Family Fun This Weekend

Two events worth noting:

The Noe Valley Association and the Noe Valley Merchant's and Professional's Association are putting on the first annual Midsummer Celebration from 3-6pm on Saturday, June 19th. Among other things, there's a hayride leaving from Walgreen's, a petting zoo and face painting at the Noe Valley Ministry parking lot, and garden demos at Whole Foods. Live music, too.

And on the 20th, it's Sunday Streets in the Mission from 10am-3pm. Follow the link for a map of street closures and events.

Suspended: Tamasei Sushi Liquor License

Reader Jennifer sent us this tip about Tamasei Sushi at 3856 24th Street (@ Vicksburg):

"Liquor license suspension for the little sushi place on 24th between Church and Sanchez. Posted on the front windows. There was a sign a few days ago saying that they were closed for vacation, but maybe it was because they got busted."

The sign in the windows of the nook-sized sushi spot says the alcohol license has been suspended "indefinitely" as of June 10, 2010. Meanwhile, the California ABC site still shows the license is active and there are no previous violations - and the restaurant was open for business today.

Tamasei is on the site of the old Matsuya restaurant which closed in 2006 and was allegedly the oldest sushi bar in SF. According to Wikipedia, the owners of the current restaurant are the founders of the Harupin-Ha Butoh Dance Company.

Update: A reader writes: "The reason the license was suspended was because he went on vacation and forgot to pay the fee. Should be cleared up soon."

Church Street Update: More Sushi Happenings

Following up on Tidbits from earlier this month, Ted sent the following:

Just had a conversation with the new folks at the Deep Sushi space, who it turns out are these folks: Tataki Sushi and Sake Bar - they are working on permits (bldg/planning dept. & ABC) and hope to open in July, but can't promise anything because of the permit uncertainty. They may just use the same name, but are still pondering that.

Separately I talked to the business partner of the folks who own the former Vetran's liquor space a few doors North, who are continuing to use it as storage with no plans at all to lease it out for any retail use.

Noe Valley Pavement to Parks Community Meeting, Round 2, Take 2

Dear Noe Valley Neighbors,

Our next community meeting to discuss the proposed Pavement to Parks project in Noe Valley is scheduled for June 30th, 7:30pm, at St. Philips. Unfortunately, an earlier date (June 23) was advertised in the Noe Valley Voice and in the Supervisor's newsletter. We realized after publication that another community meeting had already been scheduled for that time and location.

At this upcoming community meeting, we'll continue the conversation we began on April 8th. We'll take a step back and talk about the goals of the project and how we might meet these goals with a menu of different design options. As requested, we'll also bring traffic data to this meeting. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

St. Philips is located at 665 Elizabeth Street, at Diamond. The entrance to the community room is off of Diamond Street.

Best,
Andres Power
sfpavementtoparks@sfplanning.org

What: Noe Valley Pavement to Parks Community Meeting #2
When: Wednesday, June 30rd, 7:30 pm
Where: St. Philip School, 665 Elizabeth Street @ Diamond

[NVSF: All Plaza Posts]

Hold That Thought: Next Plaza Meeting Cancelled?

Rumor has it that the second edition of a Community Meeting to discuss a plaza/parklet and 24th/Noe the on June 23rd has been cancelled because "St Philip's double booked the room and gave preference to the Noe Valley Democratic Club," according to a source.

Stay tuned.

NVV June 2010: 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 items we've covered here on NVSF or outside sources as the Voice doesn't post stories until the middle of the month.

June 2010

Front Page: Memorial service for special police officer Jane Warner; Noe Street Plaza firestorm rages on; NV Garden Tour on June 12; a very useful roundup of Noe Valley guesthouses.

Letters: More about the the proposed Noe Plaza, including the formal "resolution" from Robert Roddick of the NVMPA in support of the plaza that was "leaked" to this blog; a reminder that there have been other recent homicides in Noe including one in 2004 on 26th Street and one 10 years ago in the upper Noe gym; a 6 paragraph love letter praising 24th Street Cheese Co.; and a quizzical letter from Chris Lohman on Duncan near Church wondering what the boop-boop siren bird is (it's a Northern Mockingbird).

Features: Look for a hayride and petting zoo on 24th Street on June 19 between 3 and 6 p.m. Starting point for the hayride is at Walgreen's on Castro at 24th (this does not replace the Harvest Fest--merely cashing in); the twin spires of St. Paul's are finished and in full view again; summer Camp at Upper Noe Rec Center.

Cost of Living in Noe: 10 Noe homes sold in April with an average sale price of $1.2 million; rents are climbing slightly.

Store Trek: La Boulange (3834 24th Street @ Sanchez) gives Noe a certain je ne sais quoi and Frenchy appeal (and then NVV pimps a La Bou online coupon for 20% off tickets to the d'Orsay collection at the de Young--re-pimped here: coupon code MBAKE); Dr. Robert Solley (1701 Church Street @ 29th) specializes in couples counseling, helping couples "cool the tensions and rekindle their love."

Rumors: Plazamania continues, and the plaza plans are still on the table- be sure to show up for the next meeting on June 23 at 6:30 PM at St. Philip's; the NVA has been active on 24th Street, putting in cherry trees at 24th and Diamond and strawberry trees in front of The Ark toy store, as well as wooden benches and planters along 24th Street. Debra Nieman also wants everyone to know that now that federal money has become available, the city is putting in ADA ramps which "will require removal and replacement of of the yellow duratherm crosswalks" at Castro and 24th. So maybe that means that the new crosswalks will align with the sidewalks and be somehow less seizure-inducing.

[The Noe Valley Voice]

Tidbits: Church Street

One of Incanto's New Pigs

Grubstreet tipped us off that AmberJack Sushi is for sale. Apparently chef-owner Stewart Chen is offloading restaurants all over the place and "has decided to retire." Or not. Listing here.

Speaking of sushi, still no change at Deep: Modern Izakaya. That is...except for a notice on the door that the dishwashing equipment is leased and they want it back. Guess their last tweet in September really didn't pan out.

Re:Construction Salon is open in the old When Modern Was space at 1504 Church St.

Heliotrope is set to open in the old Green Twig space at 1515 Church St. Expect: "Natural, locally sourced skin care, customized aromatherapy blends, personal health products and decorative accessories." Since the landlord advertised a "one year lease--no options" they'll need to stabilize pretty darn quick. Still shooting for "early June."

Finally, we heard through the grapevine that Vetran's Liquor at 1710 Church St has actually been leased as a non-retail office for months now. You'd think they'd want to at least replace the broken glass?

2010 Noe Valley Garden Tour Needs You

From Richard May:

The 2010 Noe Valley Garden Tour will take place Saturday, June 12. Eight gardens are on the tour, including Japanese, Shanghai-style, four garden rooms up a slope, and a massive garden around a renovated farm house. Tickets are just $12 for 8 gardens. You can buy yours at Cover to Cover Booksellers, Independent Nature garden store, Just for Fun, Noe Valley Bakery, Omnivore Books on Food, Small Frys, Urban Nest, and Video Wave.

Or, you can earn a free ticket by volunteering to staff the entrance to one of the 8 gardens. Shifts are 9:30am to 11:30am, 11:30am to 1:30pm, and 1:30pm to 3:30pm. Volunteers check for tickets and sell more as needed. If you’d like to take a shift and get a free ticket, call Richard May at 298-2344. Volunteers are still very badly needed. Please help.

The Garden Tour is sponsored by Friends of Noe Valley. Proceeds go to "neighborhood beautification projects" like hanging flower pots, the garden in front of James Lick and the restoration of the Noe Valley Sally Brunn Branch Library.