There seems to be a strange bermuda triangle at the intersection of Frederick and Stanyan. Several businesses cannot seem to survive. Remember Sun Tanning Salon and Cole Valley Cardio [now Past Perfect]? That particular storefront has seen more turnover than most in the neighborhood. Well another bites the dust at this mysterious intersection. Pitch Salon (514 Frederick), moved to the Mission late last fall and the former space has remained empty. Lack of foot traffic could have been due to the salon's decline, and with the other businesses around this intersection. Maybe new business owners in this strange bermuda triangle should take some advice from American Cyclery who have been a staple at the Frederick and Stanyan corner for decades! 

According to Hoodline, an online head shop, Billowby, will be moving into the former Pitch Salon space. Billowby is San Francisco based and has been in business for five months. From a quick jaunt through the Haight, it's obvious we do not need any more headshops. Since they are predominately an online store, it will be interesting to see how they use the space. 

Also the CEO David Matthews is a Cole Valley/Upper Haight resident himself so it's nice to see local business owners being able to set up shop close to home. Major neighborhood points there!

Cole Valley gem, Zazie, recently received national recognition for their employee benefits. With only a $1.25 per person surcharge added to all checks, all 32 employees receive full health and dental insurance, including sick leave and 401(k) retirement plan. If you missed the live news broadcast, catch the segment below. Congrats Zazie for advocating for employee rights and making it a priority! More restaurants should follow suit. 

Does your kid want to be a cheese whiz?! A long time Cole Valley gem, Say Cheese will begin offering children classes this summer. Here's more details.

The new program, called Mini Mongers SF,  will be 2 times a month, and an hour and a half long with different age groups:
-Petits Palettes (5-8 ages)
-Mini Mongers(9-13 ages)
-Connoisseur Cadets(14-17 ages)
The classes will be $30

There are talks of bringing in local foodies and chefs to be guest instructors so more details to come!

Got any questions or want to pre-register your child? Contact minimongersf@gmail.com. You can also pop by the shop and ask your questions there.

Some may have noticed scaffolding at the corner of Cole and Waller. This is because of recent renovation work of Cole Valley Cafe, a cafe staple along Cole Street with hot drinks, yummy bites and free WIFI. 

The cafe not only has a new fresh coat of paint but also updated their interiors. From round tables to square tables, and a complete update of the counter and menu items. They streamlined their menu list to focus on breakfast sandwiches, salads and bagels. The cafe also plans to replace their old coffee machine with a new machine with options for drip coffee, pour-over and espresso. They also plan to exhibit local art on their walls as a new way to support local artists and spruce up their new digs.  They might even have some outdoor seating so stay tuned!

Content from this blog was originally posted on Hoodline and has been used with permission.

This holiday season, we have some great holiday festivities in the neighborhood. Check them out below:


Santa on Cole
Santa on Cole appears Sunday, December 7th! Santa will be available to take photos at Postal Chase from 11am - 5pm! This is a wonderful opportunity to get your holiday photos while supporting our efforts to keep Cole Street sidewalks squeaky clean. This event is sponsored by the Cole Valley Improvement Association

Grand Chanukah Celebration
Join your Cole Valley neighbors for Chabad Cole Valley's 4th Annual Menorah Lighting & Festival at Grattan Playground. Sunday, Dec. 21 from 3 PM - 5 PM. There will be a giant LEGO Menorah, face painting, hot drinks and refreshments, arts and crafts, and some community leaders and "celebrities" RSVP here 

Muni Forward, a project of SFMTA to tackle transit efficiency in San Francisco plans to tackle Haight Street. Here are some facts about Haight Street transit

20,000 riders travel along Haight every day
24 buses are in operation during peak hours (morning and evening commute)
Buses make more than 20 stops 
Only 50% of buses complete their route on time
25 pedestrians have been hit by cars on Haight in the last 5 years

According to Hoodline, Muni Forward seeks to tackle these challenges by replacing stop signs with traffic signals at 10 intersections along Haight (an increase from earlier drafts of the plan), moving Muni stops to alternate sides of the street at certain locations, and installing pedestrian bulbouts at busy corners. Kennedy estimated that in those 25 cases where pedestrians were hit by cars, bulbouts would have helped deter 17 of them. Meanwhile, when four-way stops have been replaced with traffic signals in other locations in the city, pedestrian injuries have been reduced, Kennedy said.

Overall, the SFMTA estimates the plan will reduce travel time by 3 minutes, or roughly 25%, along the route. 

We're not too sure what to make of these strange face sculptures but all of a sudden they have been popping up in strange places all over the neighborhood. We decided to do some digging. According to a MissionLocal article from April 2014, they were found in the Mission District as well. We're hoping these are the same faces that are in our hood. These faces are the work of Bruce Hallman who, "began the urban art project 'to create an object of focus for peaceful thoughts and spirituality.'" Hallman hopes that SF citizens will use the masks as a spirit guardian, much like more common garden gnomes. In MissionLocal's article, Hallman even mentioned that it's totally fine to pick one up and take it home! Feel free to read the full story here.