Mission Mission

Capp Street Crap reports:

Owner Leef Smith said he decided to look for a new space after their 20th Street landlord wouldn’t agree to anything more than a new short-term lease renegotiated every couple of years.

As a small business owner in a pricey real estate market, the lack of long-term security was scary, and Smith thought he “could do better than that.”

“It definitely felt like I had to be proactive and not rely on the whims of a landlord,” he said.

Mission: Comics & Art’s new store will be at 2250 Mission between 18th and 19th streets, in what used to be Vimy Electronics. After nearly 40 years in business, the couple that owned the electronics store wanted to retire, Smith said. A contractor is now working to modernize the 1970s era space.

Read on.

[Photo by Wordfury]

Why does Airbnb need a campaign headquarters you ask? Why, because they’re running for President of the New World Order, of course!

Capp Street Crap was on the scene:

The battle against a Nov. 3 ballot initiative to put the reins on vacation rentals will be led from the corner of 20th and Mission streets.

This afternoon, supporters of Airbnb-sponsored San Francisco for Everyone were busy cleaning windows on the former T-Mobile space at 2401 Mission St. Desks had already been set up inside, although a woman working outside told me their campaign office won’t officially open there until August 15.

Read on for lots more on the space and the campaign itself.

UPDATE: OOPS!

Admitting mistake, Airbnb scraps plan to open campaign office at 20th and Mission – http://t.co/JFsAmewy9W via @Shareaholic

— Capp Street Crap (@cappstreetcrap) August 5, 2015

Capp Street Crap reports:

Over the weekend, The Dark Room announced via its Facebook page that it will cease operations at the end of August. A follow-up comment posted this morning says that closing was a business decision and not because they lost the space. Home to standup comedy and Bad Movie Night screenings, The Dark Room’s announcement comes less than two weeks after another Mission Street venue, nearby gallery and all-ages music space Sub-Mission, shut down.

Read on for the full text of the announcement.

[Photo by Google Maps]

Capp Street Crap reports:

Well, this is fishier than expected. Despite plans to reopen it as a French bistro called Bistro Le Bon Vivre by summer, Dante’s Weird Fish looks to have been renamed “Urban Fish.”

Recently, a new wooden sign went up. The Urban Fish menu posted outside looks to be full of vegan and pescatarian items, including some old Weird Fish dishes and new offerings like fish sandwiches and mussels and fries.

Read on for more info and pics.

Ever since Pop’s reopened with an entertainment license last year, I for one have been spending a lot more of my nightlife hours on the eastern end of 24th Street enjoying mellow happy-hour DJ sets, full-on dance parties and even live bands.

Now, nearby cafe Sugarlump is getting in on the fun. Capp Street Crap reports:

The 24th Street cafe is reinventing itself — in the evenings, at least. Starting last week, Sugarlump began having nightly beer and wine happy hour nightly from 7 to 8 p.m.

Co-owner and friend of Capp Street Crap Martin Rapalski said he has also lined up the first of what will grow to a week long roster of DJs spinning from the start of happy hour until 10 p.m.

Think fewer lattes and laptops, more lounge.

“We’re hoping it’ll take off as an alternative to the bar scene,” he said.

In addition, Sugarlump is revamping its beer and wine lists – the craft beer selection will all be in cans and priced low – as well as turning the lights down in the evenings and adding votives, Rapalski said. Bad news for the Internet addicted; in the interest of face-to-face conversation, Wi-Fi will be shut off at 7 p.m.

They’re looking for more DJs if you’re interested, as well as new food popups to replace the departed Sous Beurre Kitchen. Read on.

[Photo by Google Maps]

Spoiler alert: they’re parting ways. We assume Shawn is moving on to bigger and better things, and by way of announcing the news, he shared on Facebook the inspiring story of his history with the bar. (And he explains that there’s nothing to worry about — Amnesia will be in good hands.) It’s a great read:

Dear Lovelies, I am writing with some news: I am leaving Amnesia. Obviously, this has not been an easy decision for me to make, and has been lingering in my mind for the past few years. It feels like breaking up with someone I’m still in love with. It’s not you, it’s me, honest. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love this community, and it pains me to mess with something that is so loved, especially when things are changing so drastically all around us. But don’t fret! AMNESIA IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE. It is being passed into capable hands, people who I believe will try their best to keep the integrity of this place and enhance it in ways that I never could. They are real people who work hard and care about what they do. They may not run around the stage in a diaper as much as I do, but, honestly, that’s no way to run a fucking business, now is it? The bar will be passed to Beth and Craig Wathen, who currently own the great SOMA hang, City Beer Store. They are solid, community-oriented people who I have had the pleasure to work with over the past 4 years. They are coming in with two partners, good friends who were some of their original customers at City Beer. Let me be very clear: I hand-picked Craig and his crew to take over because he knows Amnesia and values its place in the community. Everyone should congratulate them. It is a big deal for them and they deserve absolute kindness and respect. Truthfully, I never thought I’d do any one thing for 15 years, but Amnesia has been an unexpected and amazing surprise. Some of you who are reading this may have never met me, and others don’t know how this place came to be. So, here is a short tale about that: I came to San Francisco 15 years ago on a plane from Connecticut. I had come on a 3-day vacation to visit some friends from high school who were living in the Mission. I was 23 years old, stranded and broke, and living with my parents. I was depressed and directionless. I didn’t like San Francisco. It was too dirty, with too many homeless people, and a cold, hard rain poured from the sky every day of my trip. Despite all that, it was better than where I had come from, and I never took that return flight back to the east coast. Instead, I hung up a hammock in the kitchen of my friend’s 1-bedroom apartment at 21st and San Carlos, and got a job at Dolores Park Café, where I was worked to the bone for $10/hr. (It is very clean at Dolores Park Café). Another high school friend was bartending at a new beer and wine bar on Valencia St. called Amnesia. She told me she could give me a Sunday shift over there and I showed up that next Sunday and just started working, having never met my actual boss. The owner was a laid-back Belgian guy named Jean-Paul. He was a restaurateur, had two little girls, and a lovely, intense wife. He was pretty hands-off at the bar and let his employees run the place. I had never bartended before, hardly drank at all, and couldn’t pour a beer. But, I learned to do all those things. And, surprisingly to me, I loved coming to work for the first time in my life. I loved my regular customers (who are all still friends today). I loved making connections in my new community, helping people find work, or roommates, or just putting interesting people together. So, when the friend who hired me decided to get a day job, I quit Dolores Park Café, worked the bar every night I could, and couldn’t get enough. About 6-months or so into working at Amnesia, Jean-Paul announced that he was going to sell and move his family off to Europe. As soon as he told me, wheels started turning in my head. I made a phone call to my dad, and then my aunt, and a few other family friends. I basically pleaded with them to take a chance on me. Some did, some didn’t, but with a good amount of persuading, I got some promises. Jean-Paul wasn’t about to cut me any deals, though. He got the best offer he could and said that if I could match it, the place was mine, and he gave me 10 days to do it. Now, asking people for money and getting them to put it into your bank account are two different things. So, I had longer phone conversations with all my would-be investors. I sent them photos and sales predictions, development plans, and a whole bunch of other stuff I didn’t know anything about. After all that, I lost a couple investors, but managed to convince 5 brave and trusting people to put their money into my bank account. Personally, I invested all I had: $300. I had to have a lawyer write up loan documents for everyone, signed my financial life away, and told Jean Paul I was in. In the end, I was $15,000 short, and Jean Paul took pity on me and loaned me the money himself, with a clause that if I missed a payment by more than 10 days, the bar would be returned to him. I did not tell this to any of my other investors. The first couple of years were stressful, terrifying and glorious. I had to fire some people, which is still the worst thing I ever have to do. I worked too much. I even passed out from exhaustion during a shift at the bar, had to kick everyone out and close early. I didn’t sleep. Chicken John stopped me on the street and told me I was going to fail because I wasn’t an asshole, and I was worried he was right. I lived off tips and managed things from my hammock in the kitchen. I sent my checks in dutifully every week and kept my fingers crossed. I managed to get an entertainment permit and legitimately start booking bands. I met the wonderful human being, Sol Crawford, and was smart enough to give him full reign whenever he asked. Sol could take an ordinary night of music and with a well-placed shout, the pop of a cork, and a nice tie, make it extraordinary. There was a lot of bar-top dancing in those days. Mostly, I just made it my job to make sure everyone always had the best time possible when they came through Amnesia’s door. I’ve always felt proud of everything that has happened over here, and am still proud. I tell this story not to self-aggrandize, because in the end, it’s just a little bar and I am a speck on a speck of sand in this universe. I just wanted to remember a little bit and, speck or not, this bar has been the best thing that ever happened to me. I feel more at home at Amnesia than where I sleep. I know every loose board and leaky pipe. I have scrubbed piss and vomit from the floors and came up smiling. It was my clubhouse, and everyone with a good heart and open mind was invited. And it doesn’t have to end. Amnesia is really about you: The people who love and support it. It is about musicians, poets, comedians, actors and imbeciles, and the fans that support them all. I was only ever a small part in what this place has become. During the last few months of my reign as king toilet-scrubber, I plan to put on some special shows. I will post about these shows under the heading: “NOTHING’S HAPPENING.” Some performers are veterans of the Amnesia stage who have grown too big to play on a regular basis, and some are personal favorites. So, if you see me post something about a secret guest, or a special show, you better do yourself a favor and get your ass down to the bar. I’d like to go out with a bang, and you could help me in that goal by supporting this music, respecting the performers, screaming appropriately, and dancing your pants off.

Happy trails, Shawn!

[via Capp Street Crap] [Photo by Google Maps]

Capp Street Crap, the best news source in San Francisco, has the scoop:

More sad news for the Mission. After 8 years at the corner of 15th and Folsom streets, gay bar Truck will soon close. One of the owners Matt announced the news this afternoon on his Instagram account.

[...]

According to public records, Truck’s liquor license is being transferred to a business called The Wooden Nickel. [link]

[Photo by Google Maps]

Luna Park has shuttered and it will soon be something new from the Mission Beach Cafe folks.

The former Specchio recently reopened as the Buffalo Club but then received a cease-and-desist order from something else with Buffalo in the name, so it is reopening as Cease & Desist.

[via Capp Street Crap]

It’s the best radio station in SF, BFF.fm, housed inside the trippiest space in the Mission, The Secret Alley, and they’re both opening their doors to the public for one night only! Here’s the deal:

Be there as we launch our Kickstarter campaign for our second studio LIVE on the air! We’ll be screening the video, eating snacks, and answering any questions you might have about what we’re up to.

If you’ve never visited The Secret Alley, here’s a great opportunity to check out this magical space, while getting a sneak peek of our progress building Studio B!

We’re hoping to raise at least $15k to take our awesome community radio station to the next level, so we hope that even if you’re unable to make it, you keep an eye out for our project and tell a friend!

(BFF.fm is located at 180 Capp St. near 17th and Capp)

UPDATE: Tweet at @BFFdotFM if you wanna join!

[via Capp Street Crap]