Heart Wine Bar Opens…Arizmendi to Follow

I’ll admit I was a little skeptical when it first arrived in the mail.  Being a neighbor living within 500 feet of the new proposal, I received a letter from owner Jeff Segal about his ambitious plans to open a wine bar just around the corner, right next door to my landlord’s laundry place (damn–I knew there was  a reason why there’s no washer or dryer in my building!).

It was full of well-intentioned statements like (paraphrasing) “I live in the Mission, and I saw a really big need in the community for a place that brought wine and food to a place that makes it accessible,” and “I’ve been waiting my whole life to start a wine bar and restaurant like this.”  My roommates and I each rolled our collective eyes and thought “here we go again . . .“  Who needs another douche-and-yuppie magnet on Valencia Street?

Well, it’s finally here.  Furthermore, I think I might actually go check it out.  Perhaps Rosumunde and Pi Bar have softened me up to the idea of the casual eat-and-drink spot, but I find myself kind of rooting for this place a little bit.  The collaberation with Kitchenette might explain some of that, since so far every time I’ve biked out to the Dogpatch to try them out for lunch I’ve been greeted by an hour-long line.  Now maybe I’ll finally get to taste one of their beef & pork polpette sandwiches with amatriciana sauce (tomato, fatted calf bacon, chile flakes) and parmesan cheese or their sautéed chinese broccoli leaf and roasted butternut squash side salads with sultana raisins, slivered almond, chili oil.  They really know how to title entrees.

And it doesn’t look that bad in there!  I don’t know.  Am I misguided?  Do we really need a place like this on Valencia?  I do know one thing however:  the fact that co-op Arizmendi Bakery (whose mission is basically to bake delicious bread while training its staff how to own and operate their own bakery) is also opening a location right next door is a damn good thing for Valencia.

UPDATE:  MissionMission reader Mike Z. saw it go down:

i got a burrito at papalote yesterday and the crew that were putting up the sign on that place were punk/metalheads.  they had just finished and were drinking beers out of bags.  outside the wine bar.

[exterior photo from SFoodie]

[interior photo from Judy Parker]

15 Responses to “Heart Wine Bar Opens…Arizmendi to Follow”

  1. ug says:

    So, for those of you who prefer an address with a review… It is somewhere near 1270 Valencia St.(the future location of Arizmendi) or the intersection at 24th.

    • Andrew Sarkarati says:

      but this isn’t a review! i haven’t even been there yet! soon though, and then you’ll get your review!

  2. [...] wine, and you really like Kitchenette. Either way, Mission Mission’s Andrew Sarkarati posts some thoughts as a [...]

  3. [...] el vino y le encanta Kitchenette. De cualquier manera, Andrew Sarkarati de Mission Mission publicó estos pensamientos como [...]

  4. ChunkyDoRight says:

    Argh. McClindon’s Auto Repair, the best family-run auto repair in the Mission, became a wine bar. Truly lame.

    • friscolex says:

      The MacAlindon’s guys were super awesome, true. I got FIVE carburetors put in on my 1977 Chevy Impala in a six-month period in senior year of high school. My only experience with car ownership certainly was an interesting one.

      I’m with you on tipping my 40 to the memory of lost businesses, but that shop has been closed for a minute; it’s not like Heart kicked them out or anything. Also, I had to get over the gentrifying Mission (what, things are different then when I was a kid? NOOO!!!) years ago. Plus, I’ve now transferred my crush from the young guy over there to the boys at Drewes Meats on Church and Day. So far, pork shoulder has proved to be a more affordable habit than car parts.

  5. Cranky Old Mission Guy says:

    Huh? Wha? The Mission Police Station is a wine bar now?

  6. marco says:

    I saw this place when they were putting it together — the crew looked very cool and the place really looks great! I don’t quite understand what the problem is with a new business moving into the mission — you know, what with all the empty storefronts? Why all the negativity?

  7. SFDoggy says:

    I dropped in today; the people were very friendly but they aren’t serving lunch for another week, so I don’t have anything else to report.

  8. chris says:

    I look forward to checking it out. Seems like the owner has a great attitude, and honestly, the mission needs more wine. Sometimes I’d rather drink wine than beer, and some of THOSE times I’d rather do it near home than in soma.

  9. spiro says:

    You’re not misguided. You’re just growing up!

  10. maria says:

    My boyfriend says “Ya Basta!” everytime a new foodie place opens up near us, but i say if it’s food, it is my friend!