Herb Caen once said “Any city that doesn’t have a Tenderloin isn’t a city at all” which, despite my general distaste for Herb Caen, is a pretty accurate take. I have mixed feelings about people who write about the Tenderloin. Nothing about the commentary comes off as balanced. The

It was announced on Tuesday morning that Macy’s would be closing 150 “underproductive” stores nationwide. Shortly afterwards the news broke that the Macy’s in downtown San Francisco would be one of the casualties. We all know that there’s going to be a lot of public handwringing and teeth gnashing about

Step into a world of adventure with the San Francisco Beer Passport. There’s no better way to explore San Francisco than to literally drink it in. This passport is amazing! Each one contains 27 coupons to buy one beer, get a second beer FREE at 27 of the finest locally

One of San Francisco’s unsung heroes on the edge of Union Square is about to hang up their cape for good. Jeffrey’s Toys, a toy and comic book store founded in 1938, once had seven locations throughout the 48 hills. Now, the Chronicle reports the final outpost at 45 Kearny Street

Tramping up the steps from Embarcadero station, I saw brilliant rays of light shining at a sharp angle all the way past Twin Peaks with so much stability it seemed like Mario could hop on a tiny car and Rainbow Road his way to the galaxies. I walked along Market

PHOTOS AND WORDS BY ANDY SAMWICK I’ve visited chef Joe Hou at The Line Hotel since it opened last year. He runs the kitchens at both Tenderheart on the ground floor and Rise Over Run on the top floor and also plays host at a spectacular rooftop bar. Hou has

Long before conversations of doom loops, hope loops, or any other loops that crop up in casual conversation in the Bay Area, there was the matsutake mushroom. It’s a prized, resilient fungus that UC Santa Cruz anthropologist Anna Tsing describes as the ultimate example of rebirth in a post-capitalist world

I’m bored of writing about this, but here we go again. Downtown San Francisco is experiencing high retail vacancy rates because rich people are scared of people on drugs. That’s why they attend things like Burning Man, to get away from drug addicts – well, at least the poor ones. 

This isn’t a ‘doom loop’ article. I’m not writing this because I’m concerned about the current state of commercial or corporate real estate in San Francisco. It’s actually the opposite: I’m fucking ecstatic.  According to a study released by Capital Economics, San Francisco’s commercial real estate value is predicted to