chocolate at Chocolate Covered; Circle Bank fills the Aveda spot; Green 11 comes to former Ritz space; Deep restaurant opens in place of Deep Sushi; Noeteca soft opening Sept. 9; Noe Tuttimelon finally gets froyo; Accent on Flowers at 24th and Castro is bought by Flowers of the Valley across the street and will soon carry gardening supplies like soil and tools; a plant nursery and garden store called Independent Nature will open behind When Modern Was on Church St on Sept. 21; Glow Day Spa and a psychic are now open on 24th Street; the old Streetlight building and the vacated Phoenix Books building are both for sale ($2.2 million for Streetlight, the other undisclosed).

[The Noe Valley Voice]

NVV: 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 highlights from the latest issue. Links are to stories we've covered at NVSF.

July/August 2009

• Front page: Phoenix Books rises again, La Boulange comes to Noe, Just Awesome Games gets a microloan with some help from Good Morning America, world-class Jazz at Bliss Bar, and the senior lunch program saved through July 31.
• Letters: Just two – one nostalgic for Magnolia Thunderpussy Cafe [Ed- we’re not making this up], and another about the economic downturn (it’s not as bad as the 70s - you can tell by the lack of garage sales).
• Op-Ed: Chairman of Citizens United for Safer Streets (CUSS) encourages everyone to keep their dogs (especially big ones) on leashes and “at a safe distance from other beings, except in designated dog parks.”
• Obits: Remembering Carl Smith 1931-2008, founder of the Noe Valley Ministry.
• Cost of Living in Noe: Average price of a single family home in Noe is now $1.2 million, down from $1.4 million in 2008; rent prices are flat.
• Photo: Glamour shot of Mama’s – the corner store at 22nd and Dolores; Pat Mackey of Whitney St. converted his 1992 Mazda Miata to an electric vehicle.
• Short Takes: Upper Noe Recreation Center cleanup on July 11; Cooks Boulevard adds a book club and Community Agriculture program – details at cooksboulevard.com; Google/Apple/Genetech shuttle bus study results due in September - selected comments from this and this thread on NVSF are included.
• Rumors: Bistro 24 open for business; Noeteca delayed to July 15 or early August; Andiamo Deli is still for sale (asking price: $45,000); GNC closed; MadKat shuttered - owner Isa Muhawieh lost his lease and the owner would not renew – he’s looking for a new location in Noe to reopen [Ed- new store in the old Isa’s location opened this week as Shampoo & Bubbles]; Noe Knit dishes on the reason for closing (the Internet); Good News on 24th Street reports a 50% decline in issues of the Chronicle sold (also thanks to the Internet); Ingleside Station Captain Lazar reports an uptick in subscribers to the police action reports [Ed – Note the scary increase in armed robberies and grifters -– be careful out there]; Noe Courts needs a fence; free Wednesday night movies sponsored by Fima Photography and Videowave – see the stores (on Castro @ Jersey) for a schedule.
• Traveling Voice: Hangin' at the Brandenburg Gate.

No mention of the missing snake.

[The Noe Valley Voice]

Tidbits: What You Missed Over The July 4th Weekend

Leave town for the weekend? Here’s what you missed:

• Overheard at local coffee shops: lots of ranting about Sarah Palin’s announcement.
• A great slideshow of the fireworks from the Mission. [via Mission Mission]
• Loft Opens – 1513 Church--charming women’s clothing.
• Bistro24 – opened this week and NAEL K is proud to offer the first review on Yelp.

Overall a sleepy weekend in Noe Valley.

Opening Tomorrow: Bistro 24

Bistro 24 is on schedule to open July 1st. Please report back if you check it out.

Update (7/1): "Bistro 24 will be opening today July 1st at 6pm. Our business hours will be Tuesday thru Sunday 6pm - 12am. In a few weeks we will introduce brunch service and also open on Mondays."

That's right! Late night dining in Noe Valley.

Bistro 24
4123 24th St
bistro24sf.com

[NVSF: Announced: Bistro 24]

On The Menu: Poached Sous Chef At Bistro 24

The Chronicle provides more info on Bistro 24:

Coppola opened City Grille in January after the space became available last year, figuring, he says, that "it could pretty much run itself." That turned out to be a mistake, he readily admits. "I was blinded," he says. "It was way too much to try to manage two places at once." Coppola closed City Grille after just three months and was getting ready to sell it when things took another turn. With Bistro 24, he's teamed up with Pierre Mange, opening sous chef at Contigo. Instead of City Grille's diner approach, Bistro 24 will serve, in Mange's words, "contemporary American comfort food with Mediterranean influences."

(Remember Coppola's plans for City Grille? "Classic American fare.")

Opening Date? Next Week.

As for Contigo, Brett Emerson has been posting ads for a sous chef and line cooks since mid-May. We try not to read too much into job descriptions, but experience has shown they're often written with a prior employee in mind. Just speculating, but it's a good bet Brett isn't too happy about this development.

[SFGate: Inside Scoop: Second Chances]
[NVSF: Announced: Bistro 24]

Update: Bistro 24

In the event you missed it in the comments, Bistro 24 is confirmed as a new venture for Stefano Coppola: "Spoke to Stefano last night and he is indeed reopening himself, as a French bistro, and says he has an awesome chef ('you'll love') lined up already."

[NVSF: Announced: Bistro 24]