Harvest Hills is that excellent corner store on the corner of Folsom and Precita that was formerly called Cancilla’s Market. The place just keeps getting better and better, and the latest improvement comes in the form of a proposed parklet that will be installed on the Bessie Street side of the building.
From the Harvest Hills website:
We had a chalk artist draw on the curb and the street a notice about the parklet we have on the way. The city approved the basic plan, now we have to submit a detailed plan. There are many people excited about it. A couple people are not. One asked why do we need a park let when we have a park across the street? A customer answered that for us when he said “I’m so happy you guys are going through the effort to bring the neighborhood a parklet. Our park was taken over by someone that has made it his living room.
We did it because the city asked us to and because it will make a nice area to take a break and talk with friends. It is a big expense for us with over a $1000 in fees plus the cost to build it. We invest in the store and this is an investment in the neighborhood. We hope you like it. We’ve been busy with a new little addition called Hannah but we will get updates to you as they become available.
Here’s the architectural rendering video-tour:
Oh, and that old flatbed truck that appears at the start of the video? That’s actually part of the program.
Harvest Hills recently bought a 1952 GMC flatbed, and they plan to put it to work:
We have another new arrival coming this week. Her name is Old Betty. She’s big, she’s yellow and a few other colors too. She’s a 1952 flatbed farm truck that we rescued. We had a choice to get a big white box truck like everyone else, to bring in produce and products or to be a little different. We aren’t your average neighborhood store and you aren’t average neighbors. Bernal is a fun and hopefully the neighborhood children will have some great memories with her. She’ll be great for parades and hay bail rides. She’s got a big air horn and lots of patina.
Fun stuff. Between the Precita Park Cafe at the east end of the park, and Harvest Hills to the west, this corner of Bernal Heights is coming to life in new and exciting ways.
PHOTO: Telstar Logistics
Bernalwood 
Love Harvest Hills and love the parklet. Very exciting.
One thing I like about this is that Bessie is not a busy street. Some of the parklets I see I would never sit in, because they are so near traffic, and are not safe. I am not comfortable sitting down in what was once a parking space, with no curb, and basically no protection from the actions of the street.
Very cool! Precita Park Cafe would be smart to incorporate a parklet as well.
I’m really looking forward to the parklet. A nice place for my kid to sit and eat his (string cheese, plum, banana, whatever other treat Gina might give out that day) before we walk home. I love what these guys have done to our corner store and our neighborhood, and their plans for more wonderful things. Thank you Michael, Gina, and Joseph!
Very exciting about the parklet!
I would just offer, also, that the park tables and benches don’t *have* to be just one person’s living room. I know the guy in question and don’t mind him in the slightest, but there’s no reason everyone else needs to “keep away.”
I like Harvest Hills, and I appreciate what they’ve brought to the north side of the hill, but this struck me as a bad idea immediately when I heard about it a few weeks ago. There *is* a park directly across the street, and if someone has made it his living room, address that issue. Harvest Hills may think they’re laying out some serious coin to make the parklet, but the value of that parking space far exceeds what they’re spending. This parklet essentially seizes a public good for the benefit of one business at pennies on the dollar.
I agree that losing parking spaces isn’t good for the neighborhood. I also agree that it seems strange to be putting a parklet across the street from a park doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. But I don’t agree that it would only be for the benefit of one business at the expense of the public good — the parklet will get used quite a bit by people in the neighborhood. But at the end of the day, a parklet across the street from a park is probably not the best use of the space in a neighborhood where street parking can be very difficult.
Fair enough, Tony T. I hereby amend my statement: “This parklet essentially seizes a public good *primarily* for the benefit of one business…”
I should also clarify that I don’t have a default position against the removal of parking spaces. I do think, however, that the amount of available street parking is one of the factors considered by the people who bought/rented in the vicinity, and taking away a parking space is analogous to carving out a parcel from Precita Park for new housing. Not inherently bad, but deserving of more public input than appears to be going into the parklet boom in the City.
“Not inherently bad, but deserving of more public input than appears to be going into the parklet boom in the City.”
Yes, indeed.
They could have turned that space into a green zone, where us neighbors could potentially be ticketed for spending more than half an hour in that space. That would make the most sense for the store, since a lot of people buy more than a bags worth of groceries there, having a car nearby to drive home in would be convenient. I personally prefer the parklet to a green zone.
if they can keep the peace and it actually does serve the public, i’m all for it. As for parking, how many addresses within 500m have 2+ autos? Maybe time to trade one in for a bike?
There’s no need to descend into judgment about our neighbors’ lifestyles and commuting choices. The bottom line is that there was one infrastructural condition when they chose to live near Harvest Hills, and it looks like that condition will be changed without much public comment or compensation from the beneficiaries of the parklet.
To be clear, I’m not a fan of free street parking and its associated externalities, but this particular conversion of function is poorly conceived and implemented.
Perhaps Harvest Hills will also pony up some funds to purchase and then sell eggs, milk and bread that are neither stinky, sour or moldy. I so wish that I still shopped there so I could utilize the new parklet, but alas after my fourth return trip to exchange “expired” merchandise and a huge grumpy guilt-trip from the male proprietor (btw expiration date was not imminent) I have taken my business elsewhere. Its too bad, they had such potential.
I’m with you on the poor food quality tangent! I’ve had exactly the same experience, and the same push-back from the male proprietor; the female proprietor is the friendliest person on earth. I don’t shop at Harvest Hills anymore…I stopped buying bread there after two moldy loafs, and have now had two occasions where eggs (whose expiration date has not yet arrived) have been rotten… I’m one of the biggest shop micro-local folks you’ll find, but if I’m paying a premium to shop local, I at least expect to be able to eat the food and not get grief for that expectation.
Back to the parklet, love ’em, but we don’t need it.
Not sure everyone here understands that parklets are public space. Anyone at all can sit, lie, stand on his head in any one of them. The fellow who makes Precita Park his living room could move in to it with impunity.
Just because a parklet is located near a particular business does not mean that that business can limit its use to their patrons/customers.
As long as there is plenty of parking available even with removing 2-3 curb spaces, and if other businesses and residents within a 300-foot radius do not object, then why not.
I have never found it hard to find a place to sit at Precita Park. That guy who stays there takes up one bench, leaving an entire park available to enjoy. If that makes the park useless to someone than that says more about them than anything else. The park is two blocks long.
I agree, it turns out that there’s a large “park” directly across the street already!
I love Harvest Hills but the parklet is a terrible waste of money and space. Precita Park is *huge* and it’s right across the street! Not two blocks away–ACROSS THE STREET. I mean, I’m as lazy and as entitled as the next guy (actually, according to my doctors, I’m technically more so) but…really?
And I kinda thought we’d have a little more community in North Bernal than “our park has a homeless guy so we gotta build a separate set of cootie-free benches.” Just disappointing.
What Jeff said. Isn’t a parklet supposed to encourage merchant visibility – hopefully a few tables and a bench? That ‘s cool. But to mention merchant visibility vs. “the homeless guy”? Really Harvest Hills? We have a community here, and Steve is part of our community, and has helped solve alot of loitering issues we had. So let’s keep the issues clear, cause we all live here together. Kumbaya.:)
This gentleman is a US vet and if wants to hang at a public park in the years he has left, well I believe he has paid his dues for a lifetime of sitting at Precita Park. I have no issues with that. With all these extras, I just wanna know where are the public toilets. It seems to me there will be a lot of coffee along with plenty of fruits(hint).
And thank you Jeff and Danielsmomm for not allowing the dehumanization of our homeless “people.” Our collective social values and responsibilities as a close community should not be compromised over a “park let” with its yellow vintage ’53 flatbed that will solely benefit one business who has chosen to treat our vets as second class citizens. I am glad to have you as part of our community .
I never saw this but will comment so people know what happened. We were approached by the city to do the parklet. It fit in well with our plans for an outdoor produce area. We put up signs informing patrons we were considering it. We went through all the city process and got approved. After we were approved three people said no to the plans. These were people that never shoppd at our store. One started the process of a lawsuit because she felt someone would get hurt from a passing car. Two others owned homes in the area but didn’t want renters to have less parking.
There are two sides to the parking issue in the city. Those that want lots of parking and those that wants a lot of bikes and less cars. Army street is changing and will be converted for the bike lanes as many other streets have been and or will be. Some people wanted a place to sit and chat that wasn’t already someone’s living room. We agreed to foot the bills to put it in and try it. After the lawsuit threat we put the plans on hold. The comments were 98% in favor of the parklet from those I spoke with. For the record I designed the parklet with heavier fortification on the outside so that a car would have a hard time penetrating it. The was to be a grass pad, flowers and a small fountain and several chairs with three chess tables. Since then a local lawyer has offered his services for free to defend us if we want to move forward. Who knows maybe we will try it again some day but we are focused more on making the inside of the store more efficient and on other stores we’d like to convert to healthy markets like we did with this one.
As for the random unnamed sources above stating they had a bad food experience… The words and letters are the same posted in different spots. We have always had a perfect score from the health department. We check our coolers hourly for correct temperature. Things can and will expire before they are scheduled to and we always ask that people bring back or tell us of expired food. We credit them or give them another, we are credited back by our supplier. We do our best to keep the food supply safe for our neighbors. Stories of 5 different bad eggs and such are usually just that, stories. The reason the store is 25 times bigger than before is because of the fresh selection of natural and organic food. There will always be someone with a grudge or a gripe but so far the store has gained acceptance from a large group. We now average a couple hundred thousand customer visits a year. Thank you so much for you support.