The old Toast on 24th space will become a new fast-casual Chinese restaurant called Mamahuhu this Fall – the chef will be Brandon Jew of the Michelin starred Mister Jiu’s in Chinatown [May NVV]
When we heard The Basso family sold Noe's Cantina at 1199 Church St and a change of ownership of the liquor license was been posted, we tracked down the new owners who are no strangers to Noe Valley: Kristen McCaffery (née Gianaras) and her husband Mike McCaffery. You may recognize Kristen as one of the owners of NoVY and a lifelong Noe Valley resident. We were delighted to hear a local is taking over such a central restaurant space and can't wait to see it come to life.
Now that the building has closed escrow we can share what they have in mind for the space: We understand you bought out the Noe’s Cantina restaurant and building. What are your plans for the space? Does the new restaurant have a name yet? Any changes to the layout?
Correct. We are in the very beginning stages of designing the space. We are working with ROY on the remodel and we had our first meeting with them this week! They are a firm run by two sisters (which I obviously love) and they have designed a number of our favorite restaurants (such as Beretta, Lolinda, Barzotto.) We have narrowed it down to two names and we hope to make a decision in the next week. We would like to use a family name. We don't plan on changing the layout but we want to create an atmosphere that is completely different from anything that's been in the space before.
Of all the vacant restaurant spaces in Noe Valley (Chez Marius, Pomelo, etc), what made you decide to buy Basso’s restaurant?
There are a number of reasons that we love this space: We love that it is a corner building and it gets great light. We love it's proximity to the J-Church and all of the various tech bus pick-ups and drop-offs. We love that it has outdoor seating. We love that it has a liquor license. We love that it is only a short walk from our home and from NOVY. We love that it has a long history in the neighborhood under the Basso family and we hope to create our own long-lasting legacy in the space.
Who’s involved? You, your spouse - anyone else? Also, what name should we use for you?
My husband, Mike McCaffery, and I are the sole owners (no other partners.) My legal name is Kristen McCaffery, but I still use my maiden name, Gianaras, around the 'hood.
What sort of food can we expect? And what dishes are you most excited about?
We do not yet have a menu developed. Our rough concept is New American cuisine focusing on California and San Francisco favorites. There will be great proteins, salads, seasonal vegetables and a number of bar-appropriate bites. And, of course, we plan on ebbing and flowing with the feedback from the neighborhood!
Fresca and Cantina/Bassos have been the only places in NV that are friendly for kids and for tippling adults. Will you also keep the bar service?
Definitely! There are so few options for a nice cocktail in Noe Valley and we intend on the bar program to be a main focus of the restaurant. We also want to capture the after work crowd with a great happy hour.
Will you have outdoor dining? All day dining?
Yes, we will have outdoor dining. We will open with dinner service only. Down the road we will add brunch, then lunch. We also intend to open a quick-service pick-up window for to-go orders.
What’s your timeline for opening?
We are aiming for a ~June opening, but we are willing to be flexible to get it right. Plus, we are due with our first child in April, so we want to carve out a period of time with our little one before the restaurant opens (we're trying to get ourselves nice and exhausted before jumping into this venture!).
California and San Francisco favorites, cocktails, bar bites and outdoor dining? Sounds like a great addition to the neighborhood. Here's looking forward to it.
What a decade. It's not a stretch to say Noe Valley and the world have changed more in the last 10 years than in the previous 100. Between the iPhone, Amazon, and social media to instadelivery apps and ridesharing – our 2010 selves would barely recognize Noe Valley today. Except we would – because the things we love about our little village are still here and still enchant us.
So while the national news whipsawed our attention with impeachment, apocalyptic climate disasters and tragically accelerating hate crimes and mass shootings (and that was just in December!) here at home there were smaller but no less important dramas and delights.
To wit, here were the biggest stories of 2019 in Noe Valley:
The Retail Apocalypse Is Real
In other corners of retail, most of the news was about closings or near-death experiences. Shoe Biz shuttered after several fits and starts (case in point: it's a temporary popup shoe store right now but it's basically gone). Rare Device closed it's Noe Valley outpost and consolidated to its Divisadero location – and was promptly replaced by a psychic (yes, really). The owner of nearby Lucca Ravioli retired and shuttered the business – and we all lost a great San Francisco institution. VideoWave is hanging on for dear life. Even a $1500 a month doggy daycarecan't make it on 24th St. In happier news, YogaFlow finally filled in the old RadioShack space. Charlie's Corner got a new lease on life thanks to the kindness of benefactors and a GoFundMe. We also got some new lash and beauty spas but no new major retail openings of note. Meanwhile, the Noe Valley Whole Foods got some unwanted national attention as activists briefly shut down the store to protest animal cruelty (and hate on Jeff Bezos). Sadly, there are still way too many empty storefronts on 24th Street with no sign that this is likely to change anytime soon. The reality is that we can expect more SkinSpirits and One Medicals if the economics of retail don't change.
It's Hard to Run a Restaurant in SF
Let’s just say that retail has nothing on restaurants for hardship. We saw the abrupt closings of Chez Marius, Pomelo, and Toast on 24th. Patxi's sold itself to Los Angeles-based Elite Restaurant Group at the end of last year and the business is now 50% takeout/delivery. The once vibrant Pasta Gina is now a ghost kitchen delivery outpost. And the former Le Panotiq was supposed to become Wallflower but appears to be in limbo. There were a few openings: Le Cupboard became Inle Burmese, Fattoush is now Bernal Heights Pizzeria, Holy Kitchen has become Bon Appetikka, and the old Contigo space was replaced by Mahila. Here's hoping San Francisco figures out how to be friendlier to restaurants.
Climate Change is No Joke
California burned and the smoke and effects were not lost on Noe Valley. We also had our share of heatwaves. Thank goodness for rain.
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. October 2019
Front Page: The J Church line is notoriously unreliable; Reliving the 1989 Loma Prieta quake in Noe Valley; The Town Square before it was a Town Square (spoiler: it was a gas station and auto shop in the 70s and then a church parking lot in the 90s).
Letters: A neighbor suggests the sidewalks of 24th St are beautiful and well kept - but shouldn't be power-washed so often. Cost of Living in Noe Valley: The average price of a single-family home in Noe Valley is $2.8 million.
Short Takes: New lights are being added to the Town Square to make it more festive and safer; a lighting ceremony will happen on October 26 at 6:30pm. Spooktacular, a Halloween celebration is back for the third year on Sunday October 27 and on Halloween, October 31.
Rumors and Tidbits: The makers of The Last Black Man in San Francisco will be showing their semi-autobiographical film as a benefit for Video Wave, which they fear is “the Last Video Store in San Francisco” on Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. at the Noe Valley Ministry. The Noe Valley Girls Film Festival was a huge success. Doggy Style is closing by the end of the year and DS owner and NVMPA president Rachel Swann wants to open a wine bar. Toast on 24th is closed thanks to a lease expiration and pending seismic retrofit. Chez Marius is closed. The former Le Cupboard space on Church St will become a new restaurant called Inle Burmese and should open Oct 8. Pomelo on Church St is closed (see full note here). Also on Church, the former storefront for Curator will become Delights by Lisa offering fresh baked sweets by a Noe Valley native. Readings at Charlie's Corner will no longer be free; they cost $10 (!) per child and $5 for siblings. Shoe Biz is closed. A psychic is back on 24th St. And animal rights activists protested at Whole Foods.
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. October 2016
Front Page: The Noe Valley Library is 100 years old; Some Noe Valley restaurants are thriving (Fresca, Contigo, La Ciccia, Firefly, Hamano, NoVY) - others not so much (Savor's owner says he can no longer offers table service and is just waiting for the lease to expire to move to the peninsula); Noe Valley Town Square plans to open Oct 29 and the Farmer's Market will move in Nov. 5.
Letters: A neighbor writes in to urge you to vote for Prop I.
Features: Real Foods is still empty, 13 years on; volunteers are planning a second Grand View green space cleanup on Nov. 5. Cost of Living in Noe: The home market is still cooling but only 8 single family homes traded hands in August. The average cost of a home is $2.6 million.
Rumors and Tidbits: See Jane Run is closed and the building is for sale for $3.3 million; Walkershaw Man closed and has turned over as Azil Boutique jewelry; the old Bliss Bar space is still for rent; Video Wave is taking over the entire Buttons Bar space and running a GoFundMe campaign. The old Common Scents space is now Monroe, a woman's clothing boutique. The former In-House space across the street is becoming an art gallery and will open Nov 6. The Cradle of the Sun space has been rented to a real estate firm (ugh). Drewes Brothers Meats closed in August and the landlord/owner reports he is close to signing a tenant that plans a meat market in the space; no other details were offered. The Noe Courts space is still under construction. The Noe Valley Girls Film Festival was a success. The Noe Valley Ministry is hosting a gala on Oct 27.
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. February 2016
Letters: A neighbor reminds you to check the dates on construction sawhorses (contractor parking) - they might be expired; a 23rd St resident believes that traffic and speeding on his street are on the rise; a house garage on the 4700 block of 25th street was burgled; RIP to the dapper Wilkes Bashford, a longtime Noe Valley resident. Sidebar: the most common crimes in our little burg? Burglary, disturbing the peace, fraud, stolen cars, theft and vehicle break-ins.
Rumors and Tidbits: Lots of For Rent signs still on 24th Street including Common Scents and In-House - as are many storefronts over the hill in Eureka Valley/Castro; Hahn's Hibachi is closing for good after many rumors and 20 years; Pomelo is no longer serving dinner - for now; construction will begin soon on the former Bliss Bar which is becoming a thai noodle bar [Ed.--construction is underway]; La Boulangerie is open; Hamlet is open; the former toy store The Ark is papered over and will become a retail store for kitchen goods; Portuguese restaurant Uma Casa will come to life in the old Incanto restaurant space this summer.
Nationally, 2015 will be a year remembered for terror attacks, ISIS and the Syrian refugee crisis. It’s also the year same sex marriage became a constitutional right (yay!), the presidential race got off to a crazy-early start (ugh), and too many people died in mass shootings. In San Francisco, people were worried that the rich are getting too rich and the middle class is getting squeezed out. Oh, and we’re finally getting some much needed relief from the drought (thanks, El Nino!).
But never mind that. All news is local, and here in Noe Valley we had different things on our minds. Here are the top stories of 2015 that preoccupied us, made us smile and that sometimes drove us crazy in our little village this year.
New Places to Eat
2015 was a good year for food in Noe. NoVY opened in the old Pasta Pomodoro space. Hamlet replaced Horner’s Corner with better food and friendlier bartenders. Starbucks killed La Boulange (aka La Boring) and La Boulangerie de San Francisco moved in instead. The owners of Savor opened Lazeez to mixed reviews, two restaurants at the edges of Noe got Michelin stars (Aster and Al’s Place) and the former Incanto/Porcellino space is slated to become Uma Casa in the summer of 2016. Meanwhile, the chain café La PanotiQ says it still plans to move into the former Global Fair Exchange at 4108 24th Street – only a year behind schedule.
So Long and Farewell
Sadly, there were lots of closings in 2015 too including several businesses that have been in Noe Valley for decades such as Noe Valley Music (now a nail salon), Cradle of the Sun (moved to Ocean Ave), The Ark (bankrupt), and Common Scents (becoming online only). The burned out Bliss Bar is slated to be a new restaurant called Tom & Rai with expanded housing above but construction appears to be stalled. Martin Mattox also closed and has been replaced with another pop-up duo Tejido & Somi. Successories, the little shop next to St. Clair’s liquors moved to Pacifica. Next door, the pop-up kids clothing store TugTug vacated to Guerrero St and a string of popups continue to inhabit the two storefronts while the permit for the 3 story addition to the building languishes in Planning. Isso also closed and the space remains empty. Meanwhile, the Noe Valley Radio Shack was miraculously spared a closure – at least for now – despite the national chain filing for bankruptcy. Another sign of the times: On Sanchez St, Life for Life and its pieces of fake fat left the neighborhood for good, only to be replaced by The Root, a midwife practice. Farther out on Church Street, K9 Scrub Club abruptly closed due to a personal situation and the space remains for rent. An artifact from another departure in 2014, the shoe sign from Mike’s shoe repair also turned up – in a private home at Mission and 24th (we ask again: is that stealing?).
The Neverending Real Foods Story Is Far From Over
In major 24th Street developments, 2015 started out so optimistically! The owners of the old Real Foods building hosted a presentation to unveil the plans for the Real Foods building. Amazing! Turnout to the meeting was solid. Drawings were shown. Questions were asked and (mostly) answered. And since then… nothing. No meetings, no updates and not even Scott Wiener has any info. What was supposed to be the Big Reveal was just the Big Tease. Whatever happens, we’ll believe it when we see it.
A video posted by Victoria van Eyk (@victoriavaneyk) on
The Drones Have Arrived
You knew this was coming. It was only a matter of time before drones became a nuisance in our techie enclave – and realtors are proudly using them too anyway (here’s one of 147 Day Street). This will get worse before it gets better. In the meantime, watch your windows.
RIP Vicki Rosen and Greg Gutknecht
Two longtime fixtures of Noe Valley left us this year. Vicki Rosen, president of the Upper Noe Neighbors and longtime community activist, died on June 11 after a long fight with cancer. In January, Greg Gutknecht, the affable and talkative gentleman on 24th Street who did odd jobs for area merchants collapsed in front of Bernie's coffee shop and EMTs were unable to revive him. RIP Vicki and Greg – you are missed.
New Beginnings
The Noe Valley Town Square got the final green light in 2015 and is set to become a reality soon. Construction is slated to start in January 2016 and the ribbon cutting is scheduled for October 2016. In the meantime, the Farmer’s Market will convene on 24thStreet between Sanchez and Vicksburg on Saturday mornings. In other happy news, Video Wave of Noe Valley, which has been renting videos and DVDs at 1431 Castro St for 27 (!) years found a new home in the Buttons Candy Bar on 24th Street. Other signs of renewal: The bulbouts and greening of 24th Street this year were welcome changes, and we were happy to see the Solstice Cracked refreshed again in June.
It’s Still Insanely Expensive to Live Here
2015 was a year of more "monster homes" in the hood – and more frustration from those that don’t want them here. A small but vocal group fought to Save the Shack at 369 Valley Street – and was successful in getting it designated a historic site. But that was the exception. Mostly we just saw lots of new homes, including a new Most Expensive House at $7 million - on Elizabeth Street and backing up the new development at Bliss Bar. A building boom also continues to update the Church end of 24th Street. And for good or ill, many of the neighborhood’s Permastoned houses are disappearing too, although plenty still survive.
The Forecast Is Beautiful
On a happier note, the drought and spare the air days this year made for some spectacular sunrises and sunsets. And more sunrises and sunsets. And rainbows. Allyearlong. Yep, we Noe Valleyeons and our visitors are not shy about photographing our beautiful neighborhood. Huzzah!
There are so many good things on the horizon for 2016. The Town Square breaks ground on January 4 and we should have a new park and plaza in the center of our village by the fall. SF's first high end Portuguese restaurant, Uma Casa, is slated to open on Church St in June. And here’s hoping the open retail spaces on 24th Street become something useful and entertaining for the neighborhood. Whatever happens, we live in paradise and we’re all incredibly lucky to call this place home. Happy New Year, Noe Valley! Here's to a safe, fun, and prosperous 2016.
Feeling nostalgic? Here were the top stories of 2014, 2013 and 2012.
Did we miss anything? Share it in the comments! [Top image: @TYxMcFly]
There are three new restaurants opening on the edge of Noe Valley that promise to be welcome additions to the dining options between here and Valencia Street. Valencia St. has become a go-to for some of the most innovative (and fun!) restaurants in the City, and now it looks like local chefs are looking for spaces nearby that promise to expand the number of quality restaurants for a great night out.
22nd and Guerrero isn't downtown Noe Valley, but according to the map we use for our 'hood it's right on the edge. Some sources call it the Mission, but that's not quite right. Let's go ahead and call it Noe Gulch. The new restaurants there ...
The restaurant formerly known as Company (and at one time home to the foodie Mecca Flying Saucer) has become Hoffman's Grill & Rotisserie. Chef/owner Karen Hoffman, who has worked at Spago and the Four Seasons, has created a casual restaurant "serving comfort food at its finest." Everything is made in-house including bread, pasta and sausages and the focus is on "the quality of the ingredients." Early visitors on Yelp give it 4.5 stars.
Across the street in what used to be Beast and the Hare, Brett Cooper (formerly of Outerlands and with help from the Daniel Patterson Group) is working on Aster, which Inside Scoop reports is a 45 seat restaurant that will serve ingredient-driven Californian fare sourced from small but emerging local farms. (Fittingly, the name Aster means small local flower.) Opening date was reportedly this November, although on a recent walk past the space it didn't appear an opening was imminent.
Slightly south, but still close by, former Ubuntu chef Aaron London is planning to open an as yet unnamed restaurant on Valencia at 26th (formerly Toad's and more recently South End Grill n' Bar). Inside Scoop has the lowdown here too: It seats 49 and will cater to more than vegetarians (although "veggie heavy") and will serve fish, meat and seafood too. Look for that to open this Spring.
All told, Noe Valley dining options continue to attract attention. Add the above to La Ciccia, Contigo, Firefly, Saru Sushi and other options, and it's looking good for quality fare expanding on the edge of Noe Valley.
We just received word from a neighbor that Pasta Pomodoro at 4000 24th St will close for good after today's service. We called to confirm, and were told that the owner of the building is planning major renovations. At this point there are no plans to reopen at this location. The staff didn't know any other details, and stated they were given notice three days ago. We'll post more when we have more info.
Update (10/29): No word yet from Pasta Pomodoro corporate, but we did do a quick permit search. At this time there are no permit applications filed for the building. But there is an interesting tidbit on the ABC license - it's set to expire on 10/31/14 and there is no record of a transfer pending.
We walked by this afternoon and workers are clearing the space. There's a new sign on the door stating they "lost their lease" and to visit other locations. The parking space permit is listed for 1090-1092 Noe Street and so we looked up that address. Sure enough - a construction permit was filed in May: "PARTIAL VOLUNTARY SEISMIC UPGRADE AT GROUND FLOOR ONLY, NEW SIDING & REPAINT EXTERIOR WALL." Partial, sure, but there are nine special inspections required. This is work is likely to comply with SF's Mandatory Soft Story Program.
