Some of the new finishes going in at the former Java House on Clement near 5th Avenue. Photos by Derek
There’s lots of business activity happening in the neighborhood! Thanks to everyone for sending in your tips.
- We hear that Three Bees Nursery (1921 Clement) has finally re-opened as Clement Nursery after a closure and remodel. You can find them on Facebook, where they mention “the new nursery yard is teeming with interesting new flowers, grasses, vines, shrubs and trees”, “the dairy barn is restored and introduces garden antiquities, soaps, candles, jewelery, art and more”, and “the 1904 cottage at the rear of the nursery has been uncovered, restored, and fitted with a new arbor to finally give a home to our 40 year old wisteria”.
- LOLA Clothing opened in the former April in Paris space at 55 Clement Street. We peeked in through the window on Sunday and the clothes are lovely – high end, custom designs from beautiful fabrics. Owner and designer Lola grew up sewing with her mother and says on her website that “fashion runs in my blood”.
- Construction is underway at the former Java House location on Clement near 5th Avenue (they moved to a smaller space at 2nd Ave and Anza). What was once a dilapidated, slightly scary coffee shop is getting new wood paneled walls, subway tile and a big cleaning. We still don’t know what it’s going to be, but definitely something cleaner and friendlier we hope. 🙂
- The former Haig’s Delicatessen on Clement Street near 8th Avenue is still papered over but there’s a liquor license application notice posted in the window for “Locals Cafe”. We can’t find anything about them online, so their concept, menu and opening date are still a mystery…
Sarah B.
You know what Clement needs? A Cafe on every block! And Java house was only scary to white people who are afraid of anyone/thing that doesn’t fit into their own cultural values. Vietnamese men playing card games out front seemed to think the place was just fine…
Java House moved to 2nd Ave and Anza to a smaller space where a mini mart used to be. They’re nice but haven’t tried the coffee yet. They are a big improvement to the mini mart in my opinion.
Thanks Wendy for the update on Java House! I’ll add that to the post.
Sarah B.
I’m wondering if anyone knows what’s planned for the space on Balboa and 6th avenue that used to be Javaholics. We down here don’t have a cafe on every corner and we need something here! This little street has a lot of empty storefronts!
Chili,
The reason that block has so many vacancies is due to one selfish landlord. She chased away many successful businesses. Obviously, she has that right, but I agree that block of Balboa could use a ‘lil something.
I am just concerned about Clement befalling the same fate as nearly every other neighborhood in the city. Fancy coffee, brunch lines, 20-somethings with complete disregard for their surroundings. These businesses are nothing more than opportunists without imagination or concern for community. They only come once they feel they can piggy-back on others hard-work and success. Blue Danube is a long-standing business and deserves community support. Not to mention, that’s what Cafe’s used to look like. Now they look like Create and Barrel catalogs. Gen-Y is ruining the world one app, one block, one neighborhood at a time.
Great. Another hip cafe adorned with reclaimed wood and a vertical garden. How novel.
@Haz Been – I think it’s a little short-sighted and unfair to categorize any new or upgraded storefront as being run by “opportunists without imagination and concern for the community”. I have been happy to see new business owners come in and spruce up spaces to offer a fresh shopping experience like Seedstore and Foggy Notion, both of which are owned by very concerned business owners that care a lot about the community. I’m proud that we live in a neighborhood where new small businesses can make their start, and if they want to put their best foot forward with their space, that is their choice. And yours to not shop there if you don’t like their look.
Sarah B.
Guys, if you don’t want to go to the new places in our neighborhood, you don’t have to! Stick to the classics if they are what you prefer. Clement is a vibrant and busy neighborhood and I doubt we’ll lose the aspects of the street that make it so unique.
I used to go to Java House but the smoking on the patio was such a turn off I stopped going. It’s nice to see new places in the neighborhood. I miss Haig’s like nobody’s business but I’d rather see the space occupied than vacant.
It’s always nice to see new places open up in the neighborhood and bring new ideas and experiences.
I happened to go by that new Clement Nursery location the other day. From the street it looks much more upscale then Three Bees Nursery did. Three Bees was kind of garish with all that bright yellow paint. However, maybe that bright paint at Three Bees made them more noticeable. Almost fall seems like a bad time to get a new nursery off the ground, Indian Summer doesn’t inspire people for very long. Here’s hoping for the success of Clement Nursery, welcome to the neighborhood!
Since this has become a place of complainers I’ll throw in my two bits. I used to really like the Blue Danube but, man, that place needs a good scrubbing and airing. Seriously.
I am totally dating myself as I was in my teens when Lazy Susan and Woolworth were on Clement Street. I miss the old Clement street; I hope these new small specialty stores will bring some flavor back.
Re: Clement Nursery opening. Fall is THE TIME to plant in San Francisco. The long hot (OK, foggy) days of summer are done, the summer plants look ratty and can be reconsidered, and the rains of wiinter will help new plants establish themselves so that when spring comes they can flourish! Thanks for the info on the nursery.
Out on Balboa near 36th what once was Papatoni’s and then Crumbville (sandwich shops), is doing some interior work and has a sign outside with the new name Fog Baby Cafe.
…oh and the tidy shoppe is coming to or has opened on 5th & Geary
http://tidyshoppe.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Thetidyshoppe
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-tidy-shoppe-san-francisco-2
Haz Been,
You wrote: “And Java house was only scary to white people who are afraid of anyone/thing that doesn’t fit into their own cultural values.”
Wow. I suppose if someone substituted “white” with another descriptive that happens to be what you are, you would be up in arms about the presumptuous, gross generalization. Please don’t pidgeon hole people. Your hate is showing.
Clement Nursery was the name of the business Three Bees took over. It now has the original name back. Sloat Garden Center only appeared after Larraburu Bread went belly up in the 1960s.
well Said Sarah B (post #7).
anyone know whats going in at the Roadside BBQ spot? that location seems cursed.
Anything that helps clean up the filth on Clement Street and helps improve the general appearance gets my support
I was born and grew up in the Richmond, but have lived in the Western Addition (I will NEVER call it NOPA) for most of my adult life. The recent influx of these “fresh” businesses on Divisadero has completely ruined the character and fabric of the community, not to mention pushed out long-time residents whom happen to be predominantly black (now less than 6% of SF population and continuing to dwindle). I left the neighborhood to return to my wonderful, foggy native soil (94121) and am concerned to see the same influx of “new money” starting to change the diversity of the community from a business as well as community stand-point.
For those who consider this stance “hate,” may I remind you that I am expressing my LOVE of Clement street as it WAS and as it currently IS! It’s those, like George above that use the word “filth” to describe Chinese, Vietnamese and Russian culture and values that you should call out, not those like myself that welcome and embrace the diversity this neighborhood has long been known for. I like this “filth.” I call lit character and it’s being stripped from teh city at a staggering pace.
I am sure I will cross paths with many of you in the coming years as I plan to organize with residents and long-time businesses that may not be vocal in community meeting, either due to language or cultural barriers to combat what I see as the bleaching of San Francisco neighborhoods. Take for example the farmers market, which is essentially a big middle-finger to the long-time produce markets that have been a part of the community for decades. This red carpet treatment that is suddenly being rolled out to “new” or as George might call them, “clean” businesses is not only unfair, it’s a battle-cry against the predominantly minority-owned and supported businesses that have invested in the community for as long as I have been alive.
I have nothing against Seed Store or Foggy Notion, provided 10 copy-cats don’t jump at the chance to drive-up rents, force out existing businesses and compromise the character of the neighborhood like so much of this now homogeneous city. Seriously, put yourself in the shoes of someone else, perhaps outside you own cultural pallet and try to see what changing neighborhoods feels like. Clement has a great diversity now, unlike anywhere else in SF. I am advocating supporting and maintaining that diversity, lest we allow one of the last remaining neighborhoods of true diversity become the next Noe Valley, Marina, Hayes Valley, etc.
XOXO
Sorry, dude. It IS filthy there. Why I don’t know. But clean is better.
Theres a difference between old and filthy. Things get old. Some become stained. Been to java house many times. Its not filthy.
Its like everything is becoming a “brunch” neighborhood. …
Yes, there is a difference between old and filthy. Sweeping trash and garbage, including but not limited to rotting bits of vegetables, out of your shop into the street, as I’ve seen many many shopkeepers (of all ethnicities) do in the Inner Richmond, is filthy. I asked one shopkeeper once why they did that and they said it was easier for them because the city would then clean it up adn they didn’t have to deal with it. Til the city did the street clean, of course, the sweepings rotted in the gutter and smelled something fierce.
If a business succeeds it’s because it’s meeting a demand for that service in that location. I don’t see what’s wrong with that. Anyone who doesn’t like the business, or doesn’t need or want what it’s selling, is not required to shop there.
That new Clement Nursery deserves a mention for all the work they did. I happen to walk by there most days so I have seen MONTHS of teardown and rebuilding of the formerly garish yellow Three Bees(reminded me of my cordless DeWalt drill and they drenched the bldg and fences with that too bright yellow paint – visible yes, but inviting, no). One day, they had torn the siding off the outside and were insulating the walls and taking other parts down to the studs. I was impressed how they basically rebuilt the entire structure. I called out to the worker up on his ladder that I wished ’em luck and the guy happened to be one of the new owners – couldn’t have been a warmer guy! Note his vintage 1960s VW Microbus with the little windows and fold open windshield – lots of style that man has and I really do wish them luck.
Diversity, ethnicity, individuality, character, etc. are all good. Litter, graffiti, dumping, filth, etc. not good. They do not have to go hand in hand. Let’s foster the former and work to reduce the latter.
Please, if you see litter, graffiti or dumping, call 311 asap and tell them where it is. Our Recology rates have just been bumped up…bad… in exhange for which Recology now has the contract to pick up dumping w/in four hours, not three days…good.
Here’s to an interesting, diverse neighborhood that’s a pleasure to look at and walk through.
Free market should determine what businesses will be in the Richmond. Not the Board of Supervisors or any special interests groups.
If you want a store to fail, don’t give them your money. That’s the American way!
Somehow I don’t think we have to worry about the Richmond district getting overly gentrified. Right now it seems to me that increasing the mix of cafes like Barley and shops like Seed Store and Foggy Notion *a little bit* would actually increase the diversity of Clement. Let’s deal with OVER gentrification if we ever reach that problem.
Also – why pooh-pooh a business before going there, trying it out, talking to the owners, etc?
To the commenter above who referenced Balboa and the empty storefronts …. YES! Please please please someone turn those empty store fronts into reasonable businesses I can frequent. Is it too much to ask for a good whiskey bar, cafe, taqueria, high quality market and 1-2 other spots ? We down here near Fulton really are hoping that turns into the next Divisadero. Yes, I said it. Please !
The one sterling example of gentrification we have in the Outer Balboa shopping district is Cassava.
I absolutely loved the coffee of Bob, the prior occupant of the space. But the quality was irregular, he would often close in midday without notice, and he had this strange desire to tell every other customer that it was the Chinese, not the Japanese, that were responsible for the war in the Pacific (and he was Chinese!). Eventually he wound up with a half dozen customers.
Cassava’s Kris and Yuka are lovely people, and they make an effort to make everyone in the neighborhood feel welcome. But somehow I never 100% do — it always feels like a place for the young(er) and hip(per). I’ve had some terrific food from there, but I’ve also had some lousy coffee and overpriced gourmet dishes. (I”m thinking specifically of a soup that, ounce for ounce, was about six times as expensive as a comparable Fresh & Easy brand…and not notably better.)
But overall, hip or unhip, I think it’s far better that they are in the neighborhood and bringing life to Balboa Street than if Bob still had the place.
As a resident of the Outer Richmond (and SF) for 6 years, and having lived in 3 other major US cities, I would like to add my 2 cents for what it’s worth.
While the city (like everything else) changes and these changes may make some nostalgic (which I can totally understand), I think the argument could use some perspective. This is one of the only cities in America that has hardly any chain stores and fiercely guards the mom-and-pop mentality and, with a few exceptions, does so to this day. That is seriously unique and we should remember and be incredibly proud of that. If every other store were a corporate chain, there would be something to really complain about.
As for the farmer’s market pushing people out of business, it is just not true – unless you know something we don’t. If the local produce markets actually sold local produce, then we might have a competition issue. And there are not only yuppie whites who shop there. It was sorely needed.
The Richmond District is not “divis.” whatever that represents. sorry.
I kinda understand the desire for “friendlier” and “cleaner” places, but for some, an odd “slightly scary” shop may be the only place in the city that makes them feel comfortable.
When I first went to the Geary Russian Bakery, 7 years ago, I felt slighted by rude service. Stormed out. Whined. But it’s just as much a part of the Richmond as the businesses I felt comfortable in. And getting over it, has treats you can only find there.
Just because it didn’t conform to my expectations, that was my problem. Saying there are “friendlier” businesses that could be in a location is kind of loaded.
@brian, “The Richmond District is not “divis.” whatever that represents. sorry.” I don’t mean to imply that it needs to be a Divisadero. But that’s a lot of empty store fronts on Balboa and at least speaking for myself, I would really appreciate some better local commerce options in that area.