The first thing that Pacific Heights resident Gabriel Wolf recalls when asked about his mid-pandemic move to Upper Fillmore Street is discovering signs of a friendly and engaged community that he found comforting during a time of great uncertainty.
He points out a ginkgo tree dubbed “Bartholome” that the owner of Cielo lobbied the city to have planted on the sidewalk in front of her clothing boutique, and the string lights that a customer of adjacent Ten-Ichi installed outside the 46-year-old sushi restaurant. Across the street, 45-year-old La Mediterranee restaurant refurbished its parklet with a mural depicting a serene sunset…
“These businesses obviously care about this neighborhood and the people in it,” Wolf said.
Now the future for some of these businesses is uncertain.
When a mysterious web of connected limited liability companies started buying up building after building on a three-block stretch of Fillmore, small business owners and residents in the area were hopeful that the infusion of capital could help buoy and revive the close-knit retail community that had been struggling since the pandemic.
But, months after the properties traded hands, the vision of Upper Fillmore’s newest investor is coming into focus, and one thing appears certain: It does not include several of the mom and pop businesses that have anchored the street for decades.
Earlier this year, stealthy entities spent upwards of $40 million on acquiring more than half a dozen aging buildings on Fillmore between Clay and Pine streets, including the defunct Clay Theater at 2261 Fillmore. For now, they’re adding to the street’s shuttered storefronts by displacing a handful of long-time small businesses in an apparent bid to ultimately bring more high-end retailers into the area… (more)
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VC Neil Mehta, who’s quietly nabbing prized SF property, plans a “Y Combinator for restaurants”:
What does Neil know about the restaurants he is kicking out? Not much evidently. They are some of the most popular eating establishments in town. How jaded are his tastebuds?
You better keep your car because you are going to need it when they drive you out of town!