Hot Sauce and Panko at 1545 Clement
We got the sad news yesterday that Hot Sauce and Panko, a quirky but popular hot wings spot at 1545 Clement near 16th Avenue will be leaving the neighborhood.
The typical reason for small businesses closing these days is escalating rent, but that is not the cause this time. Instead, the building in which Hot Sauce and Panko is located is set to be demolished.
The “tiny outpost for Korean-American comfort food, waffle sandwiches” and shelf after shelf of hot sauces posted a letter from the city on their Instagram yesterday, notifying them of the planned demolition.
The building, which houses 1545 and 1547 Clement (occupied by a hair salon), is currently one story. After demolition, there are plans to build a 2 story residential building at an estimated cost of $748,000.
We called Hot Sauce and Panko today and they informed us they will be moving to a new location at Hyde and Jackson in the next couple of months (perhaps into the old U-Lee spot?). They think they will remain open on Clement through part or most of January. Keep an eye on their website for updates on their move.
We know a lot of you #chickengangsters are big fans of this tiny shop’s spicy fare, so be sure to stop in and get your last bites, and say your goodbyes.
Thanks to Matt M. for the tip.
Sarah B.
That’s too bad. Hopefully something else unique and with character comes into that spot.
@Kayvaan – It will just be a residential building once it’s all said and done (e.g. no commercial).
There will be two units but it’s required to have commercial space, according to the zoning for the lot.
This is so sad. I hope they can expand in their new operation and maybe offer deliveries through caviar/eat24 that would be amazing
Does that price point indicate quality construction or a 21st century Richmond Special? Anyone know?!
This blows.
Another case of City Planners with their heads in the butts. This is a vibrant, but small, retail strip and has been since I moved here in the 1980’s. Given that it will be residential and the small frontage, the off street parking requirement will necessitate a driveway. There will be little or nothing left after the door going up and the garage door for any commercial street space. It will impact the “critical mass” as it were of this little commercial strip. No thought as to “flow and feel” which is critical to little commercial strips like this one. So lets just approve a demo permit and stick in something that will cleave this little strip.
Does nobody in the Planning Department Actually think? Robots without any thinking.
JD – Note this is an application for a permit. The permit to demolish has not been approved, nor has the Planning Department been involved. There will be plenty of time to appeal at the Planning Department level and again at the Supes if you are unhappy with the initial outcome.
Don’t expect either body to have the same opinion as yours as has been my experience. Also keep in mind that the City Family has identified the “westside” as undeveloped and that there is a huge unfunded liability for City pensions and employee/retiree healthcare.
The owner’s name is tight.
Sad to hear
Can they move into the old space where Kam’s used to be and share the space next door with Purple Kow?
4thGeneration –
I’m sorry, could you explain this (extrapolate) more? I admit to being ignorant on this sort of thing and didn’t quite understand your sentence.
” Also keep in mind that the City Family has identified the “westside” as undeveloped and that there is a huge unfunded liability for City pensions and employee/retiree healthcare.”
If you scroll a bit down into the blog you will see an entry about a recent community meeting regarding changing zoning laws and increasing height limits of residential buildings, especially on the west side of SF.
Data on the Billions in unfunded liabilities for SF City & County workers and retirees is widely available and has been known for many years.
At present, the single highest revenue input for SF is Residential Property Tax. Increasing population through new (and highly inflated) real estate in the form of multi-family dwellings grows this revenue faster than any other source. Every sale of a single family home when the elderly occupants pass away that is not converted to multi-family increases the tax revenue by a factor of about 10X while a conversion to multi-family can increase the tax revenue 20X to 200X.
The real question is why has the City’s annual budget more than doubled in less than a decade? The figures used for “inflation” and rent control’s allowed increases, which are lower than property tax increases before any added assessment for “improvements” (actually maintenance) don’t reflect this; my wallet certainly does.
This building, although I have not bothered to dig into the city’s property tax databases, probably had an assessed value of around 40K in the 1980s and , depending on when purchased by the present owner, might be still under 100K. If in the last decade, it might be valued at 300K just for the land underneath. Six units selling as condos at $1 million brings the assessed value to $6 million. A jump from $2,000 to $120,000 in annual base property tax revenue for one single lot is quite the windfall.
Is Muni better? Are our parks properly maintained? Is our Police Station still understaffed? Will the west side have ambulance response times that meet state requirements, especially since almost all hospitals with emergency departments have moved east (farther away)? Where does the $9 Billion go every year?
The biggest expense on SF’s budget is wages, retiree and employee health plans, and pensions. Some of this is hidden in non-profits that are entirely funded through the budget and Mayor’s budget with no accountability for effectiveness.
If they are going to change this highly popular food spot to residential, why even bother wasting the time, money, and materials, on a measly two story? SF desperately needs higher density housing to accommodate all who want to live here, especially those who want to be closer to work instead of commuting from outside the city.
Kris, as far as I’m concerned, part of the problem is thinking that somehow San Francisco should “accommodate all who want to live here.” Where did you get this idea? It’s not our mandate. You have only to look at parts of L.A., Manhattan, Chicago, or any other big city to see where that leads. It’s not our mandate to provide a place to live for everyone who wants to live here–quality of life be damned.
Renee – Thank you from a lifelong Richmond District resident.