NEIGHBORHOOD OPENINGS – CROISSANTERIE/LE MARAIS BAKERY (#12 in a series)

A new bakery and bistro, Croissanterie, has opened at 1138 Sutter Street between Larkin andP Polk.

It is owned by Le Marais Bakery. According to their website:

       "We are looking forward to the year ahead – for the past five         years, we have been creating hundreds of pastries every day out of 300 square feet, and finally we will be able to move into a commissary kitchen in the Polk Gulch neighborhood. We will open the commissary to customers in 2018, so you can come in and see how we make our croissants and pastries by hand every day."


The bistro is open from 9:00 a.m - 3:00 p.m. daily while the bakery is open from 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. daily.

NEIGHBORHOOD OPENINGS 2016 – HERO SHOP (#14 in a series)

Hero Shop, the brainchild of fashion journalist and bay area native Emily Holt, opened in July at 982 Post at Larkin. It's part of the relentless upscaling of the neighborhood and city, so the clothing is chic and the prices high-end.

Copyright © by Chris Enquist 12/19/16

NEIGHBORHOOD MURALS – UNTITLED, CORNER OF POST & POLK (#21 in a series)

A new mural has appeared on the corner of Post and Polk, replacing one of my favorite City murals, below. 

I never learned who was responsible for it, and my photograph doesn't do it justice, but it was striking and raw in a way that's rare for public art. It almost screamed at you as you walked by.

It had recently been defaced with a graffiti scrawl, but not irreppairably so.

At any rate, an entire new mural has taken its place.

I don't like its replacement at all. It seems a pale imitation of the previous one, and too pastel. When I was taking this photograph, a passerby commented that he liked the previous mural better as well.

Copyright © by Chris Enquist 12/1/15

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR

In yesterday's SFGate.com, there was an article about apartments at 1008 Larkin Street for less than $1,600 a month. Click here for the article:  http://blog.sfgate.com/ontheblock/2015/10/20/rent-an-apartment-for-less-than-1600-a-month-in-s-f-get-ready-to-compromise

Before it was re-branded as 1008 Larkin, it was the Saratoga Hotel, established in 1908.

Many years ago, I visited someone living there when it was still the Saratoga, and I remember the rooms were quite small – perhaps 10 X 12 at best.

These remodeled SRO hotel rooms are now called “efficiency apartments” and “feature a combined living and sleeping space” (just like a hotel room). They also feature no bathroom. That's down the hall (just like a real SRO).

According to Loopnet.com, 1008 Larkin is a "multifamily property" with 53 "residential units" spread over 5 floors. That comes to at least 10 "units" per floor. That means ten people wanting to use one bathroom every morning, every evening, every day of the year.

And all this can be yours for only $1,595 a month!

Such a deal.

Copyright © by Chris Enquist 10/21/15

THE NIGHT LIGHTS OF POLK STREET

One of the things I've always liked about the four-block stretch of Polk Street from Geary to Bush (Polk Gulch to old-timers) are the string of Christmas lights strung across three side-streets that come on regularly every evening, 365 times a year.

The first are at Cedar Street

the second at Hemlock

while the third are at Fern Street.

I have no idea when these lights were put up, or why they were never taken down, but if they weren't there, I'd miss them. I've gotten used to seeing them brighten up Polk Street every night.

Copyright © by Chris Enquist 8/31/15

NEIGHBORHOOD MURALS – PHOENIX RISING (#18 in a series)

I've seen this mural of a phoenix on the south wall of Kent & John Union Station parking lot at the corner of Polk and Alice B. Toklas Streets for years, and I enjoyed seeing it now just as much as I did then.

Copyright © by Chris Enquist 8/18/15

NEIGHBORHOOD OPENINGS 2015 -- JACKALOPE (#1 in a series)

Jackalope actually opened late in 2014, but I’m only getting around to featuring it now. It’s located on the northeast corner of Polk and Post.

Copyright © by Chris Enquist 1/6/15

NEIGHBORHOOD MURALS (#2 in a series)

This is Sagan's 1-Hour Valeteria (aka Sagan's Drive-In Cleaners) at the southeast corner of Post & Larkin. I don't know how long they've been open, but I've lived in this part of the City over 30 years and can't remember a time when they weren't here. 

Last weekend while walking down Larkin Street, I saw that a mural had been painted on the western side.

The longer I looked at it, the more I liked it. Instead of using the white wall as a canvas, the artist

uses a design of interlocking loops that bring out the white, so to speak. The white wall becomes a part of the painting instead of its background.

It's not a mural that's best observed from a car. It's best viewed from the sidewalk, where a person has more time to take it all in. So, next time you're in this part of the neighborhood on foot, stop by and take a look. 

Copyright © by Chris Enquist 5/22/14