New Stuff

Badger Books Opens for Business on Cortland

/ Todd_Lappin / 9 Comments

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Last weekend, Badger Books opened in the former Red Hill Books space on Cortland.

Truth be told, the differences between the old bookstore and the new one are still rather subtle. The cash register, which was once on the left, is now…. on the right!

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As you can see, the space is generally more open and airy. Bernalwood was told that many, many, many musty old books were culled from the shelves. Badger plans to carry more new books, and gift items, with a deeper emphasis on Childrens’ and Cooking books.

We were also told that the store remains a work in progress, and we should check back in regularly.

So we will. In the meantime, it’s great to have a bookstore on Cortland again.

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

Harried Pet Owner Cleans Dirty Dog At New “Precita Bark” Dog Spa

/ Todd_Lappin / 12 Comments

PrecitaBarkLorarover1Precita Bark, the new dog groomery on the eastern end of Precita Park (across from the playground) is now open for business. Neighbor Regina stopped in recently to get a treatment for her dog Rover, and she filed this report:

Precita Bark is now open, and Lora, the owner, has done a fabulous job creating a practical yet spa-like environment for dogs.

Rover, my black lab, turned 10 on Valentine’s Day, so I took him for a self-serve wash ($19 to $17, depending on dog size) at Precita Bark. This service includes a “spa bathing station” and shampoo of your choice (we picked Eucalyptus), a waterproof apron for the owner, absorbant towels, any brushes you need, and individual dryers. Best part is you don’t have to clean-up when you’re done!

Rover sheds like it’s his job, and I usually dread bath day in our home. Wet dog hair clings everywhere, even to walls where he smacks his tail. My newly crawling baby becomes an unfortunate Rover-hair Swiffer after his baths; her pink footed PJ’s are black fur magnets. Several towels are necessary and my washer and dryer become inundated with dog hair and smell. We all need a bath after Rover’s bath.

Precita Bark has done a fantastic job designing the space, and they really understand dogs. When we arrived, Lora carefully adjusted the water pressure and temperature for Rover so “he won’t be nervous,” and she had great washing tips for me.

Next to us, Rover’s new friend Shakes was getting a Full Service treatment by Lora, including a blowout ($40 for dogs under 40 lbs., $45 for over 40 lbs.). Shakes has a ton of hair and his owner, who lives on the South slope of Bernal, was probably thrilled it wasn’t blowing around their home.

Rover has never been cleaner, he LOVED his bath, and is favorite parts were the blueberry facial ($2) and the big fluffy towels at the end. I let him pick a toy on the way out; He chose a squeaky hedgehog (non-native to Bernal, I know, but they don’t sell squeaky gophers).

Glamour Bonus: On our way home, a stylish Italian woman standing outside St. Anthony’s chapel commented on how handsome Rover looked.

Precita Bark:
433 Precita Ave
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 926-5277
Hours:
Mon-Fri 10 am – 7 pm
Sat-Sun 8 am – 6 pm

PHOTOS: Top, Lora from Precia Bark with Rover. Below, Neighbor Regina gives Rover the business.

Hillside Supper Club Now Open for Dinner — Permanent Style

/ Todd_Lappin / 23 Comments

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It’s taken a long time and an insane amount of hard work to get to this place, but last night Bernal’s own Hillside Supper Club opened for business in its new, permanent, non-pop-up incarnation at the southwest corner of Precita Park.

Happily, the foodies over at GrubStreet wrote up the backstory (so I don’t have to):

The space has been known as Caffe Cozzolino for about fifteen years, and the owners of that business decided to turn over the reins to up-and-coming chefs Jonathan Sutton and Tony Ferrari, who have long dreamed of opening their own place after years working the lines atAcquerello, Michael Mina, and Jean-George Vongerichten’s J&G Steakhouse in D.C., between them, as well as numerous stints in European kitchens. “We’re extremely excited,” Ferrari tells us. “And the community of Bernal Heights has just been the most amazing place to open a restaurant. It’s like a little village, and everyone’s been so supportive.”

As a team, Sutton and Ferrari began as Bernal Supper Club with third partner Miles Carnahan. Carnahan continues to do small, underground dinners using the name, and so, for the restaurant, Sutton and Ferrari decided to name it for the hillside on which the place sits, on a prime corner across from Precita Park.

The menu is casual, seasonal, Italian-influenced California fare, and part of the formula for their success so far has been a three-course prix fixe for $32, with à la carte options as well. They’ll be expanding a bit, with eight appetizers and four entrées available each night, as well as a specials board.

Along the way, HSC also spiffied-up the restaurant’s interior, adding an industrial-ish bar/countertop, repainting the walls, installing new light fixtures, and applying a handsome coat of paint.

I stopped in at HSC late last night to send Chef Jonathan and Chef Tony my congratulations, because Bernalwood has been a fan their food since the very beginning.

I caught them just as they were enjoying a glass of wine to celebrate the end of their first day. Both men exuded a cheerful mix of elation and exhaustion. They said the restaurant had been crazy super-busy during their opening night — which is the kind of neighborhood welcome they deserve.

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There’s no sign out front yet (still waiting for a permit), but HSC is now officially open every night but Tuesday. Weekend brunch is also coming soon.

Here’s a peek at the opening menu:

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PHOTOS: By Telstar Logistics, on January 23, 2012

New Mission Theater Plan Will Also Bring New Housing to North Bernal Borderlands

/ Todd_Lappin / 12 Comments

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Last week, the City’s Planning Commission approved a very exciting proposal to restore and renovate the abandoned New Mission Theater on Mission at 22nd Street. It’s a promising development that will bring some grandeur back to the old theater, which will be operated by the much-loved Alamo Drafthouse cinema chain. Yay!

In addition, the project includes 114 market-rate housing units to be built on the site of today’s Giant Value store. Yet as our journo-friends at MissionLocal pointed out, this will also result in the development of a new affordable-housing complex in the Bernalwood borderlands, on the northwest corner of Cesar Chavez and Shotwell:

The developer will dedicate a piece of land near Shotwell and Cesar Chavez streets to the Mayor’s Office on Housing to construct affordable housing to comply with the city’s affordable housing requirement.

Typically developers are required by law to dedicate 15 percent of their units to inclusionary housing or pay a fee that, once the project is completed, will go toward financing affordable housing elsewhere.

The idea behind the land dedication, which is unprecedented, is that the city can turn that land around and build up to 46 affordable housing units as opposed to settling for fewer units being built on-site.

Grande, who was among the nonprofits’ directors that negotiated the deal with the developer, said this would allow the city to have more say on how the affordable housing units are built.

“It’s better because you get more bang for your buck,” he said. “With off-site affordable housing units this also gives us more community control on how the development will happen. It means partnering with affordable housing developers, who would abide by local hiring, and hire union workers.”

However for Howard Ruy, the owner of Auto Smog & Oil Changers at 1296 Shotwell St., which is on the site of the would-be affordable housing building, was told by his landlord that he would have to leave the shop once the land is transferred to the city.

“It means I’m going to have to close shop,” he said. “Honestly I am just waiting for (the landlord) to call me to say ‘you have to move out.’”

Innnnnnnnnteresting.

I have yet to see any renderings of the proposed Chavez/Shotwell development, so no word on how it will look. I will be watching closely, however, if only because I live a block from the site. So for now, consider me a YIMBY-inclined, interested party.

PHOTO: The future building site on Cesar Chavez Blvd at Shotwell Street in January 2013. Photo by Telstar Logistics 

Hillside Supper Club Targets Fulltime Opening on Jan. 23

/ Todd_Lappin / 5 Comments

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Let the record show that Bernalwood was a fan of the Hillside Supper Club even before it was cool.

We witnessed it’s ascent back in the days when it was just a fledgling popup called the Bernal Supper Club. We were there during the Disapora Year, when the Supper Club wandered from venue to venue in the hipster-encrusted flatlands of the Mission. We cheered when HSC found a more permanent home in Bernal Heights, and we smiled knowingly as Chefs Tony and Jonathan nurtured a sterling reputation for making yumolicious food. Then came the plan to open up fulltime inside the (former) Cafe Cozzolino space on Precita Park, and now the grand opening date has finally been announced: January 23, 2013.

EaterSF scored more details:

Hillside Supper Club main man Tony Ferrari writes today to say that he and business partner Jonathan Sutton have signed a lease at Caffe Cozzolino, where they’ve been staging pop-ups for the past year or so. Now, Cozzolino’s owners of 30 years are ready to pass the torch to the next generation, and thanks to Kickstarter, and loads of Bernal Heights’ support, they’ll open as a full-time restaurant on January 23, with a slightly scaled up version of their regular, changing fixed price menus of “rustic California fare.”

The last Hillside Supper Club pop-ups will take place on the 17th and 18th of this month. Then there will be one more final hurrah on New Year’s Eve. Ferrari and Sutton will take the first two weeks of January to do a remodel of the space. They’ll turn the loft space upstairs into a communal dining area, add a Redwood bar, redo the bathrooms, add two beer taps, and repaint everything. The decor will encompass light walls, dark charcoal wood beams and tinted Mason jars used as sconces on the walls.

This is joyous news, both for Chefs Tony and Jonathan, and for all the residents of Greater Precitaville.

Meanwhile, this is also an interesting moment in the grand sweep of Bernal Heights history.  Consider: The opening of the Hillside Supper Club will represent an almost unimaginable transformation for this commercial space at the corner of Folsom and Precita, which was, not all that long ago, a notoriously rowdy biker bar plagued by a weird spelling mistake and a scandalous reputation. Oh, how times change.

PHOTO: Chef Jonathan Sutton preparing to open for a popup evening, May 2012. By Telstar Logistics

New DIY Dog Wash Opening on Precita Park

/ Todd_Lappin / 12 Comments

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Thrilling news for dirty dogs — and the humans who love them anyway: Neighbor Gina reports from the east end of Precita Park, where a new dog washing business called (… wait for it…) Precita Bark is preparing to open:

Across from Precita Park Cafe, the empty space will become a self-service dog washing station. I met the owners on Saturday morning as they were emptying a Zipvan into the store. He was excited. When the daycare closed up, the couple negotiated a lease and hope to do a soft open by last week of December.

PHOTO: via Google Maps

Grand Opening for the New, Expanded Succulence, Saturday

/ Todd_Lappin

Four Star Video has gone to the great disc-return slot in the sky, but shop owners Amy and Ken are having a grand opening for their new, expanded Succulence store tomorrow, November 17. Amy brings the details:

We’ve been working hard to prepare our space at 402 Cortland, and we’re excited to share it with our community. Our expanded store will feature a children’s section, bath and kitchen wares, and an exhibition of landscape photographs by local Bernal artist, Jean Pedigo. And of course, an ever-increasing collection of succulents, terrariums, and vertical gardens.

At the Grand Re-Opening Event you will also have the opportunity to contribute your personal wish to our Wishing Tree, which will remain in the shop as a symbolic, collaborative, testament to our continued commitment to our community, and our hope for peace and prosperity for all.  The Wishing Tree project is the first in a monthly series of Saturday drop-in family art classes and projects.

Please join us!

Darcy Lee from Heartfelt will set up a tea cart, we’ll have wine and snacks throughout the day, and after noon there will be a tasting table from Mama Tong, a purveyor of soups (which, along with other locally-produced edibles, can be purchased through Good Eggs and picked up at Succulence on Wednesdays!)

Starting at 4pm, we are holding an opening reception for Jean Pedigo: Selected Landscape Photographs.

PHOTOS: Sneak peek inside the new Succulence. Photo via Succulence

Eji’s Ethiopian Has Tasty Opening in 331 Cortland Marketplace

/ Todd_Lappin / 8 Comments

There was a small party at 331 Cortland on Friday night to celebrate the glamorous grand opening of the Eji’s Ethiopian kiosk. Amid much rejoicing and poured cups of Ethiopian honey-wine, Miss Eji was on hand to hand out samples of her food. Your Bernalwood editor took some of Eji’s rolls for a test drive, and declared them yum.

Our foodie friends at EaterSF did the full write-up… so I don’t have to!

Eji’s Ethiopian (331 Cortland) is the newest tenant of the charming 331 Cortland Marketplace. La Cocina incubator graduate Eji Atlaw has taken over the space left vacant by Big Dipper Baby Food to serve both hot and prepared vegan foods like injera rolls, sauteed greens, and stir-fried turmeric cabbage alongside hot or iced thyme tea. Operating hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily; closed Thursdays.

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

Hillside Supper Club Prepares to Go from Pop-Up to Permanent

/ Todd_Lappin / 4 Comments

Bernalwood has been following the ongoing adventures of the Hillside Supper Club pop-up restaurant since waaaaay back when it was called the Bernal Supper Club — and wasn’t even in Bernal. Since its renaming, the Hillside Supper Club has set up shop two days a week inside the Cafe Cozzolino space on the corner of Precita and Folsom, amid much rejoicing from Bernal Heights neighbors and glowing five-star reviews from the crankypants critics on Yelp.

During the summer HSC launched a successful Kickstarter effort to take over the Cozzolino space fulltime, and work is now underway to make that happen. Chef Tony Ferrari brings this progress report:

So things are really going well. We reached and went over our Kickstarter goal, which we have been using for new equipment and a remodel. We started some projects offsite (bar, communal table, wine shelving, hostess podium), and will bring it all in to install during the remodel. We are about 95% in final agreement with landlord for a new lease, and our lawyer and financial advisor have been supportive through this. The remodel plans are done, and we will soon close for about 2 weeks to built it. Most logistics and legalities are all set. We are meeting every day with POS people, merchant accounts, vendors, insurance brokers, CPA/bookkeepers, investors, reservation systems, etc etc. It never ends. We have most of the funding required but need a bit more, and at this point we are looking at bringing on an investor/partner. We have been meeting with people here and there, and we’ve got some good opportunities. Michael Bauer came in to eat about a month ago and did a great little mention of us; That was pretty cool.

We wish and thought we would be open by now, but there was and still is a lot to do. Its amazing, this city in particular, of how much requirements, terms, taxes, payroll etc have to be final before a restaurant can open. Most of it has been a waiting game that’s out of our control. Every day we learn a ton — mostly that there is even more to add to our check-off list. We are working extremely hard every day to move this along and open ASAP. We hope for late November or early December, but it’s hard to put a date on it.

The neighborhood has been extremely supportive, and we even have some private lenders from Bernal that are apart of the funding, which feels really good. Maria and Marcello (Cozzolino) are like family to us now. We have become very close, and they are giving us a smooth and great transition. We have been consistent with our Monday and Tuesday pop-ups, in addition to lots of private events, dinner parties, and even two weddings coming up at the restaurant. We are very involved with Slow Food, and have partnered up with neighbor Arno Hesse to offer pre-bought meals to help fund the project, as well as Bernal Bucks. We are and want to be very involved with the community and its growth, especially the younger generation.

Jonathan and I can’t even explain or express what this opportunity means to us. All the amazing feedback, the warmth of Bernal, and just being happy in the kitchen feeding people great food makes it all worth it. This is our dream finally has a great foundation and story to back it up. Its really happening.

On another note, we would love to move to Bernal but its either too expensive or there is nothing available that suits us. Ideally, individual studios would be best, but a 2 bedroom could work too. We were kicking around the idea to barter food for rent or whatnot? Suggestions?

So yeah… all in all, things are going well, and very busy. It’s all positive, and we can’t wait till the restaurant is open already. We even have the sign done for the outside of building.

PHOTO: Top: Chefs Tony Ferrari (left) and Jonathan Sutton of the Hillside Supper Club. Photos via Hillside Supper Club on Facebook

Eji’s Ethiopian Joining the 331 Cortland Marketplace

/ Todd_Lappin / 11 Comments

That available space in the glamorous 331 Cortland marketplace is no longer available. Eji’s Ethiopan will be moving in soon:

We are proud to announce a new vendor at 331 Cortland who will be joining the marketplace in early October, just a few short weeks away. Her food is vegan, full of spicy goodness and totally yummy. Eji has been working with La Cocina to make her business a reality and we are happy she chose 331 as her next step. Please stop by, try her food and welcome her to the neighborhood!

La Cocina provides a little more background:

Growing up in the bustling, Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, Eji Atlaw spent much of her childhood in the kitchen with her four sisters and mother, learning to make homemade Ethiopian dishes. Food has always been a passion for Eji, and one that stuck with her as she built a new life in the United States. Eji decided to pursue what she loves, and join La Cocina to begin working on plans to start her own vegan Ethiopian business. Eji’s launched at the 2011 San Francisco Street Food Festival, and since then Eji has been working as a caterer and developing a line of sauces that showcase Ethiopian flavors, spices and local ingredients.

PHOTO: Ejigayehu Atlaw, via Eji’s Ethiopian

New Blog Chronicles Flotsom Found on Eugenia Steps

/ Todd_Lappin / 4 Comments

Neighbor Lee has started a blog to document “images of stuff that is left on Eugenia steps in Bernal Heights.” Lee tells Bernalwood:

For my own entertainment I am posting pictures of the junk I find on the Eugenia steps between Winfield and Prospect. The rule is: if the item is remotely useful to anyone I will leave it there for a while, otherwise I remove it. I only document junk left between Winfield and Prospect and I am not interested in anywhere else (sorry). I have to say: since I started the blog it feels like the volume of junk has dropped off. Maybe we need another 100 or so similar blogs for Bernal?

PHOTOS: Junk on Eugenia

Newfangled Gas Pump Converts Sunlight Into Text Messages

/ Todd_Lappin / 6 Comments

Just in time for tonight’s glamorous Summer Solstice Stroll, a clever new fixture has been installed in front of the exceedingly clever New Wheel Electric Bicycle Shop on Cortland.

As you no doubt recall, The New Wheel sells newfangled electric bicycles that make it easy to pedal up Bernal Hill without really breaking a sweat. The bikes run on batteries, and the batteries need recharging, and recharging requires electricity. So our newfangled bicycle shop has installed a newfangled solar-powered recharging station out front, to recharge bicycle batteries.

The solar pump will also be available for use by all the Citizens of Bernalwood as a refueling stop for our luxurious personal electronic devices.

The pump on Cortland was custom-built by Sol Design Lab, and it’s the same solar -powered recharging pump that was last seen hanging out inside the fence at Hayes Valley Farm:

The SolarPump Charging Station is a self-contained island of free solar power available for the public to charge any electronic device (electric bicycles to cellphones and laptops, etc.) using a standard 110v AC plug. The bus stop-sized station inspires conversation about energy consumption, solar power and growing adoption of electric mobility.

The SolarPump was originally envisioned to combine a repurposed American car culture symbol (a 1950s Citgo gas pump) with an interactive display harnessing solar energy to charge electric bikes and mobile electronics.

The station has standard 110v outlets, so anyone can walk up and charge a cell phone, laptop, electric bike or scooter. The power is collected by Sanyo Bifacial solar panels on the roof of the station.

Finally! No longer will you have to worry about running out of juice on Cortland as you send text messages while batch-processing photos to send by email as you upload your star-sighting videos to YouTube and geolocate all your friends within a 500′ radius! Right??? If all that gets to be just too much for your poor little battery, rest assured that you can now use the SolarPump to perk back up.

Just remember: It’s BYOC (Bring Your Own Cord).

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics