The San Francisco Redevelopment Agency along with agencies across the state of California officially dissolved on February 1, 2012, halting the Schlage Lock Redevelopment project in Visitacion Valley which included Leland Avenue and Bayshore Boulevard in project area Zone 2. The California Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Assembly Bill 26 while striking down Assembly Bill 27, amended the California Community Redevelopment Law which regulates the activities of redevelopment agencies. While discussion regarding a transfer of project administration from the redevelopment agency to various departments in the Mayor’s Office and financing alternatives are underway, the Supreme Court’s decision is a decisive impediment to revitalization efforts along the Leland/Bayshore commercial corridor.
With tax increment financing unavailable to help fund exterior and tenant improvements to infrastructure along Leland Avenue and Bayshore Boulevard, Visitacion Valley’s commercial district again finds itself longing for overdue investment from a project that began over a decade ago. Given this economic hardship and the overwhelming level of community support for the Schlage Lock Project, it is now more important than ever to support small businesses in Visitacion Valley. While this latest setback to our goal of fostering a sustainable neighborhood serving business district is no doubt disheartening, it is important to remember that land developer Universal Paragon has given every indication that they’re committed to seeing this project through with General Manager Jonathan Sharfman recently quoted in the San Francisco Business Times, “Our immediate goals are to identify and secure alternatives to TIF financing for the project.” Besides, there are good things happening in the world of local small business – see below..

Lunchtime just got a whole lot toastier in Visitacion Valley. La Bonita Produce Market (formerly Casa Lopez), located at 58 Leland Avenue is now serving up made-to-order sandwiches at their newly installed deli counter. Market owner Gus, who handcrafts each sandwich himself says this is just the beginning and plans on dramatically expanding his menu later this year. For now his most popular sandwiches are the Pastrami and Roast Beef. While each
sandwich is individually tailored to the customer’s liking, Gus is generous with toppings, piling on your choice of cheese, tomatoes, fresh lettuce, onions, pickles and jalapenos. Sandwiches are served on your choice of sourdough or dutch crunch and best of all, are toasted to perfection in the oven. Want more good news for your lunchtime? Every regular sandwich on the menu is under $5.00 with tax!

Have you noticed the new signage heading north on Bayshore Boulevard at Blanken Avenue? It seems the San Francisco Sewing and Quilting Collaborative (SFSQC) just can’t stay out of the news. After hosting our wildly successful LGBT business networking mixer to close out 2011, they grabbing attention again with their recent storefront facelift. The eye-catching storefront located at 2189 Bayshore Boulevard now boasts not one but two new awnings and a customized window treatment design that proudly displays their mission, storehours and classes offfered. The dynamic new storefront is further evidence that SFSQC is invested in the community and here to stay. For more information, or to get a list of classes please visit their website at www.sfsqc.org

VVBOOM is looking to our neighbors in Visitacion Valley to help shape our Action Plan for the upcoming fiscal year which begins July 1, 2012. This action plan serves as a working blueprint for the Leland-Bayshore Commercial Corridor – laying out potential steps, partners and resources to guide our efforts. Your input is critical as we engage community stakeholders both individually and collectively through interviews, focus groups and surveys. Please contact Nick via email: sf.vvboom@gmail.com or phone: 415-225-5969.

With the holiday party season in full swing, VVBOOM partnered with our friends at San Francisco Sewing and Quilting Collaborative (SFSQC) to throw a truly unique mixer that brought together a fantastically eclectic crowd to network in the name of pride, placemaking and holiday spirit. We couldn’t have picked a better location. SFSQC located at 2189 Bayshore Boulevard was an ideal venue; as President Linda Hannawalt opened the doors to not only her two commercial storefronts but her home as well – to welcome over 50 guests who started arriving just after 5:00pm and didn’t leave until late Saturday night. Our host was eager to offer guests tours of her classroom (a.k.a. sewing center) where she hosts a variety of “how to” classes including, “ABC’s of Quilting” and “Supper and Sew” activities on Friday nights. Thrift Shoppe Manager and Master Tailor David Howard was also busy showing off fabulous holiday gift ideas from the boutique which offered an additional 20% off any purchase during the event.
Our holiday mixer was not only able to promote a truly hidden gem on the corner of Bayshore Boulevard and Blanken Avenue, it also was able to give some good visibility to our small business community. It gave merchants including neighbor Piccolo Pete and Joe Leland an opportunity to meet members of the LGBT community both locally and citywide who turned out to network and learn about business opportunities in Visitacion Valley. Some lucky attendees walked away with generous gift certificates from local small businesses including Nails By Jenny (50 Leland Avenue), Hong Kong Beauty Salon (199 Leland Avenue) and Joe Leland Cafe (28 Leland Avenue). Holiday themed beverages were enjoyed and freshly prepared hors d’oeuvres were served up locally by chefs from NeoBello. It all added up to a fun-filled, informative holiday mixer that is likely to be repeated for years to come. For more information on SFSQC, please visit them on at www.sfsqc.org.

As the calender turned to December, VVBOOM once again reached out to neighborhood youth through our partnership with Real Options for City Kids (ROCK) to help spread the holiday spirit along Leland Avenue. Now in it’s fifth year, our holiday decorating gives Visitacion Valley Middle School students a chance to meet and complete a quick project with local merchants while bringing some congruence to storefront windows along our neighborhood business district. This year six 8th graders from the Beacon Leaders in Training (BLIT) program installed 18 strands of white holiday lights to participating small business owners before being treated to an extra large order of Nachos at El Buen Sabor #2 (98 Leland Avenue) for their efforts. The project was made possible through the hard work of Fatima Ahmed – Lead Instructor at ROCK.

In an effort to reach out to our LGBT community both locally and citywide, VBOOM is partnering with our friends at San Francisco Sewing and Quilting Collaborative (SFSQC) to host a LGBT Winter Mixer on Saturday December 10th from 5:00 – 8:30pm. The mixer will be held at SFSQC headquarters at 2189 Bayshore Boulevard (at Blanken Avenue). This networking event will not only give attendees an opportunity to connect with diverse professionals and learn about business opportunities in Visitacion Valley but will also help guide our action plan for 2012. Did I mention it will be a fun too? We’ll have freshly prepared hors d’oeuvres and an open bar along with prize giveaways all evening from local small businesses. So bring your business card get connected to the LGBT community in Visitacion Valley and citywide!

In case you haven’t noticed, your neighborhood markets aren’t what they used to be. Remember Casa Lopez Produce Market? It’s now La Bonita Produce Market. How about La Loma Produce Market? Not anymore, it’s now called Leland Market. But the names on the sign aren’t the only thing that have changed. Let’s take a moment to navigate the changing landscape of Visitacion Valley’s produce markets.
La Bonita Produce                                                                                      Market Leland Market
58 Leland Avenue                                                                                       65 Leland Avenue
Owner – Gustavo Martin “Gus”                                                                   Owner – Aslam Ali
Experience – has owned 6 businesses prior                                              Experience – 25 years in business
Who’s behind the counter? – Jasmine                                                        Who’s behind the counter? – Raj

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Both of these seasoned produce market owners saw an opportunity they couldn’t pass up and officially took ownership this past August. When asked about first impressions of being a small business owner on Leland Avenue, Gus remarks how the street is much better than it was when he was growing up; with wider sidewalks and more of a family oriented feel. He adds, that the neighborhood seems increasingly diverse which is why he’ll be expanding inventory to carry more Chinese and Filipino specialty items.

Aslam echoed the sentiment, commenting Visitacion Valley is a great neighborhood that he is honored to now be apart of. He goes on to say the location is great – there is such an opportunity here to increase business and serve the community. He added that “the market needs more attention and we plan on investing in the store so that’s what we’re going to do.” It wouldn’t be the first time. Just a year and a half ago, his company purchased a struggling market on Mission Street in the Excelsior and “totally turned it around.”
Want more good news? Both market owners report they now boast a much improved meat counter. When asked about their best selling items, both Gus and Aslam point to the fruit and vegetables that make these produce markets that keep customers coming back. Interested in how our new markets stack up against the competition? A simple price comparison against large retail grocery chain Safeway (based on newspaper coupon insert) reveals there is real savings to be had by purchasing produce locally. Both markets have lower prices on popular items including ten to twenty cents lower on cucumbers and thirty to fifty cents lower per pound on Delicious brand apples. Furthermore, La Bonita offers a lower price per pound on Autum pears while Leland Market has Safeway beat on Avocados. Stop in and introduce yourself to Leland’s newest merchants!

The 6th Annual Street Fair put the dynamic character of Visitacion Valley on display, as roughly 2,000 people ascended onto the commercial corridor despite the morning rain for a fun-filled Sunday afternoon in this uniquely diverse San Francisco
neighborhood.

Thefestival didn’t stray from it’s 2010 layout along Leland Avenue, punctuated by the staple balloon arch over Leland Avenue near Bayshore Boulevard. There was once again a dedicated ‘Eat-Street’ along Alpha Street stretching to Raymond Avenue and a live music stage just west of the Leland Avenue – Alpha Street intersection that rocked the business district all the way to Bayshore Boulevard.

The entertainment stage was once again highlighted by a top-notch world music performer – Lava, who took the stage at 2:45 and moved the crowd’s spirit to dance until well after the stopping time of 4:00pm. The festival had been getting warmed up all
afternoon with outstanding live sets from regulars such as Native Elements, Soul Society, (7-Mile Favorite) Good Reasons and Visitacion Valley’s own Curt Yagi and the People Standing Behind Me. A quick survey of attendees once again revealed what we already knew – festival goers can’t get enough of the live local music.

What else was a big hit at the Leland Avenue Street Fair? Answer – The Food. Aside from local restaurants El Buen Sabor #2
(98 Leland Ave.), Happy Family Fast Food (107 Leland Ave.) and La Bonita Produce (58 Leland Ave.) offering tasty specials, festival goers were treated to lumpia, calamari, buffalo wings and garlic fries from our friends at 7-Mile House (2800 Bayshore Blvd.) and an abundance of Filipino favorites from Nick’s Kitchen (2449 Geneva Ave.). A welcome new addition on Eat Street this year was the Five-Ten Burger food truck, which pulled up near Raymond Avenue to serve up artisan burgers and sandwiches. Those looking to satisfy their sweet tooth had plenty of options up and down the festival grounds including cupcakes, gourmet popcorn and snow cones.

The highlight of the entire day may have come when the entertainment stage was opened up to welcome Li Feng Wu and Steven Chan – the new owners of B.L.G. Aquarium & Pet Store. Leland Avenue’s newest merchants treated onlookers to a dazzling ceremony marking the Grand Opening of their store at 144 Leland Avenue. Lion Dancers ceremoniously made their way to the front of the stage and performed before Li Feng and Steven introduced themselves to the crowd and welcomed neighbors to stop by their business.

The Leland Avenue Street Fair got a welcomed guest when San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee showed up unannounced to show his support our neighborhood festival andthank everyone in attendance. The Mayor spent some time with kids from the Boys &
Girls Club who were engaged in activities set up in our dedicated ‘Kids Zone’ in the Bank of America parking lot. They were joined by fellow dedicated community partners at Real Options for City Kids (ROCK), Jumpstart and face-painting courtesy of a few talented students from San Francisco Waldorf High School. In between the Kids Zone and our entertainment stage, local
businesses, artists and service providers lined the streets of Leland Avenue –creating the essence of the street fair.

The end result was once again the neighborhood’s largest family-oriented event of the year that brought neighbors together and help connect small business owners to residents. A festival of this scale took a coordinated effort from many dedicated individuals who worked hard

to put it together. While the volunteers are too numerous to name, I want to recognize the sponsors whose generous support keeps this event going year after year – thank you. California Pacific Medical Center, Bank of America, Statefarm, Universal Paragon Corporation, Goodwill Industries, Recology, Pacific Gas & Electric, AT&T, Mercy Related Housing, North East Medical Services, SIA Consultants, UFCW Local 648, See’s Candy, The Examiner, KBLX, AsianWeek Foundation, Bay Area Radio, KPOO.

Nearly two years after ‘Beautiful As You R’ opened their doors at 170 Leland Avenue (Visionary, July 2009), it finally got the beautiful facade to match the beautiful interior of the salon – with beautiful in the name.  The exterior upgrades are highlighted by attractive, visible signage created in a two-tone green that accentuates the intricate tile work underneath the always decorated display windows.  The eye-catching green and black exterior is sure to grab the attention of passers by on Leland Avenue between Peabody and Rutland St.  The facade project came courtesy of SF Shines facade improvement project; a collaborative effort between the City of San Francisco’s Office of Workforce and Economic Development’s Neighborhood Marketplace Initiative – dedicated to improving San Francisco storefronts and VVBOOM.

The brand new facade at ‘Beautiful As You R’ is the perfect compliment to the fantastic exterior (also courtesy of SF Shines) of ‘JB’s The Shop’ at 160 Leland Ave.  With a neighborhood serving barbershop next to a neighborhood serving hair salon, the 100 block of Leland Avenue is quickly becoming a destination for haircare in Visitacion Valley.  Stop by 170 Leland Avenue and visit Marilyn or one of her talented beauticians, or call 415-756-1450 to make an appointment.