The new Munchery hub at 554 Clement (corner of 7th Avenue)
Last week we learned that Munchery, a food delivery service based in San Francisco, recently opened a food storage and delivery outpost at 554 Clement Street at 7th Avenue, formerly the May Shun Trading Co.
If you walk by the space, you’d probably have no idea. The windows are frosted over and there is an unfriendly gate that is up 24/7 over the facade of the building. You probably wouldn’t even think that a business was operating inside, especially since the old May Shun awning is still there.
But there is. Munchery, founded in 2010 and whose mission is “to make the easy answer to “what’s for dinner?” the better one”, recently took occupancy of the space. They made some renovations, installed cold storage and began using the space as a hub for their meal delivery service.
This caught the attention of nearby neighbors, who noticed Munchery delivery vehicles coming to and from the corner location which also has a parking area on the 7th Avenue side of the building.
The problem is that particular commercial space is not zoned for any kind of food service or food operations. As a result, the Planning Department will be issuing Munchery a notice of violation this week.
The violation requires that Munchery explain how they are currently conforming to the code or how they plan to change their business model to come into compliance. They have 15 days to respond.
Coming into compliance will likely require that Munchery apply for a conditional use permit to change the use of 554 Clement from retail to a food service operation. As with most city processes in San Francisco, that can take several months – if they’re lucky.
Whatever the outcome from the Planning Department volation, Muchery will likely have to cease operations in the space until they can come into compliance.
Aside from the zoning violations, neighbors have disliked the shuttered look of the new Munchery outpost. Frosted windows and a gated facade on a prominent corner location make the space look closed off and ultimately, unoccupied. Combine that with an influx of delivery vehicles and neighbors’ temperatures start to rise.
“This is a large space in the middle of a vibrant retail corridor that should be attracting foot traffic. Not being used as storage for a tech start-up,” one Clement Street merchant said.
This isn’t the first time San Francisco residents have raised concerns with Munchery’s operations. This article from February 2015 details safety and sanitation issues that neighbors are experiencing near their Utah Street location, and this one from late 2014 talks about the non-stop idling of their refrigeration trucks.
Sarah B.
A shot of one of the cold storage areas inside the building
Well noted, their delivery can also be sketchy according to users on websites who say they were not properly called or their bell rung, thus missing a delivery and/or having their food stolen.
I was happy with Munchery as a service but will stop using them in the future.
And beyond sanitation and zoning issues, I simply object to having a sidewalk storefront converted to a non-pedestrian-friendly use. We need a to keep Clement a vibrant pedestrian friendly shopping experience, not allow storefronts to be converted to closed-off (and ugly fenced in) uses.
Who do we contact at the city to complain about this illegal usage (and oppose their bid for conditional use?)
A dot-com not operating in compliance with the law!?
Shocking…
Come to think of it, I wonder what company is operating out of one of the abandoned storefronts near the corner of 6th and Balboa. They’ve had brown paper in the windows for *months* and from what glimpses I’ve seen when the door was open have some pretty heavy duty looking kitchen equipment in there.
I’m kind of surprised the fire marshal isn’t upset about this too. With the front door completely blocked off, is this not a major fire hazard for workers inside?
it’s nice to complain but the planning departmment really doesn’t care if people violate zoning etc because these folks at Munchery are friends of the mayor. Quickly illegally opened on Irving ,and just put stickers over the word “quickly” once they were caught. Despite years of illegal behavior, the planning department knows this, and yet they still don’t really care.
You can find the Munchery contact page here:
https://munchery.com/about/contact/
I sent a note to “General Inquiries” expressing my concern and asking for clarification of their plans with the space.
@Derek
I too have been curious about the 6th & Balboa store front. Recently I received in the mail notification of an application for a liquor license at that location. So I am assuming it will be some kind of restaurant.
i’ve lived and worked in this neighborhood for nearly 25 years, and this is truly galling! exactly what any neighborhood DOESN’T need – this adds nothing to our community, and drags the whole block down. get rid of it, please. . .
OMG! I can’t believe that a food & beverage operation would do business out of this location without major cleaning and renovations– it was dirty/dusty and reeked of toxic plastic chemical smell when it was a “99 cent” store. Shows a total lack of regard for standards/laws/public health & safety by Munchery. Count me out of the strike-it-rich-at-the-expense-of-others mentality taking over SF. Disgusting.
I just did some quick research –
If you’d like to contact the planner, his name is Matthew Dito – matthew.dito@sfgov.org
Reference number is – 2015-011414ENF
Letter sent. cc’d Eric Mar. Fvck Munchery and all these law-breaking tech scrubs.
With a funding round of $85 million that would value Munchery at about $300 million according to the Wall Street Journal they can afford not to tyrannize local neighborhood merchants and shoppers with disruption, health & safety issues for residents, visitors and employees of local businesses, as happened on Utah Street, via Uptown Almanac.
That’s nothing. They operate out of a freezer and tent in the parking lot behind the Out of the Closet on Polk. Doesn’t seem to sanitary to me.
I walk by this building everyday around 4pm and have seen the munchery bags being loaded into cars… had assumed it was just the back being used. Glad to hear the illegality has been reported!
i love munchery and love that they are now in the nabe.
Thank you for this very informative post. And @Rachel, thank you for the city planner’s contact info and reference number. I’d like to think that voicing my concerns to the city means something, but I doubt it. Still, it’s better than doing nothing.
This is appalling. I am writing to both the city and Munchery directly. How can we encourage others to do the same?
Thank you for this article. Thanks also to Rachel (in the comments above) for providing the Planning Department planner’s contact info and reference # for this matter. I have written the planner, encouraging him to shut down Munchery for being in violation of the law, for flouting the law, and for being a bad neighbor — I encourage others to write as well.
@JZJ- Wow. And you do all of this based on what you read on a couple blogs on the internet? Brilliant. Just brilliant.
Chuck – if you look up the address on the sfgov.org Planning site, you’ll see there is an enforcement action against Munchery for their illegal use, as stated in this article.
I can’t speak for other commenters/neighbors, but for me it is this illegal use and flouting of the law that made me send a letter to the Planner. Munchery might very well be capable of being a good neighbor but they have not done a good job of being one so far.
I love Munchery. I just ordered dinner again, and I hope it goes right through that place on Clement. It will be delicious- as always.
Rachel- Thanks. I just sent a letter to the planner to ignore all the letters he gets from overcaffeinated people who get their information from nothing but internet blogs without having any first hand experience with this.
Thanks, Rachel. That’s helpful.
You can view details by searching for “554 Clement Street” on this page:
http://propertymap.sfplanning.org/
and clicking the “Complaints” tab.
Here’s a link to the violation:
https://aca.accela.com/ccsf/Cap/CapDetail.aspx?Module=Planning&TabName=Planning&capID1=15CAP&capID2=00000&capID3=008T3&agencyCode=CCSF
Click the arrows to see details.
Derek, a neighbor says the old sign shop at 6th and Balboa is in the process of becoming an oyster bar. So in this case the long-papered-over windows may indicate they really are doing the legit planning/approval process…
@Ben P. Very cool! Now I’m drooling with excitement!!
I Should probably see a doctor about that…
Ben, Will be interesting to see if the former Olympic Savings/Hamilton Bank/sign shop is allowed a permit given all the other locations immediately next door and across the street that are already licensed for food. I never paid much attention to what was there before Olympic when I was on the way to/from Lincoln Bowl or Petrini’s butcher at Lick. Drug Store with compounding pharmacist (actually the only kind available when I was much younger) was one corner, now an ever-changing Chinese business; Grocer with proper meat counter was another, now restaurant; low rise replaced another corner grocer and has seen several incarnations of coffee joint and rotation of vacancies.
Katie and Derek –
I haven’t seen the inside of the batch of storefronts on the corner of 6th and Balboa, but several of them used to serve food before they left. The big one on the corner was a coffee shop, one used to be Namu, and I think Sushi Bistro used to take up one of the other ones before they moved a few doors over.
The positives…. they are actually using the 3 parking places behind this shop now… something they haven’t been used for in the last 7-8 years I’ve lived up the street! The May Shun Store used an apartment garage just up 7th for stock storage…. not sure how many total parking places were out of commission for the prior store – 3 in the lot + at least 2 in the garage (and the street space for the driveways). Will be interesting, if they do clean it up & get permits, hopefully the front will look better then it does now.
EMAIL RECEIVED TODAY:
After working with Munchery, I gave them a hard deadline of last Friday (October 9th) to cease operations at 554 Clement. I haven’t had a chance to verify yet, but hope to take a drive by this week. Please let me know if you continue to see any activity related to distribution/delivery at the site, as that would lead to an immediate Notice of Violation and daily penalties.
Thank you,
Matthew Dito | Planner | Code Enforcement
San Francisco Planning Department
1650 Mission Street, #400 |SF, CA 94103
matthew.dito@sfgov.org | T: 415.575.9164