This Year In Noe Valley: The Big Stories Of 2016

What a year. According to the Oxford Dictionaries the word of the year in 2016 was “post-truth.” Merriam Webster chose “surreal.” And Noe Valley resident and liguist Geoff Nunberg chose the word “normal” in a year that was anything but. All three together pretty much sum up 2016 in the real world. Fortunately, we also live in Noe Valley -- and here were the biggest stories of 2016 in our little hamlet.

Noe Valley Is Officially a Foodie Mecca 
2015 was a good year for food in Noe Valley, but 2016 was better. Uma Casa is close to opening on Church St. Barron’s Meats announced it’s also coming to Church St. to replace Drewe’s. Le Zinc closed but a new French bistro, Le Marius, sprang up in its place. La PanotiQ finally opened. Hahn’s Hibachi was replaced with BistroSF. Hamlet SF rebooted with a new menu. Hamano was bought by a local A-list sushi chef who plans to turn it into something even more special. And all that in addition to the already fantastic restaurants in our hood including Saru, Firefly, La Ciccia, Aster, Al’s Place and Contigo. Think about it: We can walk to some of the best restaurants in San Francisco!

Election Aftershock 
Let’s not sugarcoat this: Noe Valley mourned the national election results this year. One man in the house at the top of Sanchez hill was so shell-shocked he woke up the next day and decided to fly the Nazi flag (which begs the question, why did he just have one lying around?). Fortunately, his neighbors weren’t having it. Fasten your seatbelts folks, 2017 is going to be a bumpy ride.

The Town Square Has Arrived 
In happier news, after much fund-raising and handwringing, Noe Valley has an open space for the Farmer’s Market and local gatherings. It’s real, it’s ours, and it’s only going to get better as we all imagine new things that can happen there.

It’s Still Really, Really, Really Expensive to Live Here 
There’s a reason you see so many Teslas here: Two Noe Valley zip codes (94114 and 94131) are in the Top 100 Most Expensive zip codes in the US. The average cost of a home in Noe Valley was well north of $2.5 million – and here’s what $1.85 million gets you. [Photo via Janeep]

Real Foods? Real Nothing 
Still blight. Still empty. So sad.

Farewell 
In 2016 we also said goodbye to some old Noe Valley places, including In-House, Walkershaw and See Jane Run, several of which have since been replaced by little boutiques. Union Street, here we come!

Phew. Upward and onward. Happy New Year, Noe Valley! Here's to a safe, fun and prosperous 2017.

Want to see how far we've come? Here were the top stories of 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2012.

Did we miss anything? Share it in the comments!

[Top photo via kellyhafer, bottom photo via alexlgoldman]

This Week in Noe Valley: Hamano Gets a Lift, Chez Marius Is Open and the Holidays are Here

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

• Former Saison sushi chef goes back to his roots and buys Hamano (yay!) [Eater]
• Spotted in the Whole Foods parking lot [jboitnott]
• Chez Marius is open for lunch and dinner in the former Le Zinc space [Hoodline]
• “Noe Valley where no affordable housing projects ever get built” [Beyond Chron]
• Prancer spotted on 24th St [itshildap]
• Holiday lights [jezolo]

[Photo: anne_lcrx]

This Week In Noe Valley: Great Food News, Beware Of Santa, And Noe Valley’s Painted Ladies

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

• Baron’s Meats is taking over the old Drewe’s Meats space, opening in Feb (yay!) [@OmnivoreBooks]
• Phase 1: Open the shop Phase 2: Sandwiches Phase 3: Craft beer and wine (double yay!) [@BarronsonChurch]
• Uma Casa Portuguese restaurant opening very soon [Hoodline]
• The disappearance of SF’s middle class illustrated with maps [Nick Conway]
• Noe Valley residents evacuated after a gas main break near Noe and Hill Streets [Examiner]
• Coming soon to Whole Foods Noe Valley? [@newmike]
• Long time resident blogs about his favorites spots in Noe [DanielWPolk]
• Does your tap water taste weird? Here’s why [Hoodline]
• Worse than Santacon: Man in Santa hat caught on video burglarizing Noe Valley home [NBC]
• Changes at Le Zinc which will become a new bistro called Chez Marius [@rosewinegirl, Tablehopper]
• James Lick playground is a Christmas tree lot again [bibi_guansen]
• Tom and Jerry’s giant Christmas display is up ("All-American xmas, installed by Mexican workers") [ladiani]
• Did you feel the earthquake? [@iveyjannnette_207]
• We live here [joeychanrealtor]
• Noe Valley’s painted ladies [emdnyc]

[Photo: susannemsm]

NVV December/January 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.

December / January 2016

Front Page: A roundup of meal delivery services like Caviar, Sprig and Franny's Kitchen; a profile of retired local Kaiser doc Dr. Don Barole, co-medical director of Homeless Connect; the controversial Noe Courts makeover should be done in Jan/Feb.

Letters: Fan mail from a church St. resident who has been reading the Noe Valley Voice since it's first issue (May 1977); a call for tutors for James Lick Middle School; a Noe St resident who urges neighbors to consider giving disaster preparedness gifts (flashlights, emergency kits, NERT training) for the holidays.

Cost of Living in Noe: Three luxury home sales in Oct bumped the average price for a Noe home back up to $2.7 million - the most expensive of which sold for $4.3 million.

Features: A local teen disappointed by this year's election results is selling art to benefit Planned Parenthood.

Rumors and Tidbits: In Noe Valley this year, 89.1 percent of registered voters turned out and 90 percent voted for Clinton, 4.2 percent for Trump and 2.2 percent for Jill Stein. There's a rumor of a candlelight vigil planned for inauguration day, Jan 20, 2017. Laurent Legendre will open Chez Marius, a french bistro, in the former Le Zinc space this December. On Church St. chef Telmo Faria says he will open his new Portuguese restaurant, Uma Casa, in the old Incanto space on December 20.

[The Noe Valley Voice]

This Week in Noe Valley: Holidays Building, Found Art and Contemplating a Trump Presidency

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

• Noe Valley getting decked for the holidays [sarahwoehler]
• Found art [@holdn2aces]
• Crossing the chasm at Noe Valley Bakery [chrissaulx]
• More signs of the real estate market cooling [Socketsite]
• Noe Valley man attacked after inviting stranger into his home [KTVU]
• Contemplating a Trump presidency in Noe Valley [SF Examiner]
• More found art built from Noe Valley remodel detritus [SF Gate]

[Photo: via pbrownrider]

This Week in Noe Valley: Election Aftermath

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

• Tuesday Nov. 8 – happy voting [@magsnmum]
• Tuesday Nov. 8 – just over the hill in the Castro [@LisaEdelstein]
• What it’s like to host a polling place in your garage (16 years in Noe Valley!) [KQED]
• The day after – Guy protesting election results at 21st and Sanchez just happens to have a Nazi flag lying around and his neighbors weren't having it [@michael_bodley]
• Sad scenes in Noe Valley on Wednesday [@adamflorin]
• More sad scenes in the new reality [@MADdelaRosa]
• Scott Wiener is currently leading the race for State Senate [SF Dept of Elections]
• Homes evacuated on Sanchez St after a cache of ammunition was found in a dumpster [KRON4]

[Photo: Daybreak, the morning after the election - the sun still came up]

This Week in Noe Valley: Beautiful Fall, Serious Halloween, Election Drinking

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

• Found in the street in Noe Valley [via Craigslist]
• Noe Valley residents strongly support expanding Bikesharesf [@jimgreer]
• Gorgeous fall mornings [kelishaw]
• And fall evenings too [rebeccapariser]
• Serious Halloween [apropos_sf]
• Spiders too [alexiacornu]
• Halloween when your neighbor is a set designer [devonslwest]
• Dubious distinctions: SF's worst neighborhoods for poop, needles [SFGate]
• Happy hour and $2 oysters all night on election night at Hamlet [SF Weekly]
• The man behind Mobius, the recording studio on Sanchez at Valley St. [KQED]

[Photo: Morning via _bildl_ich]

NVV Nov 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.

November 2016

Front Page: Noe Valley businesses that give to the local community (including Just for Fun, Firefly, La Ciccia, Cliche Noe and Zephyr); the Town Square debuts; we may be at peak rents for Noe Valley (for now).

Letters: A letter from Modern Times bookstore in the Mission - they're closing for good on Nov. 15; a lament about the demise of Drewes Brothers Meats (which may return as a new meat market soon).

Features: Noe Valley parking meters will likely increase rates as demand-based pricing spreads citywide.

Cost of Living in Noe: The luxury home market is cooling slightly and the average cost of a home dropped to $2 million.

Short Takes: Cliche Noe is sponsoring a Christmas tree lighting this year; Upper Noe Neighbors and PlumpJack will offer free drinks post election day with the launch of the Upper Noe Wine Club from 5-8pm at the VIP Scrub Club. You'll find SF Firefighters Program holiday toy barrels accepting donations for needy children at Cliche Noe and Just for Fun starting Nov 21.

Store Trek: Damia Salon, 1504 Church Street

Rumors and Tidbits: Small Business Saturday happens on Nov. 26 and 24Holidays begins Dec. 1 in downtown Noe Valley, with hayrides, shopping, caroling, reindeer, Santa and more. The Town Square is open, the Farmer's Market has a new home there, and the first big event is a Square Dance on Nov 5. Other events planned for the Square are movie nights and meditation - and the location is available for rent if you're interested. Also coming soon: eight benches that will line the square which have been stuck in customs in L.A. French bistro Le Zinc has closed following the death of the owner's wife and another French restaurateur, Laurent Legendre, is buying the restaurant and the new menu will be "totally French." (Legendre also owns Le P'tit Laurent on Chenery in Glen Park.) Noe Valley Bakery is expanding to West Portal and would like you to help pay for it. The former Cradle of the Sun space has been rented to Olive This Olive That, which will relocate from it's current spot on Vicksburg, and The Swann Group, a retail furniture and interior design business run by realtor Rachel Swann. The goal for both is to open this month. Video Wave is staying in the current spaces for at least another year. One Stop Party Shop on outer Church reports that the most popular costumes this year were Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton; for kids it was Star Wars characters. Chocolate Covered was named SF Magazine's 2016 Best Chocolate Shop; other Noe Valley spots that made the Best of list were La Ciccia and Lovejoy's. Dani Sheehan-Meyer made the Merchant of the Year 2016 list for Cliche Noe, and NV filmmakers Linda and Tim Schaller won the Best Documentary Award at the LA World International Film Festival for A Spark of Nerve, a film about the doctors who helped their daughter regain the use of her arm after a deranged SF man attacked her.

[The Noe Valley Voice]