[pic by Hélène Goupil]
Mission Local has a write up about last night’s meeting with Supervisor David Campos, local business owners and residents. The owner of La Victoria Bakery wants to turn it into “a Latino-themed lounge and a coffee bar,” and Elixir’s owner wants to expand the 150+ year old bar into a space next door.
There are a whole lot of places to go to in the Mission if you’re looking to get drunk. Would a few more really make more people drink more alcohol? Maybe they would, and for many people from other neighborhoods an evening in the Mission means they’ll be staggering home by the end of the night.
Why is it so crucial to so many businesses that they be able to sell alcohol? Besides the markup, wouldn’t it be nice to think that there could be a thriving restaurant, bakery or foods store that just didn’t happen to have any alcohol? Dosa claimed that they needed to have hard liquor to stay in business on Valencia, and the city agreed. In the case of the corner stores, it really just seems like booze is what drives people in and makes sure they spend a lot more than if they just wandered out with a pack of gum. Considering the high rents in the neighborhood it makes sense that you can’t run a business on gum sales.
Are these businesses offering good enough times without alcohol? Or maybe the question is do they offer something that is greatly enhanced with it, and missing something without it? Would you go bowling if there was no liquor or even beer? Oh, and by the way, have you ever seen a movie . . . on booze?! You would probably go eat a dinner without alcohol, but probably spend at least a third less.
The business owners may have a good point, but in the end I think the biggest issue is that nothing loosens a grip on the wallet like liquor. People will pay more for anything when it’s part of the package, and they’ll do it with much less hesitation. Just throw on some fancy words like “muddled” and “artisan” and you’re in business.
For the record up into the mid ninties when Elixer was still going by the name Jack’s Elixer they were only claiming being open since 1933. Funny how a name change can go back in time and open your bar 70 years earlier.
For the record if the year 1933 sounds familiar it’s the year that prohibition ended and no bar in San Francisco can claim an earlier opening date.
When I talked to a bartender about that a few years ago I was told that they went low profile and sold soda out of the bar and booze from below or behind somewhere until prohibition was lifted and they became a proper bar again.
Also for the record, there is only one ‘e’ in the word “elixir.”
Whoops! Thanks for catching that.
The people want to drink. Let them drink. Why do we need to have a committee on this?
God forbid anyone wants to open or expand a business in this neighborhood. Let’s all join together to make that as difficult as possible! With your help and solidarity, we can preserve the historic blighted empty storefronts of the Mission for our children and grandchildren to treasure forever.
Liquor licensing is one of the ways those in power control who can open a successful business in any given city. Liquor licenses are crucial to run a successful full-service restaurant because they are usually the highest margin items on a menu (they provide the profit that lets the restaurant survive). Why should one business owner get that advantage over another because they have more friends at city hall? Or got there first? Or paid exorbitant fees to take over someone’s license? This is SF, not a dry county in North Carolina. There shouldn’t be heavy restrictions on liquor licenses and anyone who passes the state’s background check requirements should be able to get a license in SF. One more bar or restaurant with alcohol isn’t going to change the place.
We need more obnoxious drunk white people running around in the neighborhood.
What does the race of the drunk people have to do with anything?
Everything to me.
Shouldn’t that be “drunk rich people” – ’cause from what I can tell race isn’t the issue. 16th street is a veritable “rainbow of debauchery” these days.
You got what I ment. More Marina idiots lurking around longer.
Scum +1 and the key word is actually obnoxious.
Is it ok if they’re Irish? You know, the old Mission inhabitants.
But we’re totally at quota of obnoxious people of every race who think they should get to vote on who their neighbors are and what they do in their spare time.
I’m so glad that MM got in a post that generated possible “white people”, “gentrification” and “hipster” comments. Where would we be without it?
The WTCU still exists if you want to get them involved. And yes, I’m being sarcastic.
Apparently there’s a MCTU as well.
As someone who used to drink plenty I can tell you that (1) anyone who wants a drink is not going to NOT have one just because they have to go down the street to get it, so a ban accomplishes nothing and (2) plenty of people — myself included — enjoy a tasty meal, bowling, a game of pool, etc. etc. at places that serve liquor WITHOUT DRINKING IT. Just because it’s available doesn’t mean they’re pouring it down your fucking throat. If we get a more vibrant business community that’s partly funded by heavy markups on cocktails paid by willing volunteers, how is that hurting anyone?
The post on Urban Almanac about this is 10x better
http://uptownalmanac.com/2012/06/why-we-have-15-burgers-missions-liquor-license-ban
Good call
Someone should actually start a blog called Urban Almanac. That’s a good name!
impose higher tariff on these bottles and see how many more are willing to shell out.
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