Business

Pedal On: There’s a New Bike Repair Shop in Bernal Heights

/ Todd_Lappin / 4 Comments

Great news for local fans of human-powered vehicles: There’s a new bicycle repair shop and frame-builder at 1637 Florida Street (between Precita and Peralta) on Bernalwood’s North Slope.

Actually, it’s two businesses in one: Bernal Bike for basic bicycle service, and Kroyer Cycles for frame repair and frame-building. Both are overseen by Sam Kroyer, a skilled bike mechanic who spent 12 years working at the venerable Valencia Cyclery in the Mission.

But don’t look for a regular storefront facade; Bernal Bike operates from the garage of Sam’s house, and we’ve received assurances that the business is fully licensed and blessed by the landlord. Business manager Erin McLachlan wrote Bernalwood to say:

Know us by the bike rack and the welcome sign.  Kroyer Cycles is owned by Sam Kroyer, a bicycle mechanic for over 25 years and a Bernal resident for 16 years.  The shop performs full-service repair and maintenance, custom builds, frame repair and warranty service.  We carry inventory of replacement parts and necessities.

Photos: Kroyer Cycles

Stereotypes Defied: A Charming and Earnest Ode to WalMart

/ Todd_Lappin

Although this song has nothing to do with Bernal Heights per se, there’s something about it that seems congruent with the spirit of our neighborhood — precisely because it also runs contrary to the spirit of our neighborhood.

Written and performed by an earnest singer-songwriter, the tune describes his surprise at finding automotive salvation, kindness, and human connection at a WalMart in a remote corner of Texas. It’s a story of stereotypes defied and gratitude expressed, which is a feeling that I suspect that many in Bernalwood will understand first-hand.

The New York Times Touts Our Local Purveyor of Perfect Food for Pampered Pets

/ Todd_Lappin / 1 Comment

Avedano's MeatsYou eat local. You eat slowly. You buy organic food. If all that is good for you, isn’t it reasonable to assume the same is true for your pet as well?

In the food section of Wednesday’s New York Times, writer Samantha Storey described the latest bourgeois-foodie obsession: Home-cooked food for dogs and cats.

And buried farther down in the story was a local wrinkle involving Bernal’s own Avedano’s Holly Park Market:

Since the fall, the butcher shops Marlow & Daughters in Brooklyn and Avedano’s Holly Park Market in San Francisco have been selling pet food made from grass-fed meat raised on nearby pastures. Melanie Eisemann, an owner at Avedano’s, said the store’s custom mix of ground meats, organs, vegetables, garlic, eggs, parsley and yogurt sells for $3.25 a pound. Avedano’s also reports a robust trade in marrow bones, many of them bought as snacks for dogs.

Ms. Eisemann said customers say that they like knowing the source of their meat, whether it will ultimately be served on the table or on the floor. Entering the pet food market has also been a boon for the business, since Avedano’s, like Marlow & Daughters, is a whole-animal butcher where no part of the beast goes to waste.

Hat tip: Noe Valley SF. Photo: Telstar Logistics

Is This the Best Corner Store in All of San Francisco?

/ Todd_Lappin / 22 Comments

Cancilla Market

Bryan O’Sullivan (@bos31337) recently made a bold assertion:

Huh? Is humble Cancilla Market, on Folsom Street at the southwest corner of Precita Park, really “the best tiny little corner store in all of San Francisco?”

I can see how you’d make that argument. Cancilla’s came under new management not long ago, and it’s been a godsend for Bernalwood’s north slope. Under the regime of owner Gina Chu, Cancilla’s is now extremely well curated, filling a void that has long existed for Northsiders for whom The Good Life on Cortland is just too far away (and too far uphill) when you only need a little something-something.

Positioning itself somewhere between Bi-Rite and a standard corner store,  Cancilla’s has become a great place to grab a quart of milk, a quality piece of bread, some robust cheese (Bulgarian feta!), a good bottle of wine, yummy cured meats, organic green things, uncommon cooking ingredients… and kimchi. But in a respectful nod to traditionalists, you can still get a 24-ounce can of PBR:

But really? “The best tiny little corner store in all of San Francisco?” Since I live just a block away, I’m willing to believe.

Photos: Telstar Logistics

Internet Is Killing Your Video Store: A Sobering SOS from Four Star Video on Cortland Street

/ Todd_Lappin / 4 Comments

Four Star Video
If there’s one thing we all learn while living on the slopes of a big hill, it is this: In the end, we cannot evade the forces of gravity.

Along the same lines, even though Bernalwood recently celebrated the fact that Cortland Street is still home to a wonderful video rental store, it’s now clear that Four Star is fighting a desperate battle against the forces of gravity (and intertia) which threaten to render it extinct.

This week, Ken posted a candid note on the Four Star Video blog, to the effect that times are tough — despite the fact that the store is much-loved by the neighborhood.

People of the planet, it is winter. Our constructs are disintegrating. Our financial systems are degrading. It is becoming more and more obvious that we are insects clamoring on top of each other for food. It is possible that the jig is up. Like the fate of the honeybees, our hives are corrupt and the buzz of activity is falling silent. Yet we rise to the occasion with positivity again and again! I admire that about us so much! Yet, alas, I am a bit pessimistic about Four Star Video, as I know so many of you are.

I read that even though Blockbuster has the same 28 day wait for Warner Brothers titles that Netflix has, they are still closing 182 stores in 2011 with a full bankruptcy and emergence from bankruptcy plan. Strangely, I don’t feel elation or anything about this. Just a somewhat distant numbness. What will happen with this industry?

Who likes a video store? Raise your hands. I know Four Star Video rules. I know we get crazy cool movies from all over the planet that you probably wouldn’t know about unless you saw them on our shelves. I know we have the only no-late-fee service in San Francisco. I know we spend more on movies than we probably should b/c we want to have as many copies as possible for new release Tuesday every week. I know we have the biggest Blu-ray section in SF with probably 6 or 700 titles. I know we are the only video/plant store on planet earth. Yet…I don’t sense we are what people want. […]

I put out that survey a few months ago, and I got 300ish results. They were fascinating! And almost exclusively positive. Yet, we are down 12% this year, after going down 8% the year before. So I think that though you love yourselves a video store, you also love free movies (bit torrent, the library), easy access movies, money be damned movies(on demand, cable), internet services (streaming) and the gentle tushy-growing ease of sitting on the couch.

By all means, read the whole thing. It’s bracing stuff. And if you find yourself with some downtime over the holidays, stop by Four Star to, you know, rent a movie and brighten their day. Please.

But at the same time, know that the clear-eyed candor of Four Star’s blog post has been echoed by other high-quality video stores around town. They are all struggling against similar forces of high-tech gravity and consumer inertia.

Not long ago, for example, I wrote about a similar cri de coeur from Lost Weekend video on Valencia. Lost Weekend’s tragicomic response to their bad situation was to revisit the lyrics to “Video Killed the Radio Star” and rewrite the song as “Internet Killed the Video Store.”

Internet Killed the Video Store?

By all means, please do what you can to keep Four Star in business. It is a precious — and increasingly rare — resource. And wish them good luck, because they will need it.

Photos: Telstar Logistics