Employees Must Wash Hands

Neighborhood orgs

2011-07-12T11:39:00.000-07:00

Our location here on Mission Street puts us very much on the cusp of two important San Francisco neighborhoods-- No doubt we are in SoMa (South of Market) by the definition of the term, but we also associate with the Central Market (also called Mid Market) 'hood, due to our proximity to the Civic Center and Theatre district (Warfield, Orpheum, etc). We just barely sneak into the official SFRA (San Francisco Redevelopment Area) survey area called "South of Market", which enables us to apply for city-backed grant programs for facade improvements and construction loans, but we are across the street from several historic (pre-earthquake!) buildings that are certainly associated with the historic Central Market zone.

Many neighborhood orgs have come to be in an effort to support positive development in the neighborhood. Recently I was contacted by LiveSOMA.com and will definitely become an active member of their effort to unite local residents and support the community through meetings, events, etc. In addition to LiveSOMA, there are myriad other groups going to similar efforts, both publicly and privately run:

http://www.sfredevelopment.org/
http://www.bettermarketstreetsf.org/
http://www.westernsoma.com/

In addition, there are many smaller groups that focus even more narrowly on individual projects such as park clean up, making 6th Street a safer place, etc.

We hope to be an important part of the overall process to help revitalize this historic neighborhood of San Francisco (however you want to classify it!) with the mantra, "A rising tide lifts all boats".... More to come on this subject for sure.

Everything you ever wanted to know about Liquor Licenses

2011-07-07T17:31:00.001-07:00

Ok, maybe not EVERYTHING but here are a few key points:

There are many types of alcoholic beverage licenses available to would-be bar, restaurant, nightclub, brewery, winery, vineyard and retail store owners. The first differentiator is whether you plan to offer "on sale" or "off sale" consumption of booze. As the name implies, "off sale" means your customers will be consuming the beverage off premises-- This would be appropriate for wine stores, bodegas, BevMo, etc. On the other hand (and more relevant to this blog), "on sale" implies that customers will be drinking at/on your bar, restaurant, patio, dance floor, etc. Beyond these there are one-time catering permits, wholesale distributor licenses, importers, wine makers, wine warehouses, etc etc etc.

Once you've decided to serve patrons booze on the premises, you have a choice of obtaining a "general" license which enables you to offer distilled spirits (liquor), wine and beer OR limit the offerings to solely wine and beer. The governing body behind licenses is the Alcohol and Beverage Control ("ABC") and they have designated these types of licenses the Type 47 and Type 41, respectively. For a full list of licenses, look here.

All things being equal, most establishments would likely opt to offer liquor, beer and wine to their thirsty patrons. But of course its never that easy.... In San Francisco, both Type 41 and 47 licenses require several hundred dollars in fees, many many pages of paperwork, a mailing to all residents within 500' of your establishment, and at least 3-6 months of patience. However, upgrading to a full liquor license adds a whole new dimension to the game: the total number of type 47 licenses is limited based on the population of the county you do business in. Since the County of San Francisco is already saturated with licenses, any new license must taken over and/or purchased from an existing business. Average cost: ~$100,000. Suddenly not such a simple decision!

This topic to be continued....

Permits!

2011-04-15T11:39:00.000-07:00

We achieved a major milestone this week when our building permits were approved by the SF Department of Building Inspection (DBI). Unfortunately, this city agency has a terrible reputation among contractors, business owners, architects, homeowners and anyone else who has ever tried to apply for a permit for building or zoning... We entered into this process with trepidation, as many other restauranteurs have described it as a hellish experience.

Considering all the negative hype, the process was really not that terrible. It did take nearly 16 hours of patient and anxious waiting as the inspectors meticulously poured over our plans looking for anything amiss to mark up and edit, but in the end we left their office full of excitement and feeling very accomplished (and much less rich-- total permitting fees: $33,500!). I can empathize with DBI inspectors because people go in there with their plans that may represent lifelong dreams, extraordinary expense, and years of planning, only to be told by DBI that their project is impossible due to Building Code Chapter 10 Section 109.35.c Paragraph 2.... After all, their job is to make sure your plans comply with the Code, not to make sure your project gets built. It is easy to blame the inspectors and the City for slowing down or discouraging development and progress but, in truth, without a carefully written and policed set of Code, many poorly conceived or unsafe projects would surely get built.

Approved (or, "stamped") permits are a major milestone because it means that construction can begin and many many months of ideation, conceptualization, sketching, planning, architectural drawings, fundraising, networking, coordinating, legal negotiations, etc are ready to become a tangible, three-dimensional THING that you can actually see, touch (and eventually taste and smell, in our case!). In short, it is one of the last major hurdles to get over before our dream becomes a reality. Of course there is still a huge amount of work to do and many potential pitfalls to avoid, but we feel we have already accomplished a great deal by obtaining the permits. As our architect quipped, "Congratulations! We have permits... now the real work begins!"

Title 24

2011-04-03T00:35:00.000-07:00

Never heard of Title 24? Me neither. This is another odd bit of planning/building code that I had never heard a peep about before getting into the restaurant business. Though it applies to many businesses and residential properties, it is often the bain of new restaurants.

"Title 24" is the abbreviated name for Part 6 of the California Code of Regulations and is the alternate (and much less wordy) name of "The Energy Efficiency Standards for Residential and Nonresidential Buildings". Title 24 was established in 1978 to govern energy use in CA buildings and to perturb designers who like to illuminate spaces with lots and lots of light bulbs.

The essence of Title 24 is that a business may only use a certain total number of watts of electricity per square foot of indoor space. This total is called "lighting power" and is often much lower than one hopes. The trick is that lighting power is the sum of the maximum wattage of fixtures planned for the space--even if you plan to use lower wattage bulbs or dim the lights, your fixtures' wattage may add up to be too much and will not pass plan check or inspection. In practice, Title 24 is rarely considered after permitting and inspections are completed and business owners change or modify their lighting knowingly (or unknowingly) violating Title 24. I have yet to hear of any action taken against those that break the rule, but I'm sure there are examples out there.

Implications for us regarding Title 24 are that the light fixtures must be chosen early on in the planning process. While I initially thought that we could leave these details to the end of the project, that is not the case. Since individual light fixtures are rated for a certain number of watts, we need to know exactly how which pieces of equipment (and how many of them) will be used before applying for permits.

Lighting is perhaps the most crucial component of a restaurant's ambiance and can drastically effect the mood in a space. It can also be one of the most expensive design elements! Gitane (at left) has beautiful light fixtures that are a showpiece in their restaurant and help create the romantic, sexy vibe at the bar... these babies must have cost a fortune, but they are really impressive.

In our case, our seasonally changing, dynamic decor requires much forethought in lighting... I have my eyes on some industrial pendants and architect's drafting lights, but they are very pricey.... we'll see what other bright ideas our designer comes up with!

Got gas?

2011-03-15T12:34:00.000-07:00

We do! But not enough... As we develop the restaurant space, there are several important utilities that must be up to code and in adequate supply to support the energy and plumbing needs of a medium to large sized restaurant. Nearly every business needs electricity and water, but not many need gas. Fortunately, most existing buildings in San Francisco use gas for heat, so many spaces are equipped with a gas meter and lines in. However, the gas needs for a restaurant with a full kitchen far exceed that of most gas heaters.

After speaking with PG&E, they informed me the the important upgrade is a larger gas meter, which allows a business to pump larger amounts of gas for their needs. The magic number that determines how large of a meter is necessary is the total "Gas Load", usually measured in thousands of BTU's (British Thermal Units) per hour (abbreviated "Kbtu/hr"). Gas Load is easy enough to determine, if you know what equipment you plan to install. Most manufacturers supply a spec sheet for each piece of equipment that indicates important numbers such as energy use, exact dimensions, accessory options, etc. Here's a good example from Montague, one of the more popular (and high-end) commercial equipment makers: http://www.montaguecompany.com/PDFs/MON0013.PDF

The model we chose requires 70,000 btu/hr, or 70 Kbtu/hr. By adding up the Gas Load for each appliance in our hot line, we get to roughly 457 Kbtu/hr. Chances are we will need a larger gas meter, but we will find out when PG&E visits next week!

More on Electricity and Water next time....

Neighborhood Love

2011-03-09T21:53:00.000-08:00

Today further confirmed my impression that making friends and allies with your neighbors is crucial and pays dividends. After several days of smelling the delicious odors wafting over from next door, I finally made an effort to take Daniel Velasco up on his offer to come by for an expresso at the new location of De La Paz coffee roasters. Daniel is an incredibly dedicated coffee maker that works with a small team to roast whole sale coffee that is distributed to retailers as large as Whole Foods and as small as Mojo, a tiny cafe on Divisadero St. that epitomizes what the hipster generation of San Francisco is all about: quality, sustainable ingredients in a low-key, pretension-free atmosphere (with ample parking for your fixed gear bike).

Daniel and I chatted about the coffee making process as he expertly made a cappuccino: First "pulling" a test of espresso for that particular batch of beans (roasted a few hours ago) to ensure proper toast; painstakingly measuring and weighing the ground beans for a second time (carefully ground to be consistent and the appropriate size for this particular drink); locking the beans in to be forced through the (very expensive looking) espresso machine; and expertly steaming the milk ("which many baristas over-heat to the point of burning the milk sugars and eliminating the natural sweetness"). The result was a beautifully made but simple drink, finished with the flourish of an expert--a beautiful, frothy heart.

I don't drink coffee... but this was delicious. Warm, creamy, toasty, smooth, rich, and not even a hint of that bitter after taste that is usually a sign of mediocre espresso.

Already looking forward to doing business with Daniel and De La Paz. His energy and commitment to the craft are enviable and he is a great example of someone who loves his work and does it with a passion. If we do use De La Paz for as our coffee supplier, we will certainly be going local and have the freshest beans in town-- they are literally our next door neighbors.

Meeting the Neighbors

2011-03-07T13:30:00.000-08:00

From the beginning of this endeavor, a major part of our restaurant business plan was to help build and develop a struggling neighborhood in San Francisco. As I've mentioned before, the neighborhood we've chosen has had a long history of misguided development: Many of the buildings in a three-block radius are vacant and have fallen into disrepair. 6th and Market (just 2 blocks away) is considered the epicenter of the area targeted by the City for aggressive redevelopment, a home for the homeless, drug dealers and peep show. For many, this is an understandable deterrent to move into the neighborhood. However, for some visionaries it is an opportunity; An opportunity to engage the community in a personal way and to help a poorly served neighborhood recover from decades of downturn. Adam Mesnick at Deli Board is this type of visionary. He embraces the eclectic residents of Mid-Market and has carved out a niche for himself in the local lunch scene: BEST SANDWICHES, ever.

I met Adam yesterday. it was a sunny morning that I spent inside, cleaning up the remnants of drywall from our recently-demolished former tenant's office kitchen. I walked around the corner to Deli Board and was promptly greeted by a perky order-taker that highly recommended the classic Reuben ("I woke up and was pretty hungover and have been looking forward to a Reuben all day myself"). I had been emailing with Adam and asked if he was in. A few minutes later he appeared, smiling all the way, still wiping his hands of sandwich fix-ins. We chatted briefly about how great it would be to help clean up the neighborhood, what it takes to make a great sandwich (a lot of hard work) and the trials and tribulations of making food in San Francisco (so many permits!). During our five minute chat, 6-7 regular customers came by to pick up sandwiches. Adam knew each one by name and, in most cases, knew their favorite order. In a grassroots sort of way, this type of personal, honest business relationship between individuals is what helps neighborhoods come together and communities grow.

I am thrilled to have Adam and Deli Board as neighbors and hope to meet more people like him as we put down roots in Mid-Market.

Oh yeah, the reuben was fantastic! Get one, today.

What's in a (restaurant) name?

2010-02-04T13:17:00.000-08:00

What makes a good restaurant name?
Some of the most popular restaurants in the Bay Area today:

French Laundry
A16
Quince
Boulevard
Coi
RN74
Zuni Cafe
Camino
Nopa
Slanted Door
Chez Panisse
Flour + Water
Spruce

Nothing particularly similar about these names, except perhaps that they are generally 1-2, slightly unusual words in most cases. Surprisingly, only a few (A16, RN74, Flour + Water) actually say anything about the food they serve. Of these, Chez Panisse, Zuni Cafe and Boulevard have been around the longest (15+ years, 30+ for Chez Panisse) and for local foodies have become mainstays in the restaurant scene, conjuring up very specific philosophies and ideals for food quality, service and overall experience.

In choosing a restaurant name it is important to be memorable but not too weird--those restaurants that choose funny or goofy names don't seem to last long (we'll see what happens to Heaven's Dog, Let's be Frank and Hogs and Rocks...) even though they may have initial appeal.

Resources

2010-01-29T16:57:00.001-08:00

A few great resources for finding existing restaurant spaces:

Carol Gilbert Incorporated (CGI). Carol is an amazing resource with a ridiculous amount of knowledge, experience and connections in the San Francisco retail real estate market. Beyond being a professional real estate broker, she and her team are restaurant specialists and will consult on any and all sorts of restaurant deals. CGI has have represented some of the best names in the local industry and around the country including Bacchus Management (Spruce, Pizza Antica (several locations), Mayfield Bakery and The Village Pub), Hubert Keller's team (executive chef at Fleur de Lys, owner of Burger Bar), and many others. CGI is the best in a very niche business. The benefits of using CGI over a typical real estate broker are exclusive listing, consulting backed by 30+ years experience and insider connections with local landlords, government departments any other restauranteurs. Also, she really likes the color red.

On the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of personalized expertise is RestaurantRealty.com, run by Steve Zimmerman and partners. While it is also a good resource, it is a very different approach to finding the right restaurant space. The website is exceptional in that it seems to be the best resource for viewing existing restaurant businesses and property for sale or lease. This should be the first spot you look when seeking a Bay Area restaurant business to purchase but only to get a rough idea of what is available and what it will cost you. In the end, you will need the personalized service of an experienced broker like CGI. Just my two cents...

Another beautiful conversion: Nopa

2010-01-25T14:44:00.000-08:00

While I'm on the subject, one of the best examples of a non-restaurant space build out is Nopa Restaurant on Divisadero @ Grove, formerly a local bank, I believe (They also happen to serve great food and outstanding cocktails)

Location, Location, Location.

2010-01-25T13:57:00.001-08:00

Location. The old adage says that nothing is more important to the success of a new venture than the choice in real estate. Of course it depends what sort of establishment yours will be. A destination restaurant? A mainstay, tourist haven? A take out taco joint? Whatever it is, the location is of utmost importance. We have yet to choose a location for our restaurant but are considering the process as the most crucial early milestone.

The two main location options for a new restaurant are, 1) A full build-out of a non-restaurant space (i.e. converting an old automobile garage into a beautiful space like Spruce did) or 2) Move into a space that houses an existing or recently closed restaurant. Both options have pros and cons, of course: In San Francisco, non-restaurant spaces require a "change of use permit" for the real estate to be zoned for restaurant use; many inspections by fire/health/building departments to ensure that public cooking/eating would be appropriate in the space; approval by the neighborhood to add another restaurant; various alcohol permits.... etc etc. Lots of red tape. Of course it can be and is done all the time but usually requires a a great deal of knowledge and/or experience to navigate the authorities. Option 2) is simpler, in that an existing restaurant has managed to get all its permits and approvals, has the proper utility hook ups for cooking etc in place, and the landlord of the space is OK with a restaurant in her building. BUT--and this is a big but--existing restaurant business will often ask for "key money" to buy them out of the space. Key money takes into account code compliance, existing lease terms, entitlements, condition of premises and equipment, past success in that location, and other factors. Typical key money for restaurant spaces in SF range from $50k-$2M, but seem to fall in the $150-$250k range in most cases. More details on this coming soon....

Rules should be easy to find.

2010-01-22T12:01:00.000-08:00

As before mentioned, there are lots of rules you'll need to follow to open your restaurant in a timely (and legal) fashion. Presumably the various agencies that define and enforce the rules want you to obey them for the sake of public health, fire safety, building code, adequate plumbing, etc. So why, I ask, are these rules so damn hard to find?

Apparently many of these rules and regs are federal, while the enforcers of the rules are local (i.e. the SF Planning Dept enforces the federally-passed ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). AND, the federal laws are, naturally, not restaurant specific, so you're going to have to dig through pages and pages of irrelevant regulations to get what you want. I am piecing together a concise checklist of relevant laws that I haven't been able to find yet online. Stay tuned.

So Many Rules

2010-01-21T12:43:00.000-08:00

A major goal of this blog is to chronicle the myriad rules, regulations, requirements, codes and protocol you must follow to open a restaurant here in San Francisco, CA. There are LOTS.

I hope to translate what--at times--can be the seemingly foreign language of legislators, the health department, plumbers, planners, contractors, and the other characters you will encounter on the inglorious path to opening your own restaurant, into a concise check list of steps to opening day. Perhaps I'll keep a running list (over on the sidebar there) of all the agencies you will become intimately acquainted with once you've really decided to go for it.