Last Thanksgiving, the Jack in the Box on Geary and 11th Avenue came under scrutiny when a verbal argument began in the restaurant between two men, which later escalated to a brutal hit and run at a gas station a couple of blocks away.
The incident left the victim, Albert Bartal, in critical condition. Just last week, Bartal’s mother posted via a Facebook page that he was still in the hospital and undergoing emergency surgery due to complications from an earlier brain opreation.
At the time of the incident, Jack in the Box was operating 24 hours a day, but investigators discovered that their after-hours permit had expired and as a result, forced the restaurant to close between 2am and 6am.
Jack in the Box re-applied for their permit and after multiple hearings and lobbying from concerned neighbors, the Entertainment Commission ultimately allowed them to operate 22 hours a day, closing only between 4am and 6am. The Commission also imposed a laundry list of conditions that the Jack in the Box must satisfy to retain their permit, most of them requiring additional security measures and presence during the late night hours.
The only other restaurant in the neighborhood that was operating 24 hours a day at that time was Subway Sandwiches, located at 5650 Geary near 21st Avenue. It turned out that their after-hours permit had also expired, and the Entertainment Commission also curtailed their hours as a result.
Subway has re-applied for their after-hours permit, asking that they be allowed to operate 24 hours a day again. Their permit will be reviewed at this Tuesday’s Entertainment Commission meeting (6:30pm, City Hall Room 400).
The SFPD, namely the Richmond District police station, does not have any issue with Subway being allowed to operate 24 hours again. When they were open all the time, the SFPD “did not any problems at that location after hours,” wrote Tobius Moore, Permit Officer for the Richmond Station, in an email ast week.
Nevertheless, SFPD are recommending that Subway increase their security during the late night hours.
“Captain Vintero and myself had recommended approval with the condition of one security guard Thursday-Saturday 10pm-3am. After hours does not seem to pose a parking problem and I believe that there is plenty of street parking available. This area is not as heavily traveled by bar patrons as the Jack in the Box,” Moore wrote.
If approved, Subway would be the only restaurant in the neighborhood open 24 hours, and specifically between the hours of 4am and 6am. But as stated above, police never had issues with the restaurant when it was open 24 hours a day, albeit with an expired permit.
Nevertheless, the Jack in the Box incident is still fresh and some residents may resist having all night businesses operating in the neighborhood, fearing increased noise, trash and crime.
In last week’s police blotter post that mentioned Subway’s permit, RichmondSFBlog reader Renee warned, “If Subway, which never seems to have more than 1 or 2 people inside at the counter, gets a permit to stay open 24/7, we will have the same problem in the area of 21st and geary that the beseiged residents near that jack in the box have further down on Geary. watch for it!”
Still others, like RichmondSFBlog reader Brian C., think Subway “doesn’t attract as bad a crowd as Jack in the Box,” so the same issues that rattle residents there are unlikely to occur further down Geary.
The Subway location is significantly smaller than Jack in the Box, further off the busy thoroughfare of Park Presidio, and as Officer Moore points out, not located near a bevy of bars like Jack in the Box. Many of the late-night patrons at Jack in the Box are craving greasy food after tying one on at nearby bars.
What do you think? Should Subway be approved to resume operating 24 hours a day? Leave a comment to let us know.
Sarah B.
Further unprovoked regulation curtails our freedoms. I would like to see Subway open 24 hours as in the past.
I think Jack attracts a different crowd due to its proximity to the bars and it has a parking lot.
If they haven’t had any problems in the past, I don’t see why not.
I don’t mind it, especially when the 24-hour Video Cafe had to shut its doors.
How close is this Subway to a gas station? What’s lost in all this is the menace of gas stations, that have ample room for drunk idiots to run down innocent people for no reason. Fence those menacing gas stations off!
No one is curtailing anyone’s freedom; love the libertarian b.s! What about the freedom of homeowners and residents in the area to live in a safe and quiet neighborhood? They pay rent, taxes, they have a say as to what kind of commercial activity takes place nearby. Doing business in ANY neighborhood is not a right. It’s a privilege. As such, Subway or any business should comply with the rules and regulations that the people in the neighborhood want to put in place.
Otto, love your defense of totalitarianism…you should move and sign up for anger management. No one forced you to buy or rent property in a commercial district.
Not having read any of the above comments, let me take a bet at who hits up any kind of establishment after, say, 1:30 a.m., . . . loud, possibly drunk, idiots? . . . and the cops want to keep on kissin’ ass and sanctioning this? Roll that Hustler Mobile on over and let’s really get the party started!!!!
Loud and drunk idiots have plenty of options for food. Why should Subway be forced to close its doors when Safeway on 7th is open all night? Or when gas station food marts are allowed to remain open?
Heck, let’s just make everything shut down after midnight, just to be on the safe side. Can’t have those rapscallion kids being all loud in MY neighborhood.
@ Bob, What do the police have to gain by “kissing ass”? You have to be smarter than this.