The devolution of Castro businesses back into the 70's continues. I actually stumbled away from my sickbed on Friday long enough to run some errands, and found myself right in the middle of the outdoor filming that was going on that day. From about midway between 18th and 19th all the way up to 19th, both sides of Castro Street were lined with retro cars, and extras in period garb were out in clusters on the sidewalks. There may have been actual heaven-sent stars present too, but I was too Nyquil-addled to tell.
At right are two crappy photos I was able to snap before security told me to put away my camera. The SFist blog has a similar picture without all the extras, so they probably took it during a break in filming.
A friend of mine who is a car-enthusiast surmised that some of these vehicles were from the local Freewheelers auto club. Does anyone know if this is true? I have my doubts since many of the antique cars were a little banged up and didn't look like anyone's babies. I loved the cranberry-colored VW bug that putted by at regular intervals, and I also loved seeing the old black and yellow California license plates from my youth.
Here's how some other businesses have transformed since my last update:
- Swirl has completely transformed inside and out, and it joins Given as being the only two stores which seem to be dislocated by the filming. The Gaycities.com blog has an interior shot which gives a better idea of the extent of the transformation. Here's an exterior shot of the finished storefront, along with a shot of the inside shelves taken through the front window. Like those prices?
The photo below is a sign which sits in the Swirl window. Apparently one significant story from Harvey Milk's life was that the Eureka Valley Merchants Association refused to cooperate with gay-owned businesses, so Milk started the rival Castro Village Association which eventually spawned the Castro Street Fair. The sign says "Eureka Valley Merchants Society" instead of "Association," so I wonder if the name was changed for legal reasons.
- Clobba's sign is now up, and the store has been renamed "The Valet" with windows full of too-hip clothing.
A helpful reader (who might be enticed to post to share her historical knowledge--please?) pointed out that this was not actually a clothing store in this spot, but rather a hair salon. I guess it wasn't in the budget for a total makeover on this store.
- Here is a slightly closer picture of the retro-looking mimeographed fliers that they have stapled over the former First American Title Company.
- Best in Show has now branched out to "shoe repairing."
- Further up the street between 18th and Market, the Toad Hall is now complete.
- But next door, the Citibank facade is undergoing a much more extensive makeover. There is a faint suggestion of a Victorian-ish overlay being built, but I can't say for sure. This will be interesting to watch develop.
- Hot Cookie is now Double Rainbow Ice Cream, and the other shops along here are getting ready for some changes. The bus shelter was removed from the sidewalk.
- Louie's removed its spiffy neon rings, and Marcello's has taken down its awning to reveal that retro-looking sign. (Yes, that was always there. It wasn't created for the filming.)
- US Bank is now Eureka Federal Savings.
- Castro Nail Salon is now taking in laundry.
- The big rainbow flag is down at Castro and Market, and all of the smaller rainbow banners are off the light poles. The MUMC president, Steve Adams, told the B.A.R. that new flags and banners will go up after the filming.
- The Castro Theatre sign is near completion, and they are lighting up the neon at night.
- Random oddity: They brought in new trash cans as set dressing. I've heard that they also disguised the parking meters to make them look era-appropriate, but I didn't see that firsthand.
- Finally, the production has taken over the old Tower space. The lower floor looks like it is being readied as the holding pen and feeding trough for the large crowds of extras that they are collecting for the march scenes.
The upper floor seems to be filled with a thrift-store of clothing racks and shoe bins, so this seems to be their costuming area.
- Film crew descends on Castro, and
- Harvey County, USA, an interview with two of the producers.
I promised the follow-up to my "Ch-ch-ch-changes" post a couple days ago, but I've actually been down with a Moulin-Rouge-level consumptive episode. Otherwise known as a "Man cold." But I'm back upright for the time being, so here are some more changing storefronts in the Castro right now:
- The North Beach Chinese Restaurant Brandy Ho's has finally uncovered its Castro storefront and is getting ready for its long-delayed opening.
Back when I talked with one of the owners, Jimmy Lam, for the B.A.R. piece, the opening was forecast for September but when I ran into him the other day he said that the new opening is set for early February. Considering that the reno was budgeted at about a million dollars (and having recently gone through a monster reno myself) it is understandable that there would be delays. Here's a photo that I took of Lam and the interior while it was still in process:The interior concept was supposed to be reminiscent on the inside of a wine barrel, with the wood structures behind Lam fitting into the corner of the ceiling, to give a gradual coving from the wall onto the ceiling. Peeking into the store now it seems that they have mostly stuck with that idea, and the interior looks sleek and Valentine's Day date-friendly.
- Scents-and-soaps dealer Bare Necessities on Castro has become another hair salon, Lisa's Hair Design. This picture was taken before work started on Milk-ifying the storefront, and now the awning is completely gone. I wonder if this will give them the opportunity and the capital to fix the name on the awning, or if they'll just leave it down.
The Lisa in the store's title is the same stylist who used to work around the corner at Nice Cuts. Bao Tonthat, who opened the chic Salon Baobao next to Mecca, also previously worked his shears at Nice Cuts, and I believe that the two of them were the most popular stylists there. This goes to show how competitive the hair market is in the Castro, but it's also a testament to how big the market has become that the 'hood can support so many salons. I have had co-workers who told me that they actually drive into the Castro just to get their hair cut.
- Clobba closed down their femme-focused store on Market Street at the end of last year.
I'm told that the owner of Sui Generis, the designer boutique on Church Street, has plans for the site, but I don't know yet if it is a move or a second store.
If you haven't been following the news, you might be confused by some of the recent construction on businesses in the Castro. The Castro Theatre is undergoing a decidedly retro restyling, numerous businesses have traded in modern signage for hand-painted psychodelica, and Given, your glam-chic source for plushy excreta, has transformed into an A/V storage room from your junior high school.
All of the extra make-up on the old girl can only mean one thing -- it's time for our close-up, Mr. Van Sant!
Gus Van Sant's production entitled Milk about the life and assassination of civil rights leader Harvey Milk is preparing for filming on the streets and in the businesses around the neighborhood. There have already been the mass casting calls and rumors of who will-be-or-won't-be in the flick. (Matt Damon? Out. Josh Brolin? In. Tom Ammiano. In. As himself. Wha-a-a? Sean Hayes wasn't free?)
According to the Castro Courier filming was set to start either January 21 or 22, depending on whether you read the headline or the body of the article. Neither seems likely, though, since a lot of work is still being done on the local store fronts. The GayCities site's Travel Blog posted a few good photos last week, and here are a few more showing the continuing changes:
- The Castro Theatre is having its sign fully refurbished, including a garish paint job and repairs to its oft-collided-with front marquee.
- Given's interior has been transformed into a drab, industrial space. Really, it's remarkable how quickly it went from slick to slack.
I discussed in my column that they recently commissioned a fantastic mural to commemorate Milk, and it really is a fantastic, moving piece of art. Here's a photo which I took of Given's owner Nick Romero which didn't make the column:The artwork features an eerily prophetic quote by Milk: "If a bullet should enter my brain, let the bullet destroy every closet door." The quote spills out of the bullet of a gun, into a riot of color around Milk's figure. It really is a fantastic piece, paying homage to the man, the business that was in this spot, and the history of the entire neighborhood. I really applaud Romero for commissioning this artwork.
I worried that the movie work would damage this piece, and it seems that they've created a false wall to protect the mural. At least the artist is local, so he can repair any minor damage, I suppose.When I talked with Romero for the B.A.R. article it was still months before the filming was finalized. He mentioned that Van Sant had come by to scout the location, and he told me that he and the staff were gung-ho to support using the store as the set. He indicated that he was going to be compensated for the weeks (months?) of lost business, but that he thought it was important for the movie to be made where Milk had actually lived and worked. I hope that the movie brings publicity to Given (and to all of the neighborhood businesses), and that they come out well-compensated for their inconvenience. - Businesses around Given are also being made over. Clobba still didn't have its sign up, so I'm not sure what it is going to be, but the National Fidelity Title has become Aquarius Records and Thai Express has become China Court.
China Court actually didn't disappear from this site that long ago. I think it only shut down maybe 2 or 3 years ago. When it closed people mourned the funky booths that they had, but I have to say that I didn't miss it. As a matter of fact, when I first saw this sign my first reaction was, "Oh no! It's back!!"
- Across the street a number of businesses are also taking a trip on the Wayback Machine. Swirl is transforming back into an urban liquor store, complete with the old newspaper stands that Bevan Dufty tried to banish.
The eyeglass shop Eye Gotcha is undergoing one of the roughest transitions, as it gets boarded up like the simple garage that it used to be. If any business needs a sandwich board sign out front reminding us that its open during filming, it's this one!
- I talked with Paul, the owner of P.O.Plus and he mentioned that the production crew had asked him to take down his signs. They are concerned that the shots out the window of the camera store (i.e. Given) look period appropriate. He told them no, and so they were entering into a negotiation of sorts. I wonder how many of the stores who agreed to the refacing are being compensated, and how many just said "yes" the first time. Here is the look that you see out the window of Given:
- Around the corner on 19th, the HRC Store and the Castro Village Cleaners are both getting a little work done, but it still in progress so it is hard to say how far this will go.
- Across the street from the Castro Theatre, the 440 Castro bar is being reborn as Toad Hall.
- More updates to come as the construction progresses!
There have been a number of businesses changing hands and/or getting ready to open up recently, so here's a quick rundown:
- La Castro Taquerilla is boarded up and getting ready for a new occupant. If the job card is to be believed, an Indian restaurant is moving in, which would be a welcome addition to the neighborhood. We have a few Mexican places, but I believe that there is only the one Indian restaurant up on Market, Bombay Indian. I can't say that I'm too sad to see La Castro shut after just a year and a half. This space always had a lot of ventilation problems and the windows were perpetually covered with condensation, to the point that we always referred to it as "the sweaty taco shop." (As opposed to "the burrito laundry".) Admittedly it got a little better toward the end, but let's hope that the new Indian place can regulate its humidity a little better.
- The little convenience store on the corner of Church and 18th (and by "convenience store" I mean "crackden on the corner") is finally being renovated in preparation for a new occupant. I'm sure Jeffrey's Natural Pet Food Company next door must be thrilled, because this storefront was scary when it was empty and boarded up, and scary when open and operating as Shukri's Scrumptious Deli. Here's a photo of the corner back in 2006 after it shut down, but before it got really crack-y:
Now the facade has been completely redone, with large glass windows on both the Church and 18th Street sides. I couldn't tell from the signage what is going in, but with Dolores Park, the J-Church stop, and Mission High School so close by, this is a prime location for a business which needs foot traffic.
- On Church Street, the folks that own the small produce shop Golden Produce have opened up another shop a little further north at 130 Church Street. It's called Golden Natural Foods, and is a specialty health food store. Everyone is breathing a sigh of relief because the site has been under construction for so long that people doubted that anything would ever open. The store is slick and pretty, and looks like a "real store" as opposed to the "permanent roadside fruitstand" look that the original store has. Supposedly the family which owns the businesses will continue to run both.
Some people are really devoted to the original Golden Produce, but I've always been a little underwhelmed. Admittedly I've only shopped there about 3 times, but each time it seemed like choices were slim (even of things which were in season), the prices were high (for the quality), and the service was indifferent. Feel free to convince me otherwise in the comments.
- The bar Lookout which rose from the ashes of The Metro at the corner of 16th and Market has finally opened the companion restaurant which shares the stairway entrance on 16th Street. It's a pizza place, and is called Thick & Thin Pizza.
When I talked with the owner Chris Hastings for my October column for the B.A.R., he mentioned that previously a Chinese restaurant had been in that space, but I think it had closed down long before The Metro shut. Back then he was predicting opening the restaurant for table service back in late October, but the opening finally happened this month. (Actually, a three-month delay isn't so bad in this neighborhood.)
- I'm planning to post tomorrow about the current Milk-fever sweeping the Castro, but there seems to be one closure around the filming site which is unrelated to the movie. Next door to Harvey Milk's old camera shop (which is currently home to MoMA-meets-Harajuku-Girl fabporium, Given) the First American Title Company office is boarded over.
The sign in the front window says that effective December 28, 2007, they are no longer in the neighborhood, and clients are directed to one of the other offices in the city. The timing of this couldn't be better for the filming which is about to start next door, and I wonder if maybe some "economic incentive" from the producers helped to set the timing of the title company's closure. (Apologies for this craptastic picture with the wrong focus point. I will try to swap this out with a better picture.)For anyone who bemoans the apparent proliferation of real-estate-related businesses in the Castro, note that this is the second title company which has (apparently) closed in the neighborhood. It's a little early to call it a trend, but it is interesting to note, at the very least.
- OK, gotta sign off tonight, but there are more closures/openers to report tomorrow. 'Night all!
Well, 3 old Briefs, actually. During my period of blog-silencing "extreme exhaustion" I had 3 columns come out which I never linked here. If you always turn past the news directly to the escort ads and you didn't see the articles online, here is a rundown of the topics that I covered:
- Gustofino Fine Foods opened on Church Street in the spot previously occupied by the Just Desserts;
- Mr. Martini's popular "Behind the Bar Show" podcast helps to promote his private bartending business;
- The Industrialists, a home furnishings shop which salvages industrial equipment, opened on Market Street;
- Too Much Fun Halloween Headquarter brought its seasonal store to the old Tower Videos spot, just in time for the Castro's canceled Halloween non-celebration;
- The SF LGBT Center sponsored a job fair for LGBT job seekers.
- Given, on the site of Harvey Milk's old camera shop, commissioned a mural of the civil rights pioneer;
- A new bar opened on the site of the old Metro, on the second floor above 16th and Market -- at publication time it was as yet unnamed, but it has since been christened Lookout; (not The Lookout, just Lookout)
- A delegation led by Sidney's daddy Bevan Dufty will be representing San Francisco at sister-city Sydney's 30th anniversary Mardi Gras celebration in March, 2008;
- Local, troubled, homophile company PlanetOut sponsored a short movie contest;
- The GGBA held their monthly mixer.
- Under One Roof announced plans for their holiday store in the old Tower Videos location;
- Urban Bread cafe and bread distributor (gosh that sounds appetizing!) opened where Bean Here Brew That! was previously located;
- Castro Cafe was preparing to move into the old Bull's Head spot;
- A rundown of Thanksgiving choices, both dine-in and take-out;
- Orphan Andy's turned 30 (just as I will soon);
- Lookout (just Lookout, not The Lookout) announced its winning name.
One rough part about this blog is that occasionally new businesses open, and before I can blog about them they close.
An example of that is Bjorn eye wear which had opened back in the summer of 2006 on the corner of Church and Market in the historic brick building kitty-corner from the Safeway parking lot. It is a big store with dramatic (if chopped-up) windows and a visible location. I wasn't sure how many eyeglasses you had to sell to pay for a lot like this, but it seemed if anyone could do it it would be this local designer/manufacturer. I loved the colorful logo with the playful, smart font.
Unfortunately, Bjorn is no more, although the company still has its store on Union Street. I noticed the closed store back in September, but the company web site still lists the Castro location and also proudly features the press release announcing the Castro opening. Poor guys.
Similary, right next door to Bjorn on Market there was a little jewelry store. I can't remember when this opened -- I've been through my photo files and can't find any record. I remember looking at this place when it opened, and I decided not to blog about it. It was one of those jewelry stores which looked a little do-it-yourself (if you know what I mean), sort of like the stores which used to line Powell street before the big downtown clean-up. It just didn't seem that interesting to write about, but I figured it would survive since those type of stores always seem to hang on.
Well, that store is gone now too. Apparently they also have a second location, and a hand-written sign in the window explains that the other location continues to operate as before. The other location is called Siberian Star, but I don't remember if the Castro location had the same name.
And like a virus spreading, could it be that the Alliance Title Company next to the jewelry store is also on the verge of going under? A tip from a reader led me to check it out, and sure enough the mail is piled up on the foyer floor, undisturbed for weeks. At first I though, "Maybe they closed for the holidays?" But the holidays are over, and considering the health of the real estate industry it wouldn't be surprising to see some businesses shutting down.
The dying office plants don't bode well for Alliance's health either.
This is somewhat old news, but in case you haven't put together the pieces yet, it seems that two former Castro businesses have both reopened in a Victorian on 18th Street, across from Delano's.
The Eureka Barber Shop, which formerly serviced its mostly ursine clientèle in the large storefront at the corner of 19th and Collingwood, has now hung up its shingle (literally!) at 4222 18th Street. They are cutting hair up in the front parlor on the second story, and if you are passing by take a look up to see the most glamorous ceiling of any barber shop in the city. It's a traditional coved Victorian ceiling with ornate medallions and gold gilding. Faboo.
Interestingly, on weekends this house's driveway is also the site of a pretty involved yard sale, with some outlandish glassware, shiny jewelry, and naked-man statuary. If that product mix sounds familiar, it did to us too. And then we realized that the man doing the selling is the same guy who had the Black Cat antique store on 19th Street! The shop on 19th now houses Joe's Barbershop, and I always wondered what happened to the vast quantities of tchatchkes that used to line the Black Cat's windows.
Well, we have our answer now. The yard sale continues, and amazingly his product mix is seasonal to match the upcoming holiday. So there must be a lot of boxes in storage somewhere, or else he is still acquiring new stock from estate sales and the internet.
As a final note, the former home of the Eureka Barber Shop has been remodeled into Spunk Salon. Some messaging on the window references punk style, so it seems that they are targeting a more urban, funky, female audience. I like the copper doors, but somehow the storefront looks unfinished to me. Is more work (signs? paint?) coming to the exterior to polish the branding a little more? Let's hope. This corner has been the site of a succession of closed businesses, so they need to make a little more noise and live up to their name more if they want to survive.
After my posting about Hepworth and Howard's, um, unique equine lighting choices, a helpful reader sent me the following photo from their recent trip to Russia:
I love the photo, but I'm not sure what idea is more shocking to me: that this horse might have traveled around the world to arrive in our little burg, or that there might exist more than one of these lamps in the world.
The second Thursday of the month means just one thing around the Castroshopper household: scrambling to finish another B.A.R. column in time. The new issue is out and my column is available online here. The contents this week are:
- A discussion of the LGBT Center's Economic Development programs and how they help to develop and support small business owners in the queer community. So if your dream has always been to open a porn/burrito/club-kid clothing (any one or combination of those) shop in the Castro, these are the people to talk to!
- John Francis Spa, a new facialist regime on 18th Street across from Delano's IGA. This is curiously in the same building as the Tao Boutique Day Spa. The corner is becoming the new spa center of the Castro.
- Some other news related to the LGBT Center: The cafe on the ground floor, Vince & Pete's Three Dollar Cafe has been undergoing remodeling and will be reopening grandly on the 19th. While I was there talking with Vince (cute!) they were filming a commercial for some sort of telecom company in the newly repainted cafe.
- A short conversation with the new A Taste of Leather shop.
- An announcement of the next GGBA mixer on the 15th. If you've ever wanted to find someone who knows how to use QuickBooks Pro then this is your place.
Enjoy!
