Testing the Pulse of Downtown, Mid-Market
I was in Financial district and walked around the neighborhood where the new spots for Crustacean and Wayfair Tavern would be.
Crustacean is moving from 1475 Polk to 191 Pine which will be open by the end of the year according to Kenneth Lew with Crustacean. It will have 145 seats in the dining room and 9 in the bar.
Tyler Florence is opening Wayfair Tavern close by at 201 Pine.
JH2 Architecs is managing the design of the new Crustacean restaurant:
Crustacean, San Francisco, CA – Restaurant Architecture – JH2 Architects %
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This is 201 Pine where Wayfair Tavern will be:
I hope they will be able to revitalize that neighborhood. It’s pretty dead there. There are so many empty stores:
Good Eats café across the street from GNC has also closed:
Amazon is closing down their 4 Amazon Go stores in Financial District on April 1.
Then, I walked down Market street. I saw the signs of life and spring as I got to Mid Market.
The sun came out after the morning rain.
People were walking along Market street carrying tulips from the tulip giveaway in Union Square.
Everything was all positive. The tulip giveaway was a good way to attract people to come to downtown/financial district area. Restaurants and stores were packed. The city should reach out to other flower organizations (dahlia, gladiolus, etc.) to put together events like the tulip giveaway.
That scene above made me feel like I were in Paris: people carrying tulips, waiting for the bus, bicycling with old buildings as a backdrop.
So, to satiate my inner Francophile’s wanderlust, I tried to find a café along Market street with a Parisian ambiance.
Voilà, I found La Cuisine café at 1145 Market across the street from UN Plaza:
It’s a charming small café with 2 tiny tables outside.
I sat outside to savor my cappuccino, croissant, and the ambiance. It was a feast for my senses.
The smell of urine around my table overpowered the wonderful bakery smells from the café.
I overheard an Urban Alchemy’s ambassador telling a group of drug dealers to wrap up their dealing quickly and move along so that tourists who had been waiting patiently could walk through the sidewalk.
The area by the fountain in UN Plaza was packed with people selling drugs and other goods, smoking, and shooting up drugs.
It was so out of control that Emily, the perky and bubbly main character in “Emily In Paris” (the Netflix’s hit show) would have IG it instantly:
I don’t hold it against the owner of the café as it’s out of his hands. But, it’s the responsibilities of the city to take care of it.
