The beloved Tantrum plans to expand into old Doug's Suds storefront at the corner of Carl and Cole has halted due to building retrofitting.  Tantrum owner, Amanda Weld, reported that the building has to undergo major seismic retrofitting and they will need to evacuate by the end of February. As we have all experienced (i.e. muni tunnel and Cole Hardware construction), retrofitting can take a lot longer than originally anticipated. Tantrum hopes to find a temporary home during this construction and hopes to be back in their new and improved Doug's Suds location later this year. Tantrum has been such a joy to have in our little neighborhood and we hope that they will be back in business soon! 





​Contents for this blog post was used with permission from Hoodline. 

For a few months now, we have had several vacant storefronts in Cole Valley,  so what's happening to these storefronts?

Doug's Suds
From what we have gathered, Tantrum, the vintage children's toy store, is looking to expand into Doug's Suds. The owners of Tantrum have been been in talks with the landlords of Doug's Suds but nothing has been finalized yet. Apparently there is a lot of work that needs to be done to the storefront until anyone can occupy in. 

Cole Garage
Well we know that Alt School will not be coming into Cole Valley anytime soon since they are no longer pursuing the space. Perhaps there is just too much too repair and renovate, it was a car garage after all. We did stumble upon a craigslist ad for the commercial space which said it is currently being renovate and looking for a new tenant, which could include. "retail sales and services, schools or other institutions, personal service businesses including exercise studios." Please no more exercise places. Retail or a service tenant could be interesting but that's a huge space, with almost 10,000 sq-ft.

La Boulange
As many neighbors know, Starbucks is closing all La Boulange stores by end of September. Some have already closed in the City but rumor has it our neighborhood La Boulange might be hear to stay. Supposedly, founder Pascal Rigo is in talks with Starbucks to buy back six San Francisco locations, including the Cole Valley location (which is set to close Sept 18). Rigo told Hoodline that it is too early to tell exactly what is going on but he is definitely in conversations. Rumor also has it that if Rigo does buy back some of the locations, Starbucks will remove all kitchen equipment and will take the "La Boulange" brand with them too. This means that Rigo would have to buy all new equipment and create a new brand for his bakery. Neighbors are excited with the idea that a bakery could stay in the hood. 

Son Loy Laundry
The former laundry space will soon become Midline Fitness Studio's new exercise space called Lavation Fitness Studio. The studio will focus on circuit training and indoor cycling.There is no opening date as of yet but the Midline owners are hoping for sometime in September.

Content for this article was taken with permission from SFEater and Hoodline.

If you’ve had the chance to wander into Tantrum since its opening last summer, you have already experienced the peculiar feeling that you’ve been transported to a place that, at one time or another, we’ve all wanted to be. Not because the toys are unique and amazing (they are), and not because everything feels perfect and unaltered by the years. Not even because three year old Thisbe took quarters from the register and offered your kid a free ride on the mechanical seal. Its because they care, and it shows.

Because Amanda Weld and Michelle Spear dreamed up this little world near the corner of Carl & Cole where both parents and kids could enjoy themselves, take a trip back in time, or just live in the moment. Indeed I am the sentimental type, but guess what? So are you. And the beautiful toys and the vintage Beatles memorabilia cards that sit side by side remind you that we’re all kids. We all want to play, and live in the moment and remember, and be young again.

So let’s talk about where it began. Every business begins with a vision, real people, and a story. Here’s the story. Involved in performance art at the start, Amanda recalls her first creative endeavor:

“When I was five or six, I had a sleep over with two or three other girls and I made everyone stay up helping me write a puppet play. The idea was that we could surprise everyone's parents with it when they got picked up in the morning. Needless to say, it was not as well performed or received as I had imagined it would be.”

The same combination of creative talent and critical focus on quality shines through today. Tantrum is not her first business venture. She recounts her previous shop, Poe Studio, a children's clothing and gift store in Charleston, South Carolina:

I was 25 and newly married. (We marry young down south.) I had been managing a print shop that sold cheap prints to tourists and framed them in badly made frames. I quit that to make a living as an illustrator and after graduating (as a Design-illustration major at the Savannah College of Art), Poe Studio was really supposed to be my studio with some kick-knacks up front (if anyone bothered to wander in). I was painting portraits, mostly, and then I heard about such a thing as a "gift show" and with credit card in hand-went to the NY international Gift Show. I hated to shop but had a blast shopping for others! Before I knew it the 300 ft space was filled and the illustration business (or lack thereof) was buried for another day.

The move to San Francisco came a few years later. During a west coast tour of her husband Richard’s  band, A Decent Animal, she decided a more permanent relocation was in order and in 2007, Amanda sold Poe Studio to one of her long-time employees and moved to SF, into a two bedroom apartment above Vierra & Friends Salon.

Fast forward a bit and Amanda, now a five year Cole Valley resident with her husband Richard, 8 year old son Henry and 3.9 year old daughter Thisbe, was still known for throwing amazing vintage-themed birthday parties for her son. Between fond memories of her days at Poe Studio, and hearing friend after friend encourage her to open up a new shop, she eventually decided they were right, and began talking with others about the idea.

And then fate, (as fate does) challenged her resolve by giving her exactly what she needed  only a few months later. Occasions, the bath & body boutique literally around the corner from home, was closing up shop, leaving the perfect space. “It was a chicken before egg scenario. My husband spotted the "Going Out of Business" sign in their window before I had seriously considered opening another store. Then it was like...’Yeah right! Like it could ever happen to open something so close-so quickly!’ ”

As the momentum continued forward, one of the friends she had consulted was Michelle Spear: “Amanda reached out to discuss her opportunity and get my opinion on things. The more I heard, the more I got excited and inspired. From there, it just snowballed into this awesome creative [process] back and forth. We set up a room in my house, covered it with all of our thoughts and ideas and fully concepted the store’s vision. Amanda had an awesome core idea and together we added more and more into it to make Tantrum what it is today. (Miraculous that we did all of that in 2 months! It makes me smile thinking about it.)”

New quaint vintage children's store opens on Cole Street! The old shop, Occasions, recently went out of business and it seems like in no time, a new shop has taken shape. Quite amazing how speedy the change was; there must be a story behind that one! 

Owners, Amanda Weld and Michelle Spear, offer a circus-type atmospshere with loads of vintage toys, clothing, and household items. 

Hours are every day 11am-7pm.


Word on the street is that there will be a grand opening sometime soon, which we hope will bring must fun activities to the neighborhood. Hey, if the store is circus themed, we're thinking circus themed grand opening with clowns?! Who knows!

We want to welcome Tantrum to our lovely neighborhood and look forward to checking them out soon! We just love locally owned businesses coming to our mellow little oasis of the city! Best of luck!