This Week in Noe Valley: Celebrating Noe Valley Retailers and Another Backdoor Demolition

The latest news from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• Noe Valley Cheese Co. has been in business for 33 years! [SF Weekly]
• Just for Fun is added to SF’s Legacy Business Registry as a valuable cultural asset [SFGate]
• An Insta interview with Jack Epstein of Chocolate Covered: “I now sell the largest collection of artisanal bars in the country to my knowledge.” [mokaorigins]
• Opinion: Noe Valley Bagels has authentic bagels [@mmullany]
• Alas, Video Wave still struggling [SFWeekly]
• The history of Noe Valley in a nutshell [SFWeekly]
• Observation: Tumblr sold for less than a 2 bedroom in Noe Valley [@backlon]
• Another backdoor demolition in Noe Valley [@Socketsite]
• 3789 24th St (formerly Isso) is now a lash salon [Yelp]
• Summer glow [mr_ottoh]
• Squirrel! [tikki_n_friends]

[Photo: Charles Kung of Noe Valley Cheese Co. via SFWeekly]

NVV June 2018: 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.

June 2018

Front Page: Retailers continue to hurt on 24th St as locals opt for online shopping instead; The Noe Valley Farmer's Market ditches use of plastic bags this month; Healthy Spot pet store faces resistance from local merchants - vote slated for June 21.

Cost of Living in Noe Valley: 11 single family homes sold in April for an average price of $2.5 million; 10 condos sold for an average of $1.9 million. A $5.2 million home sold on the 1300 block of Noe.

Store Trek: Seokyo new Korean restaurant at 1740 Church Street near Day

Rumors and Tidbits: Real Foods has been sold to local investors who hope to bring the space up to code and rent it out as 3 retails stores by this fall. The former Hamlet space at 1199 Church is for sale, liquor license and all for $3.5 million. Hi-Way Burger should be opening in the old Caskhouse space by the end of June. The space next to St. Clair's Liquors is nearing completion and will be leased, not sold. Modern Family Law has moved into the ground floor of 4126 Castro near 24th. TMI Colonics has moved to 1340 Haight St. Shoe Biz is now owned by shoe retailer Anthem. Unconfirmed (but rumored) is that Rabat may remain in Noe Valley by downsizing to just the corner space where it started. Whole Foods is now starting to enforce the "one hour while shopping at Whole Foods" rule. 

[The Noe Valley Voice]

This Week in Noe Valley: Fire Box Mystery Revealed, Plum Trees Blooming and YIMBY Was Born Here

The latest news from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• SoCal based HealthySpot looks to open 13th location in old RadioShack – here’s how to support or oppose [NVSF]
• There are 3,448 vacant or abandoned commercial and residential properties in the city – including lots of vacant storefronts [SF Chronicle]
• The mystery of towels around San Francisco fire call boxes revealed: They need maintenance [ABC7]
• Noe Valley plum trees are already in bloom #warmwinter [nicholaspaul26]
• YIMBY action was born in Noe Valley [SF Streetsblog]

[Photo: Even the dentist office is cute in Noe Valley via mkcalifornia] 

NVV Feb 2018: 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.

February 2018

Front Page: LA-based chain pet store Healthy Spot wants to open in the old Radio Shack space - and local merchants aren't having it; local a profile of local resident and longtime Rolling Stone writer Ben Fong-Torres (a documentary about him is coming out this spring); Noe Valley's solid voter turnout could be a force in this June's special mayoral election.

Letters: A neighbor writes to remind his fellow Noe Valley residents that there is Thursday morning meditation on the Noe Valley Town Square from 8-9am.

Features: Large turnout this year for Neighborhood Emergency Response Training (NERT) after the Jan. 4 earthquake (more at sf-fire.org); the house at 79 28th St. is at the center of a housing battle that encapsulates the housing crisis and gentrification struggles of Noe Valley. A profile of Noe Valley Cyclery owner David Kline who's had a good long run since 1976 and who plans to retire in April - and Dani Sheehan Myer's struggle to make a go of it with Cliche Noe Gifts + Home before it closed in January. RIP Barbara Ann May, Fair Oaks resident, artist and community activist.

Cost of Living in Noe Valley: Real estate sales were brisker than they've been in 10 years in the last few months of 2017 including for multi-unit buildings. The average cost to buy a house here: $2.7 million.

Store Trek: Ardiana, 1781 Church St. at 30th

Rumors and Tidbits: The Noe Valley Merchants & Professionals Association (NVMPA) is presiding over a commercial corridor on 24th St. that is losing retailers (14 vacant store fronts) and mostly gaining professional services (think realtors, title companies, health offices and banks). Commercial rents range from $4,000 to $12,000. Navarette's Black Belt Academy has moved out of the old See Jane Run space and back to Church St - and the See Jane Run space needs a seismic retrofit. The Mill is moving to 18th and Hartford in the Castro on February 13. Rachel Swann, the NVMPA president and a realtor, tried to pull a fast one on her fellow merchants by converting a former retail space into a realtor office that also sold swag - more than a few retailers on 24th St. are not amused. The S.F. History Association, which held monthly meetings at St. Philips is moving to Newman Hall in Sherith Israel at California and Webster. Noe Valley Democratic Club president Todd David says he is supporting Noe Valley resident Mark Leno, not London Breed, in the upcoming mayoral election. Le Cupboard is still closed. A new Japanese restaurant called Seokyo is opening in at 1740 Church at Day St. (formerly Taku Sushi, Noe Sushi, Tataki South, Deep and Deep Sushi). Hamlet is closing and will become a Japanese eatery. Nothing is happening at Real Foods. Noe Valley is rumored to be the most popular destination in SF for Airbnb rentals. James Lick Middle School is the beneficiary of a $265,000 garden grant which will have 60 species of plants and an organic vegetable garden - it opens February 10. The Diamond Heights Shopping Center has been bought by new investors. A new group called Swing Left is signing up residents at the Farmer's Market to "take back the house in 2018."

[The Noe Valley Voice]

This Week in Noe Valley: Mystery Hearts Return, Great Local Spanish Food and The Bar Robbers Are Arrested

The latest news from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• The Podolls are celebrating one year in Noe Valley this month [SF Chronicle]
• Omnivore Books’ spring food and chef book event lineup is here and it's impressive as always [Omnivore]
• The former Video Wave spaces is becoming a clothing store and salon called VOILA [Hoodline]
• The Fairmount mystery hearts are back [Google maps]
• Contigo named one of 16 best Spanish restaurants in U.S. [Time Out]
• Suspects arrested for recent bar and restaurant armed robbery sprees [SFist]

[Photo: Sunset via mitali]

NVV April 2016: 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.

April 2016

Front Page: A profile of Jesse Walkershaw, owner of WalkershawMan clothting store on 24th; six bike share locations are coming to Noe Valley; a profile of Noe Valley hand surgeon and artist-entrepreneur Robert Markison; the proposed Town Square owl art is considered too "skull-like" and is back on the drawing board.

Letters: A vote for a Janis Joplin historic marker to commemorate her stay in Noe Valley at 22nd and Noe (ed note - she lived in a lot of places in the city); a complaint that the San Jose Ave road diet has increase congestion and carbon emissions; a rebuttal to a letter last month about the languishing Real Foods spot asserting that downtown Noe Valley is "alive, well and thriving." Bob Roddick wants you to know that Elle magazine and Trulia have named Noe Valley as the neighborhood with the best family amenities (ed note - we weren't able to find a link or confirm) thanks to the efforts of the NVMPA to create things like the hayride, Easter Egg Hunt, Garden Tour and more. The board of the Noe Valley Farmers Market encourages you to support local businesses near the Farmer's Market on Saturday. And one neighbor decries the use of commercial sidewalk scrubbing in a drought.

Cost of Living in Noe: Home sales average $2.9 million - the most expensive house that  sold was a $4 million home on Valley St.

Store Trek: Yoga Mayu, 4159B 24th St. at Diamond; Hamlet, 1199 Church St. at 24th

Rumors and Tidbits: Patxi's is riling up it's neighbors again by using the public parking lot as the pit stop for pizza delivery vehicles; the space vacated by In-House will soon become a Golden Gate Urgent Care outlet; Go Health Urgent Care is also looking to rent in down town Noe Valley but no space has been confirmed (ed note - ugh, Union St. here we come). The Lotus Method (yoga for expecting moms) is taking over the old Ambiance space; and the surely a hoax butler listing for $175,000 gets a mention. See Jane Run is sticking around for at least another 6 months; next door to SJR, the pop-up art store has had a good run - and Jan Van Swearingen, formerly of Common Scents is looking to pop-up in the additonal space next door at 3904 24th St. The former Video Wave space on Castro is becoming a women's clothing store called Aline's Closet which is relocating from Lower Haight. Zephyr is rennovating it's offices and expects to reopen on 24th St in 3-4 months. Hahn's Hibachi on Castro will soon become Bistro SF Grill which will serve lunch, dinner and lots, and lots of burgers. Noe Valleyeon Ben Fong-Torres (a founding father of Rolling Stone) launched a radio show in late 2015.

[The Noe Valley Voice]

This Week in Noe Valley: Class Baiting, Rainbows and See Jane Run Catches a Break

The latest news from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• It rained… and then ... rainbows [beldenbarns and caragpw]
• A barista at Bernie’s was badly injured in a motorcycle accident – campaign here for those who want to help [gofundme]
• So that’s what they call a Victorian gut and flip [Curbed]
• A job post for a fancy $175K butler in Noe Valley blows up Twitter (and is almost certainly bogus) [The Guardian]
• Hahn’s Hibachi is closing for good at the end of April [@crsy]
• ICYMI: The For Lease sign is down and something is happening at the 25th and Church restaurant space... [@noevalleysf]
• The Temporarium coffee shop at the edge of Noe Valley (22nd and Guerrero] is now open [the_temporarium]
• See Jane Run negotiates a 6 month reprieve – see the comments [Robert Blaylock]
• The Lotus Method, workouts for expecting Moms, opens in April on 24th St [Lotus Method]
• Noe Valley resident Jade Stone stars in clever Exploratorium send-up [Bum Vivant]

[Photo: Bernie’s in the Spring via wannabefashionblogger]

Moving: See Jane Run

Well this is too bad: Another genuinely useful local store is apparently being priced out of its space. Early this week the signs appeared in See Jane Run’s windows at 3910 24th Street that they had lost their lease. Chatting up the staff there, it seems SJR didn’t lose its lease so much as the owners decided not to renew the lease at the new (in the staff's words) “greedy landlord” prices. The woman-owned and operated San Francisco company was founded in 2000 and is actively looking for a new space for a local store – hopefully in Noe Valley – and there’s currently no set date for closing. We have to think the pending construction next door may also have been a factor in SJR's decision to look around.

The owners are renting month-to-month in the meantime and it’s a great time to scoop up merchandise for 10-70% off. There’s also a See Jane Run store in Oakland on College Ave.

See Jane Run is one of many local shops to face rising rents in the last 12 months including Video Wave, Cradle of the Sun, In-House, Common Scents and Noe Valley Music (now a nail salon).

Closing: In-House

Another month, another independent small business closes its doors on 24th St. The small clothing boutique known as In-House (formerly Loft 1513) at 3927 24th Street is ending its 8 year run next month.

In-House is the creation of Bay Area designer Larissa Verdussen who opened a boutique on Church St in 2008 to sell her own line of women's dresses called RAG-Doll - and also started housing other designers' work in the space. In 2012 she moved her shop from outer Church to the main stretch of 24th Street.

Now, faced with the growing costs of running an independent business (including an impending rent hike) Larissa has decided to close shop, devote more time to her 2 little boys, and go back to selling her dresses in other retail spaces instead.

There’s already a Rockwell for lease sign on the space but In-House will be open for another 5 weeks. Drop in soon to snap up the deals – many items are already 20-60 percent off. 

Thanks for the run Larissa – and sad to see yet another independent business close up shop on 24th Street.

[Photo of Larissa via In-House]

This Week in Noe Valley: Shooter at St. Luke’s, The Wishing Tree Returns, and Why Don’t Tech Workers Vote?

The latest news from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• ICYMI: Drewe’s is now E&J Fine Meats [Bay Area Bites]
• Tour of a 4.3 million home on Cesar Chavez that was $4.8 million [CA Home & Design]
• The first dinner menu at HamletSF [@sportyspicesf]
• The Wishing Tree is back [#wishingtreesf]
• Active shooter nabbed at St. Luke’s [SF Examiner]
• Why don’t SF tech workers vote? [SF Examiner]
• K9 Scrub Club is closed and here’s why [K9 Scrub Club]
• Biggest regret from 1991: 'We should've bought that house in Noe Valley for 350K' [@madhill]
• Photos of the new retail/home development on 24th St at Church [SF Gate]
• The Louise Brooks Society started with a VHS tape rented at Video Wave [HuffPo]
• Notorious crooks: The story of the Gray Brothers who made millions running strip quarries in Noe Valley and Corona Heights in the early 1900s [SF Examiner]
• Local author and data scientist Kristin Henry’s adult coloring books arrive at Folio [artatomic]

[Photo: Fall view from Noe Valley via breadandbuttertheatre]

Closing: Common Scents

We got the news that Common Scents, the tiny but popular cosmetics store next to the former Noe Valley Music spot, is closing at the end of the year via Twitter a few days ago – and we finally have more details. The owner is moving to Florida at the end of the year after a 44 year run (!) and will continue to sell a similar collection of lotions and potions online starting in March 2016. In the meantime, as the sandwich board out front says, three more months to shop.

Sad to see another shop on that stretch close – and here’s hoping something interesting and useful takes it place.

This Week In Noe Valley: Low-Flying Copters, Billy Joel, And Other Signs of Labor Day

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• Those low-flying helicopters you've been hearing are measuring radiation levels [ABC7]
• Shameless BuzzFeed linkbait asks: Which SF Neighborhood Are You? [BuzzFeed]
• NV Democratic Club says no on Prop F, the measure banning homesharing [@NoonPropF]
• Noe Valley loses a Permastoned house on Sanchez [Curbed]
• Video Wave moves, future looks sweet [SF Chronicle]
• Spin City gets a cool new bike rack/art installation [@rollercams]
• Yep, that was the Billy Joel concert you heard this weekend [@koastrem]
• Mitchell’s Dairy Farm near 29th and Noe Streets in the late 1800s [Mitchell’s]
• Firefly makes another Best Fried Chicken list [Eater]

[Photo: Labor Day in Noe Valley via @adrianbonifacio]

NVV September 2015: 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.

September  2015

Front Page: Patxi's abandons plans for parklet to avoid a public spat with other merchants; a profile of BookMentors run by Noe Valley resident Debra Hannula; hiking trails in Glen Canyon will get an upgrade.

Letters: Letter from the lawyer for The Ark toy store explaining why the company went bankrupt (online retail, smartphones and financing were the cited culprits); Omnivore Books and Noe Valley Pet Company owner Celia Sack urges you to shop local if you love a livable and vibrant neighborhood instead of realty offices, banks and nail salons. Also: RIP Noe Valley artist Royce Harris Vaughn.

Features: Diana Barrand, co-owner of Le Zinc dies of cancer at 57; the restaurant will endure. Clipper Street repairs and traffic-calming plans are back on the drawing board for new ideas.

Cost of Living in Noe: The $7 million home that sold in June tied for the most expensive sale in Noe Valley. Average rent for a 1 bedroom is $3,500+.

Short Takes: Coyotes were spotted in Noe Valley in August; no pictures.

Rumors and Short Items: The Ark filed for bankruptcy, despite 3 years left on the lease; Cradle of the Sun is moving to West Portal and lots of items are on sale - doors close Sept 13; Noe Valley Music is becoming a nail salon (ugh!!); Martin Mattox is closed; Video Wave has moved into a shared space with Buttons Candy Bar; Pascal Rigo will be taking back several La Boulanges under a new concept including the one in Noe Valley [Ed note - we have not seen any other confirmed reports of this]; The Noe Valley Town Square will break ground in January; There's no Harvest Fest this year but Just for Fun is hoping to hold a Fall Fest on Oct 24 instead; No news at Real Foods despite the presentation in January; and improvements are slated for Noe Courts including benches and landscaping, to be completed by Thanksgiving.

[The Noe Valley Voice]

This Week In Noe Valley: La Bou Closing Soon, The Root Wants You To Re-Wild And Local Blight From 1945

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• Driven out by rising rent, Cradle of the Sun finds a new home in West Portal [NVSF]
• Priceless: A 4 year old’s map of Noe Valley [@peteskomoroch]
• La Boulange closures have started – Noe Valley branch set to close Sept. 17 [Hoodline]
• Photo of blight on Sanchez between 25th and Duncan – from 1945! [Eric Fischer]
• ICYMI: Video Wave relocating to inside Buttons Candy Bar [NVSF]
• Olive This Olive That makes best “niche” store list [SFist]
• Photo: Manhole cover or transporter pad in Noe Valley? [suebraids]
• Noe Valley is like an art installation [@Omarmasry]
• Estate sale for former Noe Valley artist Jack Freeman [1608 Legacy]
• Found art: Street corners of Noe Valley [@Dunk_Ra]
• The Root Midwifery – an “opportunity for women to connect, normalize, re-wild and initiate the blueprint of birth” - opens this weekend, and already has a GoFundMe campaign [PR Newswire]

[Photo: Noe Valley summer day via daretoeatapeach]

Moving: Video Wave to Relocate Inside Buttons Candy Bar

Finally some good news on the small retail front instead of another closure or eviction: Video Wave of Noe Valley, which has been renting videos and DVDs at 1431 Castro St for 27 (!) years has found a new home – centrally located on 24th Street. A sharp-eyed reader sent this from the Video Wave Facebook page:

"We are excited and relieved to tell you that we signed a lease today with Buttons Candy Bar at 4027 24th street, 2 blocks from our present location. That means we have a place to move to, and to stay in business in!. We will be closed from Monday August 24th until our re-opening in the new location, which is planned for Tuesday September 1st! 

Stay tuned! We've received great support, enough financial help to get us into the space. We might have to raise money to help with the move, a new store space, and to offset the time we are closed, but let's cross that bridge later. For now, relief! And we get to get away from the Landlord That Shall Not Be Named!"

Nice to see owner Gwen Sanderson and the Video Wave team find a new home, and  the candy + movie combo could be a hit.

Video Wave of Noe Valley
4027 24th Street
(415)550-7577

[Photo: Holdn2aces]

Closing: Martin Mattox

Just a year after opening in the dogs days of summer of 2014, the curators of style at Martin Mattox are closing their little clothing and housewares boutique at 1104 Sanchez St. According to the owners, the lease was up and business in their home decorating service has been brisk, so something had to give. The store closes today at 5pm and all items are on sale.
 
This spot has a long history of quick turnovers. Before it was the upscale Martin Mattox boutique, it was a consignment store called The Garage, and before that it was speech therapist, a computer repair shop and an antique store. Given all the other turnover on 24th St this month it might be awhile before it rents again.

The Latest Victim of Rising Rents: Cradle of the Sun

A reader forwarded us this note from Dan Gamaldi, owner of Cradle of the Sun, the charming stained glass store on 24th Street:

I'm sorry to inform you that yesterday our landlord let us know our rent was going up to market value. So after 33 years we are looking for another location. If we don't find a place we may be forced to retire. I'm keeping my fingers crossed things work out.

Meanwhile we are trying to sell off our stock and there are massive discounts on supplies and art glass. I'll keep you posted on events. We have 60-90 days before we have to be out.

33 years! That's a great run for a retail store. Sadly, Cradle of the Sun joins several other retail stores that have been hit with rent hikes at that end of 24th Street. We hope Dan is able to find a new home – and that the colorful threshold survives as Cradle of the Sun's legacy.

Lots of changes are afoot at that end of 24th Street: The Ark is closed. Noe Valley music is closed. Isso is closed. La Boulange is being shuttered by Starbucks in September. Horner’s Corner is being reborn as Hamlet. The Noe Valley Town Square will begin construction in January. The new retail/housing building next to Shoe Biz will be on the market soon, and the little Victorian next door will be demolished for mixed retail and housing. Change is hard; let’s hope it’s done right.

Update (8/28/15): Dan sent out another email today announcing a new location in a larger space:

Great news...we have a new location. 2377 Ocean Ave. A bigger space allowing me to add 3 extra students to each class. I should be set up and open by 10/15. I'm taking bookings for those spaces so get back to me early to have a preference. Class fees will be $230 per session. Each session goes for six weeks, 2.5 hours per week. The classes are 7-9:30pm Tues, Wed, Thurs, 9:30 -noon on Sat, 10:30-1:00 Sunday morning and 1:30-4 on Sunday afternoon. I supply the use of tools in class. You'll need to purchase the consumable but will get a 10% discount on those items. I'm looking forward to having even more fun. Thanks, Dan

Closed: The Ark

Say it ain’t so: The Ark, the wildly cute toy store with the always interesting window displays at 3845 24th Street on the corner of Vicksburg is closed. A sign in the window reads simply: 

Unfortunately The Ark has to close its doors. We appreciate all the love and support you have given us throughout the years.

We had heard rumors that the store was struggling to match the prices of Amazon and the owners closed the Presidio version of the store earlier this year. Still… toys are one of those things that people like to see and touch before they buy, and the selection at The Ark was consistently good.

Then again, it might not just be the high prices, high rent or Amazon that are entirely to blame for The Ark's demise. Quite a few Yelp reviews gave The Ark exceptionally low marks for the staff including some pointed comments like “The male cashier, Sean, always provides terrible customer service, scowls at us, and is extremely unhelpful and unfriendly” and “I had this shocking discussion with a sales person who explained me that spanking is good for your child.” As of this writing, The Ark's website is also down.

Sad to see The Ark go – here’s hoping something just as useful and entertaining takes its place.

NVV July/August 2015: 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  2015

Front Page: San Jose Avenue traffic calming isn't working [for cars]; the earthquake shack was ruled a historic resource under the California Environmental Quality Act; Airbnb hosts are successfully colonizing Noe Valley - there are currently 227 rentals in the hood with an average price of $212 per night;  Lhami Sherpa, co-owner of Holy Kitchen on 24th St has family affected by the Nepal quake.

Letters: A hater complains about the benches in front of Martha & Bros; the Garden Tour was a success and well-sponsored by Voice advertisers; a neighbor doesn't like the produce selection and high prices from the new owners of Church Produce.

Features: The bar at 1600 Dolores St has new owners and will be called The Bar on Dolores Street; Horner's Corner is closed and John Dampeer of Caskhouse is buying the bar/restaurant - still no word on planned changes or when it will reopen. Bliss Bar is becoming Tom Rai, a restaurant with live music. RIP local activist Vicki Rosen.

Cost of Living in Noe: Hotter than the surface of the sun. The average house price is up 10 percent year-over-year to $2.4 million according to Zephyr data.

Store Trek: The Podolls (3985 24th St)

Rumors: Short items in the back: Starbucks is killing La Boulange in September - no word on what will move into the corner spot on 24th St but there is still 10 years left on the lease; L'Atelier's brief run of upcycled goods is over and a children's bookstore called Charlie's Corner will move in by September; Work on a new cafe called LaPanotiQ in the old Global Exchange space should begin at the end of the month; VideoWave is losing it's annual lease but hoping to hang tough; The Ark toy store closed it's Presidio Heights store and is having a tough time competing with Amazon (maybe that's why the staff rarely smiles?); Songbird Studios opened and is offering singing lessons; Isso is closed; The Noe Valley Town Square got another grant for $743,543 and construction should start early in 2016; The 24th St. bulbouts, planters, benches and crosswalk improvements are wrapping up and there will be a ribbon-cutting on July 15; Noe Valley Harvest Fest is cancelled this Fall and will return in 2016; The Noe Valley Association will not approve any more parklets for 24th St says Debra Nieman; The new construction on 24th at Church is now expected to be completed in September and the 4 luxury condos and retail space will be available for sale/rent; the Noe Valley Wine Walk returns on August 20.

[The Noe Valley Voice]

New Owner: Noe Valley Wine Merchants

Retail wine business veteran James Mead is selling Noe Valley Wine Merchants, the shop he opened in March 2012 at 3821 24th Street in the old Urban Cellars space, and the longtime store manager Donald Norton and partner Nancy Sack are buying the business. A sign in the window announces the change and the new owner is listed as EDUVINSF.

From what we can tell, this announcement could be good news for local wine shoppers. Donald has been a friendly face in the shop for years and as a Noe Valley resident he’ll want to be sure his neighbors are happy. According to a clerk in the store, there are plans to increase the selection of wine, beer and spirits and the popular wine tastings will still be in the shop’s repertoire.