Fog City News, a downtown San Francisco institution known for its dizzying selection of periodicals and award-winning collection of artisan chocolate bars, is closing. This independent business at 455 Market St., which celebrated 20 years in business in 2019, will “permanently close on or before Friday, December 31st,” according to

It’s all too obvious that the quirky character of San Francisco is being eroded by the generic sameness of robot coffee bars, mediocre salad spots, chain drug stores and pricey hipster brand showrooms replicated in tony neighborhoods everywhere from here to Wicker Park to Manhattan. So it’s heartening to hear