• North: Head to FISH in Sausalito or Sol Food in Mill Valley. Or, push further north and reach Point Reyes, food heaven. My top recs include The Marshall Store, West Marin Culture Shop, and Bovine Bakery (the maker of this newsletter’s namesake, chocolate cherry cookies).

• South: Drive to Palo Alto’s crown jewel, the Stanford Dish. If you walk slowly, it’s a social event. If you walk fast, it’s a workout. If you’re lucky, you’ll see a poster for my side side hustle, Dish Hats. Alternatively, Sawyer Camp Trail is a good flat trail off 280 (and reader Katie G’s favorite).

• East: Head to Barbacoa Mejía in Richmond, hike in the Berkeley Hills, or head to Grand Opening (home of last week’s ice cream sandwich callout).

• West: More fog, probably not your best bet.

At least the Fort Mason Farmer’s Market continues to give us summer. Today’s top picks included figs, sungold tomatoes, and Donna’s Tamales. Rumor has it that reader Jenni S. makes a great sungold tomato pasta.

Grab Bag:

• SF is (maybe? potentially?) getting its very own multi-acre data center. The San Francisco Chronicle dug into a potential new development at 1215 Michigan Street. Though “the property has not changed hands, [and] no plans for a data center appear to have been filed with the city,” internet crumbs point to new development. I’m curious to see where this goes. If SF tech NIMBYs block data center development here, hard to make the argument for data centers elsewhere. Good reminder to anyone who has yet to read ’s piece on data centers.

• The Haight is getting a new music hub. SF Heritage is transforming the Doolan-Larson Building at the corner of Haight and Ashbury into a multi-floor cultural center, dedicated to music:

  • Seattle’s legendary KEXP will run a broadcast studio and music studio on the ground floor. Many live concerts to come. CCC Reader Rachel S. calls out 6 Degrees Week as a KEXP crown jewel. Each song connects to the one before it. She’d also like you to know that “they’ve been on Bay Area channel for several years now, so people can start listening before the studio opens.”

• Did you know Governor Newsom is a part owner of Balboa Cafe? Thank you reader Emily F. for the tip.

• Oddli, maker of the infamous name tee, is popping up at The Problem Library on October 3rd and 4th. Make a day of it and go to CCC favorite Yo También Cantina afterwards.

• UNIQLO is opening on 4th and Market on October 9th. They left downtown in 2021, leaving a gaping hole for cloud knits and basic wide black tees. Maybe Mayor Lurie will cut the ribbon.

• In other opening news, Spanish shoe brand Alohas has opened a storefront on Fillmore. It’s their first U.S. store. I went in yesterday to learn more. They still primarily make shoes to order, but have a few ready-made pairs.

• Plan in advance: the next Loquat at night is September 29th. Yum.

• The original Tartine on Valencia recently expanded its dining room.

See ya soon.

Why? Last week I wrote about Grand Opening in Oakland’s killer ice cream sandwich lineup. Molly Baz just announced she has a new roving ice cream sandwich store. Francesca of @fearthefeast just made Cherry Garcia and Hojicha sammies for a party. Finally, I’m seeing more It’s Its out and about. Ice cream sandwiches are versatile and invoke nostalgia. They’re decadent, without being too much. They feel special, but aren’t difficult.

Help me prove my hypothesis. Turn your ice cream sandwich radar on, and send me pics as you see new offerings.

Welcome to all new CCC readers! CCC is a mini-metro desk, offering you news and happenings around our lovely city. Recent highlights include:

• The ultimate SF Summer Bucket List

• Musings on Yo También Cantina, an excellent lunch spot near GG Park

• Facts about tug boats in the Bay

• Reflections on Mr. San Francisco

Today’s Grab Bag is mostly food:

• 25 YEARS LATER, developers broke ground on building 7,000+ new housing units at Candlestick Point. They’re starting with initial infrastructure work and plan to start construction the first residential building in 18 months. The development certainly isn’t a short-, or even medium-, term solution to our housing shortage, but it’s progress nonetheless.

• On September 26th, CCC favorites Horsie’s Market and Bar Part Time are partnering with Muni on a “Wine Line.” An excellent public-private partnership IMO; Mayor Lurie will be proud. More deets to be announced via Instagram.

  

• I’ve always wondered about the jagged-roof building off Hwy 101 in Marin. Turns out, the building was Birkenstock’s HQ and Distribution hub from 1994-2020. Last year, The Eames Institute purchased the building with plans to turn it into an art and design museum by 2030. The building passing hands from Birkenstock to the creators of the Eames chair feels like a metaphor for the Bay Area.

• 4 weeks after announcing they were making homemade mochi, froyo hotspot Yuja announced that they’re discontinuing the topping: “It’s a bit too laborious and inconsistent in texture if it’s not used up that exact day it’s made.” New toppings coming soon.

• New Entity is a new-ish VC firm investing in San Francisco’s hospitality scene. Founder Ligaya Tichy wants to help funnel the city’s tech wealth into new restaurants, bars, and creative ventures. Investments to date include Bar Part Time’s new restaurant, Downtime, and Moonchild.

• Philo Apple Farm’s next Saturday family dinner is on September 26th. The last of the season is October 17th. I haven’t been, but it’s a bucket list item for a special occasion.

• I love the vibe and branding of Fruit Queen. They sell variety boxes and individual fruits, all from California purveyors.

• Sooth end-of-summer scaries by making Andy Baraghani’s tomato galette.

Local film savant and CCC reader Jeremy T. is interested in hosting a watch party. Perhaps at one of the new theaters discussed in Sunday’s CCC?

Every time I learn more about Theranos, its employees trying to raise alarm bells, and the proceeding fallout, the story gets crazier. Maybe I’ll host a Bad Blood tour of Palo Alto for Halloween. Spooky!

Grab Bag:

• “If anyone needs a 7500 sqft warehouse in San Francisco to host any sort of event or use case that requires a large industrial space for any amount of time please reach out. There are three.” - Daniel Siegel

• We’re in a FIG CRISIS this year.

• Arsicault barely made the cut on SF Chronicle’s croissant taste test (gasp!) Several little-known bakeries topped the list. This is important investigative journalism and tasting them all is the perfect addition to our SF Summer bucket list. In Arsicault’s loose defense, they’re known for their almond, not plain, croissants.

• Ice cream events this weekend:

  • ACES Ice Cream is hosting a pop-up at Broc Cellars in Berkeley.

  • Grand Opening is now taking orders for ice cream sandwiches. Pickup on Friday and Saturday. Flavors are Strawberry and Burnt Vanilla ice creams in chocolate dacquoise and Caramelized Peach with Jasmine ice cream in black sesame dacquoise.

• In national news, a group of former Washington Post journalists just launched The Washington Sun.

  • The 110-person newsroom, backed by Politico founder Robert Allbritton, has “embarked on a grand experiment to test whether there is a market in the nation’s capital for a publication that covers the local news, culture and sports that are the glue of any community. And we aim to prove that a general-interest publication combining national and local news can be viable in the 21st century.”

  • I believe in the longevity of local journalism, and am excited about new publications building business models based on digital distribution. Last week I wrote about Gazetteer SF, our new local paper.

• If you’re interested in living in the Point Reyes Lighthouse, now’s your chance:

Talk to you Sunday!

In his obituary, the New York Times wrote: “To call Mr. Caen ''Mr. San Francisco,'' as was sometimes done, was redundant. No other newspaper columnist has ever been so long synonymous with a specific place.

Over the years Mr. Caen’s journalistic work habits became as effortless as breathing: he wrote in the morning, held court in bars or cafes in the afternoon and took the pulse of the city at A-list events in the evenings, where the man with the cherubic smile and bald pate fringed with curly gray hair was as much a star as anyone he wrote about.”

Caen won a special Pulitzer Prize in 1996. The same year, San Francisco pronounced a 3-mile stretch of the Embarcadero “Herb Caen Way.” Caen’s magic was oscillating between sharing gossip and pointing out injustices across the city and beyond. He was an early opponent of the Vietnam War and spoke widely against California’s death penalty policies.

I write about Herb Caen for two reasons. First, I love city legends. Maybe you do too. Second, I’m ready for the next omnipresent SF spokesperson. Who is M_. San Francisco today? Of course diffuse news sources and social media make it harder to choose any one person. But, I believe there is room in San Francisco for a Herb Caen-reincarnate.

Could someone rise from shared frustrations of the housing market? Daisy Hernandez of The Apartment Plug is trying. Could they come from the city’s obsession with food? Instagramers are angling! Could Daniel Lurie be Mr. San Francisco? IMO we need someone besides the Mayor.

If you have a hypothesis about who it could be, comment or send me a note.

Grab Bag:

• On Wednesday I shared a (killer, if I do say so myself) SF summer bucket list. A few additions:

  • On 9/18 SFGate is bringing it’s newsroom to the street, giving residents a chance to talk to their journalists. I love this idea and think it’s a great way to create buzz around local reporting.

  • Hardly Stricly Bluegrass is October 2nd to 4th. Unfortunately Steve Martin is not playing this year.

  • The Blue Angels are back from October 9th to 11th Last year the Angels didn’t fly due to one of the longest government shutdowns in history. Our Canadian allies, the Royal Canadian Air Force Snowbirds, put on the show instead.

• Rick Steves of Rick Steves Europe fame just bought a one-screen movie theatre in Edmonds, Washington. Steves’ purchase is an example of the movie theatre resurgence nationwide.

  • In CCC, I’ve written about both Neil Mehta of Greenoaks buying the Clay Theatre on Fillmore and SF resident Nellie Killian opening The Portal Cinema.

  • America’s love for theaters waned in the age of streaming, with many theaters going out of business or being converted to non-profits. However, earlier this year The Guardian reported that independent cinemas were growing rapidly, with Gen Z leading the moviegoing charge. As consumers crave IRL community, I think we’ll continue to see theater resurrections, with owners prioritizing both movie viewing and event space.

• Let’s bring back Sutro Baths. Perhaps the perfect submission for Mike Moritz’s $150M competition to improve the city?! If you are a developer interested in resurrecting an iconic community hub, let’s chat.

• A few weeks ago I wrote about SCRAP SF, a community art supply store. Next, I bring to you Building Resources, a non-profit selling reclaimed materials from tiles to lumber. Next time you commit to a home improvement project…this is your place.

Talk to you Wednesday. I’m curious if anyone will see the mountain lion in the panhandle?! If so, send photos and I’ll include them in the next letter.

I had forgotten about the carpool line until I recently walked by Convent and Stuart Hall. I heard an 8-year-old yelling at her dad “bye crazy dad! Bye dad! Bye insane!” He yelled back from the car as he drove away “I love you! Love you!” Back to school is in full swing.

In most places, wearing backpack and buying your binders marks the start of fall. But here, it’s the start of San Francisco Summer. I wonder if anyone else in this city gets “sun-anxiety.” It's not about UV, but rather whether I’m making the most of the sun. I’m working on not letting that paranoia rain on my parade. Therefore, this year I’ve kept my SF Summer ambitions low: wear one less layer, sit in the park, and eat outdoors. I’ve included an SF Summer Shortlist below.

This issue also marks a month of Chocolate Cherry Cookie! If you have feedback, it’s solicited. Let me know what you think, and what I could improve upon, via email reply or text. Additionally, if you know of any graphic designers who would help me with a logo, I’d appreciate your recs. I promise not to let perfect be the enemy of the good. CCC just needs a little color.

Grab Bag:

• Riley Walz of Find My Parking Cops fame is at it again, this time with live visualizations of Muni ridership. Seems like only ~5% of active lines are usually standing room only. Speaking from personal experience, my bus (the 1), is always one of them.

• The Sea Ranch Lodge is expanding. In 2024, the Lodge was sold to a group of investors including the founders of Twitch and Stripe. Now, the Lodge is planning to add 23 new guest rooms and a wellness center. The renovation is expected to be controversial, especially with Bjarke Ingels’ firm BIG at the helm. BIG is known for projects befitting of its name, like CopenHill (Copenhagen’s artificial ski slope) and Google offices. I’d be curious to learn how BIG was chosen for Sea Ranch, a property that’s famous for being at peace with its surroundings.

• Local Substack queen interviewed Puck’s Sarah Shapiro on all things fashion/retail in San Francisco. If you’ve been wondering what the f Vogue World is or wondering whether to shop in the city, this one’s for you.

SF Summer Shortlist: Some ideas for how to embrace upcoming (fingers crossed) sunshine

• Dogpatch favorite Sohn is hosting Lefty Gelato this weekend. Flavors include date + pecan, perilla, and mandarin. If you haven’t been to Sohn yet, it’s worth a visit. The space is beautiful and they frequently host events.

  • While you’re in the neighborhood, head to Neighbor Bakehouse for one of the best and most underrated pastries in the Bay.

• alerted me that this Saturday is Free Fishing Day. No permit required. I don’t know how to fish, but if anyone wants to teach me, I’m down.

• The Mendocino County Fair and Apple Festival is September 18-20. The schedule includes crowning of the Junior Apple Jack, a Jr. Swine Show, an Open Swine Show, a Dairy Goat Show, and a Wool Show. Saturday night there’s a rodeo. Tickets are just $15/person.

• Have you ever been to a BEAN UP?! Neither have I. We both have the opportunity to go on September 27th in Alamo Square Park.

• If you want a rodeo closer to home, Cow Palace is hosting the Grand National Rodeo on October 9th and 10th. Thank you reader Shira B. for the tip. In perhaps a first for a large-scale event in San Francisco, no AI companies are listed as sponsors (yet).

• Little Saint in Healdsburg has free concerts all month.

• On October 8th, Rampant Bottle & Bar is hosting the first pop-up from Kiddo. Menu below, looks yum!

I would put Yo También on my personal 36 Hours in San Francisco list. I can’t imagine a better visit than getting the “Best of Both Worlds” bowl followed by a walk in the park and a stop at Ice Cream Bar. Co-owners Kenzie Benesh and Isabella Bertorelli use super fresh produce, sourcing from local purveyors. The small menu is fresh, healthy, and well-priced. A dream!

The weird thing about Yo También Cantina is that no one’s heard of it. Despite Eater features and the Richmond Review calling it “Michelin-level in aesthetic and taste,” most people I’ve spoken to have never been. I’m sure some regulars will get upset that I’m sharing - it’s fun to gatekeep (and I get concerns about overwhelming a local favorite). However, in a city where it’s nearly impossible to keep a restaurant alive, my mini mission is getting Yo También Cantina as many customers as I can. LMK once you’ve been.

You should to pay attention to:

• The Trump Administration is maneuvering to execute a land exchange with developer Kingsbarn Reality Capital for a quarter-mile parcel of land in Yosemite National Park. The real-estate development group would receive the park land, which they view as critical to developing a property right outside the park, in exchange for buying the Park Service a parcel of commensurate value elsewhere in California. Anna Kramer from NOTUS broke the news earlier this week.

• The Fillmore’s been without a grocery store since Safeway shut down nearly 18 months ago, with no solution in sight. The now-vacant property will eventually house a mixed-use development including 1,800 apartment units (!!!) and a grocery store. In the meantime, three grocery store chains have considered temporary tenancy. All have walked away from a deal. I’m curious what the timeline for the new development looks like. What prevents the future build from moving forward, earlier? If you have deets, DM.

Fun Grab Bag:

• Next stop: Dolly Parton International Airport.

• Pokemon World and the Pokemon World Championships took SF by storm this weekend. Moscone Center was transformed into Pokemon paradise, and there were nightly drone/light shows along the Embarcadero. Of course, Mayor Lurie was in attendance.

• Did you know Treasure Island was once slated to become San Francisco’s second airport? WWII ended those plans, with the Navy taking a war lease on the island in 1941. Now we have a strange set of deluxe apartment buildings on the mid-Bay land.

• Loquat at Night is this Tuesday, 5-9pm. Run don’t walk. It’s an excellent scene with killer food and only happens once a month.

• Have time this week? Here are two other places I’d explore:

  • Crown Point Press. Founded in 1962, the Press runs a publishing program, hosts workshops, and houses a beautiful gallery.

  • Sol Bakery - open Friday/Saturday/Sunday

Second, if you have any tips for Sunday’s Chocolate Cherry Cookie, please send.

Third, if you’ve ever walked around Pac Heights, you’ve seen one very tall building looming above the rest: 2500 Steiner. Turns out, 2500 Steiner has awesome lore. For one thing, it was built in the 1920s - developers could never get the necessary permits to build it today. Notably, it’s a longtime hub for Democratic fundraising in San Francisco. Susie Tomkins-Buell, Founder of Esprit and the North Face, owns the penthouse. Other prominent Democratic donors live on the below floors. Fundraisers frequently flow between floors and apartments. Once, President Clinton’s secret service got stuck in the elevator and had to be rescued by the fire department.

In 2025, conservative crypto entrepreneur Jesse Powell tried to buy the 9th floor apartment from CA Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis. The co-op board declined, and Powell filed a lawsuit against the building’s board, citing political discrimination. Lore! If you know who ultimately bought the 9th floor apartment, let me know.

Grab Bag:

• Thanks to reader Brooke R., I learned about Gazetteer SF. They distribute a quarterly print magazine, and publish articles Mon-Fri via text and email: “Our admittedly lofty mission is to revitalize local news in America, but we’re starting with a small team in one key city – San Francisco. If you are tired of the way that algorithms affect the media you consume online and want to read original stories produced by humans about San Francisco, we humbly invite you to subscribe to Gazetteer SF.”

• Think you’ve traversed San Francisco’s streets? Test out NameSFStreets.com.

• Looking forward to the weekend? Here are a few things I think could be fun:

  • Drinks at The Huntington Hotel. I haven’t been, but next time I want to pretend I’m in NYC for a few hours, the Huntington’s my first stop.

  • Bones Bagels. Do a big walk and end with the lox open-face sandwich.

  • Guerneville! Head up north while it’s cold in the city and hot just outside it. Pre-tubing, head to Lightwave Coffee & Kitchen in Monte Rio for breakfast.

  • Hike the Dipsea Trail, end at Stinson Beach, and grab some pesto from Parkside. People sleep on the pesto. Wake up! It’s one of the best I’ve ever had.

Talk to you Sunday.

A multi-decade battle between ranchers and environmentalists is once again at a impasse, this time as two ranching families refuse to sell their land and relocate their cattle.

The Nimans of famed Niman Ranch are one of the families. They argue that running a sustainable ranching operation on the land doesn’t harm the ecosystem and rather serves as a model for what eco-minded ranching could look like nationwide. Meanwhile, conservationists fight back, citing concerns about water pollution and native plant restoration. According to Ken Bouley, the CEO of the Turtle Island Restoration Network, “it’s time to stop thinking about cheese and yogurt.”

Read more here. I’d love to hear what you think.

Grab Bag:

• “Jan. 6 attendee sells Redwood City cafe, says the money goes to Mamdani.” This crazy story is full of twists and turns: “After the backlash over us supporting Trump — and given that he’s no longer running in 2028, which did make me sad — we decided to send the money to the Mamdani campaign instead.”

• The Portal Cinema, a new 49-seat movie theatre in Bernal Heights, will open this fall. Owner Nellie Killian has been working to secure the required permits and convert the former real estate office into a viewing spot since 2018. Per Killian, “We want to cultivate an enthusiastic audience that makes every screening feel like a must-see event and uses our lobby as a social space where they can meet other cinema enthusiasts from across the Bay.” Fun!

• Panettone season is just around the corner. Once September hits, you’re allowed to start dreaming about From Roy. For the last few years, we’ve splurged on a panettone and it’s the happiest multi-day holiday dessert. They just dropped the news that they’ll sell half-size loaves (can I call them that?) for the first time.

• Looking for a creative outlet? Casey’s Craft Club looks sweet.

• As I walked by the Church of 8 Wheels recently, I heard the pings of a racket sport and poked my head inside. Turns out DinkSF runs pickleball clinics and open-play multiple days a week. No matter how much I play pickle, I don’t improve. But for the picklers amongst us, perhaps this is welcome news.

As always, thanks for your feedback. Talk to you Wednesday!

If you dig a little deeper, you’ll read that the Cinderella owner bought the property intending to open a second storefront in 2018. 8 years ago! Yes, pandemic closures & obtaining bank loans made opening difficult, but so did a lengthy city code adherence process. I understand the need to maintain neighborhood character and prevent chains or big box stores from ruining the Mission. I also believe that if a storefront is going to be vacant and a 70-year-old one-store bakery wants to open their second location in that space, the city should make it easy for them to do so. If you know more about this saga, please DM.

***

Grab Bag (almost all San Francisco today!):

• Goddess wrote today about where former Substack employees work. Former COO Fiona Monga and former VP of Product Sachin Monga are working on Porches, “a dedicated app for Petaluma with original storytelling and live programming.” I love the idea, I love the design, and I’m excited for what’s to come. I think we’re going to continue to see more technology and social platforms encouraging + enabling offline connection.

• “The San Francisco Bay Area has not been in drought for almost 1300 days.” You may add 15 sec to your shower tomorrow in celebration.

• Neil Mehta of Greenoaks Capital continues to purchase vacant storefronts on the Fillmore Corridor. Via his nonprofit Upper Fillmore, Mehta just purchased 2035-2047 Fillmore Street. Mehta’s known for reviving Clay Theatre.

• Reader Dylan K. sent a note about last week’s post on the San Francisco Bar Pilots, below. Thank you, Dylan K., for nudging readers to watch The High-Stakes World of San Francisco’s Bar Pilots.

• Tartine is opening in Marin. They previously announced another new location in downtown. Blue Bottle and Tartine halted their merger in 2015 (seems like to the detriment of BB, and the success of Tartine). More than a decade later, Tartine seems to have renewed growth ambition. I’m curious to learn more.

• Rose Pizzeria knows how to celebrate fig season.

• In our only non-SF news of the day & apropos of nothing, I’m excited about Ari Emanuel’s memoir coming out in September. Can Hollywood’s power broker get his brother to the White House?

• Caspar Bread and Wine. Highlight! We went last night and had a dinner of olives, homemade potato chips, and focaccia. If you want something more robust, eat first and then head over. They frequently host concerts, ukelele circles, and other events. The breakfast looks excellent too.

• The Waiting Room for coffee and pastries (the scones are particularly excellent); The Brickery for pizza and salad. Reader Fleming P. thought it was the best pizza of her life: “specifically the pesto one, if it matters.” Thanks, Fleming P. Not to be confused with other Flemings!

• Princess Seafood Restaurant. Very reminiscent of FISH in Sausalito.

• On the way up we stopped at Sol Food in Mill Valley, followed by Noble Folk (ice cream) in Healdsburg. Would recommend both stops.

We stayed at Cottage on the Coast, of which I’ve been following on Instagram for 18 months. If anyone wants to join me in buying a small cottage in a very cute coastal town, renovating it, and renting it occasionally on Airbnb, let’s chat. Another Airbnb I love here.

Grab Bag:

• Untold Raygun: Breaking Badly comes out on September 1st. This documentary IS my personal Super Bowl and I can’t wait to host a watch party.

• Infatuation Founder Chris Stang is building gossip.wine, a social wine platform for friends to share and review their wine. This is the perfect website for many CCC readers. I wish I didn’t fall asleep after one sip.

• SCRAP, Scrounger’s Center for Reusable Art Parts, reopened this weekend! A warehouse of mismatch art materials and other goods for creative reuse. I’m curious what I might find here. This place sounds like San Francisco’s cure to boredom.

• #SWIRLAROUNDTHEBAY coming this week, sponsored by Bay Area’s best soft serve, Straus Family Creamery.

• I’m impressed by Chinatown Curiosities, made by local artist Jacob Siu-Zmuidzinas. Feeling very hip and trendy that I came across a brand with 423 followers on Instagram, not to brag.

Talk to you Wednesday!

I did some digging on the tugboats. It’s a perilous, crucial, and lucrative industry:

• “Tugboat companies deal in large sums: the bill to dock a tanker can run from $15,000 to more than $50,000 depending on a number of variables. Captains may earn six-figure salaries, and a new tugboat can cost more than $10 million.”

• Tugboats also provide transport to a crucial constituency: the San Francisco Bar Pilots. Cargo ships are required to have a local captain navigate them to shore. Pre-GG bridge, the pilots board the ship. They then JUMP from the tugboat onto a 15-story ladder, and climb up to the cockpit. No harness. You have to watch the “VR Experience.”

  • “These pilots are responsible for guiding about 8,000 entries and exits in the Bay every year, which amounts to more than $40 billion in annual trade.”

• You can identify any ship in the SF Bay with Vessel Finder.

The more you know. I love these tugboats and the crucial role they play in our Bay. Next time you see one, wave hello.

Grab Bag:

• What’s your $50 million idea to improve San Francisco? The Crankstart Foundation, Michael Moritz’s family philanthropy, is offering $150M to organizations that “make San Francisco a better place to live.” Reader Eli G. is in it to win it. Can you beat him?

• The Mess Hall at the Presidio opens this weekend. The long-awaited new spot hosts three restaurants and serves Wrecking Ball Coffee + Breadbelly pastries. A dream! Something tells me you’ll find readers Lauren R. and Jeremy T. there often…

• Fun fact: the Pac Heights Mollie Stone’s hosts the world’s first grocery Starbucks store. Another fun fact, in 2018, Nestle paid $7B for global distribution rights of Starbucks grocery products. I sound like the Starbucks Acquired episode.

• If you’re looking for an August day trip, book a pool pass and head to River Electric. Highlight of my summer.

Send me your tugboat pictures. Talk to you Sunday!

I really appreciated your feedback (not sarcastic!) on Issue #1. Questions like “what is this?” will be answered with time. I’ve addressed thoughts like “you should include photos” today.

Gabi L. encouraged me to move to Substack because, despite my desire to be “different,” this is easier. It’s true. I’ve subscribed all of you wonderful readers. Lucky for you, there’s now an unsubscribe feature and I’ve turned off notifications if you choose to do so. I already unsubscribed someone for whom my content just wasn’t going to resonate.

Thanks for your continued feedback. If you don’t live in San Francisco, or if we don’t share similar interests, then this newsletter probably isn’t for you and I especially appreciate your friendship.

Grab Bag:

All SF Today:

• Big news for those in the know. In March, Palace Market and West Marin Ferments changed their soft serve formulation from buffalo milk to Jersey milk. Turns out buffalo milk purveyors are rare, and “Mr. Renati [new owner of buffalo herd] has prioritized a contract supplying the milk to a mozzarella producer in the Central Valley, leaving little available for gelato.” If you taste a difference, you have elite taste buds. I love this reporting.

• Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters (home of very cute pineapple wallpaper) has a new owner. They’re opening two new cafes this fall. Pineapples everywhere.

• Old news, but the Lower Haight has got it going on.

  • I’ve heard great things about Lower Haight Line Dancing. Sunday nights!

  • Lower Haight Local recently came across my desk. Print only, focused on the neighborhood.

• Pac Heights is trying to catch up. Pim Techamuanvivit, owner of Kin Khao and Nari, is opening a Thai noodle shop across from Salt & Straw on Fillmore. Electric.

• Apparently every Waymo at OSL had a “human safety driver.” Smart - can someone confirm and/or share their experience?

• Scott Wiener’s campaign took down ConnieChan.AI

• We’ll end with zoning. A January 2026 zoning law to allow new multifamily builds has resulted in “seven proposed projects that would add fewer than 40 housing units to the city’s pipeline.” Zoning reforms probably (definitely) should result in more than one new proposal/month.

Parting Words: “This Summer’s Hottest Arm Candy Is a Private Equity Boyfriend”

Yesterday on a walk I peered into a lingerie store window. It was 1:07pm, and the store technically opened at 1pm with a written sign that sometimes it took the owner up to 20 minutes to find parking. I decided I didn’t need bras, and kept going.

I was waiting in a big group for the pedestrian light to turn green when an 80-year old woman walked up to the group and screamed “ARE YOU LOOKING FOR LINGERIE?!?!” “I’m going to open the shop.” A 22 year old 6 foot 5 man said “I’m not,” and the woman pointed right at me and said “WELL, ARE YOU?” I assured her (and the rest of the crowd) I’d return later. It’s a moral imperative to support the art of bra fitting.

Another moral imperative is buying lemonade from a lemonade stand if the seller is under 18 years old. No matter what you’re doing or where you’re going, pull over. Once the seller is a legal adult, you’re in the clear.

If you’re on this thread, it’s because I trust you deeply and/or don’t consider you particularly judgmental. I also think you may enjoy the tidbits below. I’m edging towards a newsletter!

Grab bag:

• Jasmine Sun, who I’d like to be friends with, just wrote an awesome piece, “No Data Centers in My Backyard.” It’s a journey into the politics of building data centers. Must read.

• Annie Karni (legendary politics reporter) shares an awesome story about the humanity of Steve Bannon as she tells him about her divorce. Read here. Epic piece.

• Jen Rubio (Away) and Stuart Butterfield (Slack) also announced their divorce. In the words of Ben, “too much baggage.” 9 months ago I sent around their cool NYC skybridge / home. You can see their other cool home here.

• Daydream (AI ecommerce w $50M seed from Forerunner; site of my MBA internship) is now embedding natural language fashion search on stores like Staud and Alice + Olivia. Smart! Probably within 6 months AI search should just be normal search. I can’t stop thinking about how The RealReal needs to bring Daydream search onto their site ASAP.

• Vogue World is happening in SF. I don’t know what that means exactly, but I like it!

• WTF is up with the House of Representatives. Too many names to list. The lead prosecutor of the literal INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT was also removed a few weeks ago.

Finally, some tactical (food) items:

• The restaurant I want to go to most in SF is Jules Pizza.

  • If you’re looking for a sweet treat, go to Powder or the Ice Cream Bar.

  • I’m excited for Bar Part Time’s pizza, too.

• Two chicken recipes for when you’re feeling tired, uninspired, and have friends coming over for dinner: Sheet-Pan Chicken and Potatoes With Feta, Lemon and Dill AND Tomato Basil Chicken Breasts

I welcome your feedback!

Over and out,

Sarah