Neighbor Lessley brings us this update on the evolution of the former Nasser Market space on the corner of Crescent and Anderson:
Nasser Market, the infamous Crescent Ave. liquor store that inspired a 2008 murder and served as a drug dealing front, is now gone for good. Vacant for the past several years, the owners finally decided to turn it into an apartment building. As you can see from the picture, the sign came down last Saturday, erasing what had been a shameful blot on South Bernal’s reputation.
For those not familiar with the sordid tale, here are the lowlights: Four years ago owner Tong Van Le was held up at gun point at the seedy market, then tracked down and shot on the doorstep of his house in Novato by six accomplices who didn’t want him to testify in court about the hold up. Next, the market was taken over by drug dealers, who used Nasser as a front for their marijuana operation.
There had been hopes among some neighbors that Nasser might be turned into a small produce market for overflow from the Alemany Farmer’s Market, but these rumored inquiries apparently went nowhere. Instead, a ground level apartment has been carved out if the former storefront, with a familiar Lowes-style vinyl window in front. It’s not particularly pretty, but for the moment it’s a big improvement.
Here in Bernal Heights, we have many amenities: Spectacular views, glamorous lifestyles, and our very own Japanese-style knife sharpening and cutlery shoppe. Bernal Cutlery, located inside the fabulous marketplace at 331 Cortland, is a true neighborhood gem — and mediafolk outside our immodest little village have started to take note of its awesomeness. (Don’t miss KALW’s recent write up.)
But in true Bernalwood style, the folks at Bernal Cutlery haven’t let all the celebrity go to their heads. Indeed, they’re keeping it real by organizing a cute little contest that will let a few local mini-artists enjoy their own moment in the spotlight:
The 331 Cortland indoor marketplace is hosting a kids art show, and winning artists will get a small prize and have their work hung in the main display window on Cortland Ave. Work not shown in the window will be hung in the ‘hall of honorable mentions’ inside the shop.
We are asking that the kids submit work with the theme:
“Food on The Hill/Food in My Home”
Requirements are:
— Child must be no older then 12
— Work can be of any medium, however be a reasonable size for the window (No bigger then two feet or so.) Children interested in any non-traditional medium should contact Kelly at Bernal Cutlery.
— The deadline is Tuesday, May 22. Submissions should be brought to Bernal Cutlery at 331 Cortland Ave.
Pass this around and get to work!!!!! We can’t wait to see everyone’s lovely art!
Shown above is one early entry in the contest, which Bernalwood has taken the liberty of entitling “Supper with Sutrito Tower.”
If you’ve ever practiced yoga, you’re probably familiar with many of the common positions: The Downward Dog, Warrior, The Child’s Pose, and so on. This week, Bernal Yoga will introduce a new set of poses called The Studio Relocation:
It’s with great excitement to announce we are moving to a brand new space in Bernal Heights. It’s just five blocks down the street at 908 Cortland Avenue. We will be across the street and very close to the 903 Restaurant and Sandbox Bakery.
The new studio has a larger practice space with lots of natural light, high ceilings, brand new cork floors, and an open reception area. We are working with local artists, designers and friends to bring in familiar touches from the previous location as well as custom pieces for the new space. We can’t wait for you to see it. The initial work is almost done.
Here are the details on the transition:
Monday, May 7th: Last day of classes at 461 Cortland Ave. Please Join Jacqui at 7:30pm for the last class.
Tuesday May 8th: No Classes
Wednesday May 9th: No Classes
Thursday, May 10th: New Studio at 908 Cortland Opens: (Regular class schedule resumes.) Please join Carlin at 7:00am for the first class at the new location.
We are having an open house on Saturday, May 12th from 6:00-9:00pm. The event will feature live music, specials on class passes and other goodies. We hope you will come by to help us celebrate.
Regular visitors to Bernal Yoga should make note of the new location at 908 Cortland, lest you find yourself standing outside the old space while practicing the ancient pose known as The Confused Patron. Namaste!
PHOTO: Interior view of Bernal Yoga’s new studio space at 908 Cortland, via Bernal Yoga.
Marijuana criticism is not confined solely to droopy-eyed amateurs; Like the rest of the medical marijuana industry, the field has also developed its own cadre of professionals. One such pro, from the East Bay Express’s Legalization Nation blog, recently took note of the soft-launch of the Herbal Mission dispensary on Mission Street, and in an article entitled “New San Francisco Dispensary Herbal Mission Takes Bernal Heights Up A Notch,” the early reviews are in:
Herbal Mission was still working out the opening kinks last last month. Intake was smooth, but the point-of-sale system seemed new to the employees. There’s no art, or music, or flatscreen menu monitors. And they had what we’d call the “dispensary starter pack” of strains: some Girl Scout Cookies, Lemon Haze, GDP, Blackberry Kush, Blue Dream, and about ten other popular names. Herbal Mission had just a smattering of concentrates and edibles, but they’ll likely stock up quick.
For now, they’re happy to finally be open. And we’re happy to see some much-needed competition come to the southern half of San Francisco. Nearby Bernal Heights Collective is groovy but natty by comparison, with passable cannabis at so-so prices, dispensed by often-baked, lackadaisical cashiers.
Your Bernalwood reporter passed on Sunday’s opportunity, because I’d taken one of the bikes for a private ride the day before. My steed was a OHM Urban XU700 SE, which sells for $3699. It came with sporty amenities as leather grips, an air suspension, a rear rack and a 48V battery, in addition to a 0.5 horsepower electric motor tucked away in the rear hub. New Wheel owner Brett Thurber gave me a 30 second tutorial on how to adjust the bike’s motorized boost settings, and then I took off for adventure.
I started from The New Wheel shop on Cortland, but I immediately headed north, toward the top of Bernal Hill. The uniqueness of the electric bicycle became apparent from the moment when I began pedaling up Wool Street.
An electric bike is not like a scooter or a moped; the electric motor isn’t designed to work independently from the pedals. Instead, you pedal an electric bike just like a conventional bicycle, and when you do the electric motor provides a wonderful boost that makes each turn of the cranks carry you much, much farther than it would normally.
You can feel the assist from the electric motor as you pedal. It’s an odd sensation — kind of like having superhero strength or Six Million Dollar Man bionic implants. I was huffing and puffing when I reached the top of Wool, but I was huffing much less than I would have had I been on a regular bike, and the trip had taken about a third less time to complete.
I stopped to take a closer look at my machinery. There’s a little control panel on the right side of the handlebars that allows you to dial in how much electric-assist you want (as well as other bits of data such as power remaining, degree of battery-regenerating resistance, and so on). A thumb-activated “plus” switch lets you dial up the boost, and a “minus” reduces it. Below that, there’s a small red “cheat” button that activates the electric motor even when you’re not pedaling. (Brett Thurber hadn’t told me about that.)
From Wool I looped around Bernal Heights Boulevard and coasted down to Precita Park. Then I turned around to head up, up, up that fearsomely steep section of Folsom Street.
For your evidentiary satisfaction, this video captures the entire Folsom street climb, with musical accompaniment from the Bullitt soundtrack (which seemed appropriate).
As you can see, the electric bike made fast work of the hill, even though I was pedaling with one hand off the handlebars (to hold the video camera).
The electric bikes from The New Wheel are impressive machines. No, they’re not cheap; the least expensive one in the story goes for $2550. But then again, an electric bike is vastly cheaper than a Toyota Prius or a Chevy Volt, and much much much easier to park. For anyone looking for a practical way to get anywhere around town and get a little exercise at the same time, electric bikes may be an interesting option — even if your ride means a nightly trip home up that fearsome stretch of Folsom Street.
There’s a party in the store at 420 Cortland on Sunday night from 6 to 9 pm, but before that, from 5 to 6 pm on Sunday, the New Wheel is offering everyone in the neighborhood the opportunity to test drive an electric bike on the (fearsome) Folsom Street Challenge.
Yes, that’s right. The New Wheel has picked up the gauntlet Bernalwood threw down last January by making a few of their electric bikes available for you to take straight up that crazy-steep part of Folsom Street:
Store owner Brett Thurber is confident his machines are up to the challenge, and if you know any fixie-loving hipsters who want to go head-to-head with an electric bike in a John Henry-style race to the top, by all means bring them along too. (TIP: Don’t tell said hipsters how the story ended badly for John Henry.)
To participate, meet up at the corner of Precita and Folsom beginning at 5 pm on Sunday, and hopefully, Mother Nature will cooperate.
In the Age of Yelp, everyone is a critic — even the customers of Bernal Heights Collective, our eponymous medical marijuana merchant.
Here’s what one capitalization-challenged test pilot had to say about the local product at F*ckYeahWeed, a blog “dedicated to all that are in love with that special girl, Mary Jane, as well as the art and culture that come along with her”:
Purple Sour Wax, Bernal Heights Collective, San Francisco, California
this indica dominant wax is quite heavy on the purple, with a glued to the couch [sic], i can hardly keep my eyes open kind of fade. i bought it thinking the sour would make it so i would be able to smoke it before work but i was wrong, hah. it’s still really enjoyably, even if you aren’t a huge fan of heavy indicas, like myself. it’s got a really sour taste and i really like it, it’s just so deceptive! but all in all, for $25 a gram, i’d say it was a good buy.
When the Hollywood Video store on the corner of Cesar Chavez and South Van Ness closed down, I had a little fantasy: The store occupied a high-profile location with above-average square-footage and even a few parking spaces, so in my heart of hearts I hoped the location might become a gourmet deli or Asian mini-supermarket of some sort. I envisioned a business perched somewhere between a Bi-Rite and a Trader Joe’s that would further increase the gastro-retail diversity of Bernal’s north slope, in a convenient location that’s both eminently walkable and yet still car-friendly.
But alas, it’s not to be. Instead, over the last few weeks its become clear that the former Hollywood Video will soon become an Auto Zone. So instead of getting a convenient place to buy exotic and tasty food for dinner, we’re getting another purveyor of artisanal auto parts. Indeed, the building had been home to an auto parts store before it was occupied by Hollywood Video, so perhaps it’s just reverting to type.
I suppose I’m lucky, in a Bernal Dads sort of way; From my house, I will soon be able to walk to not one, but TWO auto partsmongers — the other, of course, being the O’Reilly’s Auto Parts store that’s in the former Mission Chevrolet dealership on Mission at Precita. Somewhat less lucky, however, is Neighbor Rachel, who wrote to Bernalwood to share this view out the rear window of her Precita Avenue home:
Like a rice grain and a pinto bean, somehow, improbably, we formed a whole protein with video and plant. Virtual and organic. Entertainment and existence. And here we are; five years later, still renting videos and also offering classes on vertical gardening and terrarium building. And seeds for your vegetable gardens. And lighting for your romantic dinner. And freshly made jams and pickles and supplies. And handmade ceramics and necklaces and belt buckles. And art, both utilitarian and otherwise. And, of course, succulents, small and large, of all colors and types, in a state of joy, waiting to be taken home to nurture and nourish.
The video store? Like Joaquin Phoenix, still here! In September last year, we realized we didn’t need to separately “own” two stores on the same footprint, so we merged the two, and now our entire operation is called Succulence. And currently, Succulence has a huge video rental library, with well over 25,000 titles, and 10-20 new titles every week. Our subscription program (cleverly called Kenflix) allows you to rent without late fees and due dates. Our educated staff helps you to pick out what you didn’t even know you wanted. We still offer the opportunity to browse and touch videos with your actual hands. Yes we are constantly making changes to our layout. We must! Our responsibility is to survive. That is our intention; survival. Our plan is to be in business in Bernal Heights, whether or not we rent videos, sell plants, teach classes, or whatever. We want to be up here, at 402 Cortland, schmoozing with you, our friends, our neighbors, and those of you we have just met, offering some good honest business with care and attention. That is our plan. Thank you for supporting us.
The arrival of the Precita Park Cafe on the eastern end of Precita Park has altered the geo-economic configuration of north Bernal. New businesses are attracting new customers. Old businesses are hurrying to adapt. Somewhere, Joseph Schumpeter is probably chuckling smugly to himself.
One immediate consequence of all this is that the on the western end of the park, the Park Bench Cafe has been shuttered and sold to Charlie, of the eponymous Charlie’s Cafe a few doors down. In addition, Charlie’s Cafe has expanded its hours, and launched a music and prose series called “Saturdays at Charlie’s.”
So what’s Charlie’s plan for the former Park Bench Cafe space? He has a few ideas, but he’s also soliciting input from the Citizens of Bernalwood. Neighbor Regina brings us this report:
The Park Bench Cafe closed without any warning last week (the owners have decided to move back home… not sure where that is) and the space has already been purchased by Charlie of Charlie’s Cafe. Charlie says he wants to know if the space would be best suited for a) a pet supply shop or b) a family oriented bar.
He’s holding a community meeting to hear what the neighborwood ™ has to say about the space. He has a sign-up sheet for the meeting in the cafe.
Charlie admits it’s been tough since Precita Park Cafe opened. He knows people who are trying to support both places, but he needs this new space to stay afloat. A competitor in that space could shut him down. He’s doing what he can to keep his cafe open. Finally, he’s open on Sundays. That should help!
So what’s going to keep Charlie in business? A pet supply shop or a bar? He says many neighbors cringe at the idea of an alcohol license in their backyard, but, IMHO, this isn’t the kind of neighborwood that should worry about hooligans taking over. The moms and dads and dog owners you see in Precita could use a place to go and grab a (hopefully local) beer or glass of wine. Charlie also points to several musician friends who would love to have a venue to play live music.
Perhaps we could get a pet supply shop with a bar?! Sell dog food by day, brewskies by night. Now that’s the ticket.
The question of what kind of business would most benefit the north Bernal ecosystem is an interesting one. Any other ideas? What should become of the former Park Bench Cafe?
During a recent reconnaissance patrol on YouTube, Bernalwood uncovered this spiffy new video from Bernal Cutlery, the knife shop tucked inside the marketplace at 331 Cortland:
Bernal Cutlery opened for business in 2005 and specializes in all things knife related. Using time-honored Japanese Whetstone grinding techniques—and finishing by hand with a modified version of an old fashioned Barber’s strop—it offers peerless sharpening services, as well as very high caliber new knives, collectable and vintage models, classes in care and sharpening as well as hosting sessions on knife skills.
This approach results in edges that are sharper, longer lasting and produce far less metal removal making for less wear on the knife. As opposed to fast but aggressive dry grinders and belt sanders, which remove unnecessary amounts of metal and are prone to producing enough heat to ruin a blade, often producing ugly scratches and marks in the process. Japanese whetstones not only are the preferred sharpening medium for fine Japanese knives but are superior for all types of cutlery.
While all of us Northsiders have been solipsistically celebrating the opening of the new Precita Park Cafe, a cool new coffeeplatz has also opened on Bernal’s southwest slope, on Richland just off Mission.
It’s called Cafeto, and Neighbor Lisa was kind enough to share the 411:
As a proud citizen of South Bernal, I wanted to let Bernalwood readers know about a great cafe that just opened up at 111 Richland St (near Mission St). I wandered over yesterday and met Victor, the owner. Victor is a super-friendly guy who worked as a barrista for 7 years before opening Cafeto His whole family is in the coffee bean biz, and his brother personally roasts the beans for the cafe.
Victor told me he “truly loves making and serving up coffee,” and it shows!
The entire front of Cafeto opens up with sliding windows, there is great afternoon sun, and the beautiful recycled wood counter at the front provides gives a great vantage point to watch the South Bernal world to go by. The interior is painted in rich, warm hues, beautiful old/recycled wood accents are everywhere, and there’s free WiFi.
The lattes were very affordable (better than most Mission cafes), and super tasty. There was fresh squeezed OJ, fresh fruit and berries, and a wide variety of tasty sandwiches and pastries.
Victor told me he would have outdoor seating set up soon. He is super dog-friendly, and will (soon have) special outdoor leash hooks to safely hook up your pup while you sip inside. Victor keeps a mad stash of doggie treats for visiting four legged furry friends.
Cafeto is close to Holly Park, so head on over post-doggie walk or playground romp, or just go for the great vibes and a 20 oz. latte or mocha for only $3.50. The 20 oz. house coffee is just $2.50!
Last night’s Holiday Stroll was really really lovely. The only thing that could have possibly made it better was 6″ of freshly fallen snow and a reindeer with a red nose pulling a sleigh down Cortland.
As it was, the weather was brisk-but-bracing, and Cortland was at its small-town best. Last year’s Holiday Stroll was terrific too, but my estimates, the 2011 edition was about 67% more charming, 81% more musical, and the sidewalks seemed 44% more crowded. In a very good way. It was great to see you all, neighbors!
Bernalwood 