by Sebastian on August 4, 2025 (BeyondChron.org)
District 2 Supervisor Stephen Sherrill on Van Ness Avenue
Van Ness Avenue, “the city’s spine,” had been neglected by City Hall for far too long. The city should have done more during the six-year construction of the Van Ness Bus Rapid Transit to help the existing businesses survive. Now, it is almost impossible to recreate the vibrancy like before the construction began.
It took a new online news organization launched in 2021, The San Francisco Standard, to finally shed light on the struggling “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” where business owners felt stuck waiting for Batman to rescue them.
“Batman” And “Robin” Have Arrived To Save Van Ness Avenue
The “Batman” they had been waiting for arrived in December 2024, when the former San Francisco Mayor, London Breed, appointed the new District 2 Supervisor, Stephen Sherrill, who shares part of Van Ness Avenue with the new District 3 Supervisor Danny Sauter, elected in November 2024.
They team up like “Batman” and “Robin” to save (revitalize) Van Ness Avenue. They immediately introduced legislation to permit “formula retail” on a one-mile stretch of Van Ness Avenue between Redwood, a half block North of City Hall and Broadway Streets, to fill empty storefronts. The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved it in April.
Then, in July, Mayor Daniel Lurie, in collaboration with Supervisors Stephen Sherrill, Danny Sauter, Rafael Mandelman, Chyanne Chen, Jackie Fielder, and Joel Engardio, signed legislation renewing the First Year Free Program, which waives registration, license, permit, and other first-year fees.
The program has been extended through June 30, 2026, removing financial barriers for businesses and helping them thrive.
“Small businesses are the backbone of San Francisco. But for too long, it’s been too hard and too expensive to get started. First Year Free helps change that. By extending this program, we’re continuing to cut red tape, lower startup costs, and make it easier to fill empty storefronts. That brings life back to our commercial corridors and boosts every business on the block. If you want to open a business in San Francisco, we want you here. I’m proud to work with Mayor Lurie to keep supporting programs that deliver real results for small business owners,” said Supervisor Stephen Sherrill.
“I’m proud to support programs like First Year Free that make it easier to open shop in our neighborhoods and ensure San Francisco remains a city of opportunity,” said Supervisor Danny Sauter. “This initiative makes it easier for entrepreneurs to get started and invest in our city. By removing financial barriers up front, we’re saying loud and clear: San Francisco is open for business, and we’ve got your back.”
They soon celebrated the opening of Apple Cinemas at the historic building at 1000 Van Ness Avenue, which only had one business operating at that time, The Emerald Lounge. And by the end of summer, a new gym called The Grand Athletic Club is scheduled to open as well.
The upcoming gym at 1000 Van Ness Avenue
Bringing Van Ness Avenue Back To Life Like In the 80s
I recently walked Van Ness Avenue with Supervisor Sherrill. He is very optimistic about the new improvements of Van Ness Avenue. The thoroughfare is cleaner, and a few new businesses have moved in.
“Van Ness has been neglected for so long. This area was clean, safe, and vibrant during Jeremiah Tower’s Stars restaurant era in the 80s. We need to bring that magic back to Van Ness Avenue,” he said.
During our stroll, he suddenly ran off to pick up a bag of dog poop on the sidewalk. He said to me, “It makes me angry that people leave dog poops on sidewalks.” I said, “Well, trash cans are hard to find in our city these days. We need trash cans on Van Ness Avenue.”
I showed him the planters with chicken wire on Van Ness Avenue and Eddy Street to prevent people from throwing trash and stealing the plants, to comply with the city ordinance to keep live plants in planters.”
Planters with chicken wire on Van Ness Avenue and Eddy Street
New plants (signs of new life) protected by chicken wire on Van Ness planters
He carried the dog poop bag until we found a trash can on Eddy Street and Van Ness Avenue. That was the first trash can that we could find 3 blocks North of City Hall.
What Merchants Think About the New Legislation to Help Revitalize Van Ness Avenue
Most merchants say that they have noticed the improvements in the street condition and appreciate all the efforts of Supervisors Stephen Sherrill and Danny Sauter have made. They notice that the city cares about them now. However, they say that they need parking spaces or curbsides for their vendors and customers to improve their businesses.
Outer Haze Dispensary On Van Ness Avenue Has Closed
For Outer Haze Dispensary, which opened in July 2023, the new improvements on Van Ness Avenue didn’t come soon enough for them to stay in business. Their last day of business on Van Ness Avenue was August 3. The owner, Chris Callaway, blamed slow foot traffic and California’s 4% cannabis tax increase that kicked in on July 1. He plans to open a cannabis dispensary in the Mission in the future, where there is more foot traffic.
Outer Haze Dispensary, 928 Van Ness Avenue, Closed On August 3
The weekly Tesla showroom protests, across the street from his store, had hurt his business, as his customers didn’t want to come to his store during the demonstrations. He talked to the demonstrators that he was in solidarity with them, but they needed to patronize small businesses in the area, so that they could survive. And he posted these signs at his store:
Signs in Outer Haze Store offering deals to lure customers
Troubles At 1000 Van Ness Avenue Building
The Apple Cinemas staff told me that business is slow during weekdays, but it picks up on weekends. Rebecca Fox, the owner of the Emerald Lounge, told me that she has been struggling with her business. Foot traffic is slow.
The Emerald Lounge, 1000 Van Ness Avenue
She was recently sucker punched without any provocation by a person who just walked into her coffee lounge. She has hired 2 security guards since the incident, for which she pays $25 per hour per person out of pocket.
And now, she is in the middle of a legal battle with her landlord.
She has set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds to cover her urgent legal fees and keep her staff employed. “We’re in the middle of a legal battle with our landlord — one marked by intimidation, neglect, and what we believe are unethical attempts to push us out. Despite doing everything right, from securing permits to restoring a long-vacant space, we’ve faced vandalism, harassment, and a lack of basic building support. I’ve poured everything I have into keeping the doors open — emotionally, physically, and financially — but we’ve reached a breaking point.
I’m fighting not just for my business, but for the team who believes in this vision, and for the community we’ve created inside these walls,” she wrote in her GoFundMe page. She has raised $1,550 as of Aug 3 toward her $70,000 goal. The legal battle may delay the opening of her coffee equipment showroom, Blue Grind Water, across the hall from her Emerald Lounge.
She was very passionate about her coffee equipment showroom when she talked to me. “The showroom will look like Barnes & Noble, where customers can hang out and try out coffee machines before they buy. I will have display windows like those at Macy’s. I will have music concerts and art shows to draw foot traffic. My security guards are from Afghanistan and have families there who make jewelry. I will help them sell their jewelry at the showroom so that they can send money home to their families.”
Since the building had been empty for years, she was going to put up a banner in front of the building so that people would find her coffee lounge. She designed the banner, which had been approved by the SF Historical Society, since the building is a historic one. But she can’t afford to pay for the banner now, since her legal battle will cost her a lot of money.
She mentioned that she could use some help from the city with getting a curbside for her customers, since parking is difficult to find, and she can’t afford to validate her customers to park in the building’s parking garage. She believes that a curbside at the corner of the building will improve her business significantly.
Nevertheless, she is very optimistic that Supervisors Stephen Sherrill and Danny Sauter’s new legislation will improve foot traffic when more businesses open on Van Ness Avenue.
She said, “I fell in love with this building the moment I saw it. It’s a gem. I will fight to stay here, and I want people to come to Van Ness Avenue.”
Diamond In The Rough
Van Ness Avenue is a diamond in the rough. It has beautiful historic buildings and potential. It will sparkle like stars in the sky when it’s all polished. With the will and collaboration of the city and the community, Van Ness Avenue will come back again like during Jeremiah Tower’s Stars restaurant era, when you were never more than a few hours from a party and rarely farther than a few blocks from great meals. It needs cafes, bars, shops, and parking to draw foot traffic.
At the end of our walk along Van Ness Avenue, before Supervisor Stephen Sherrill headed back to City Hall, standing in front of the Opera Plaza and looking around his surroundings, he said, “This area has been neglected for too long. It should be part of the city’s revitalization plans. There is still plenty of work that needs to be done.”
As they say, “It ain’t over till the fat lady sings.”
