{"id":28505,"date":"2023-09-15T12:56:35","date_gmt":"2023-09-15T19:56:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=28505"},"modified":"2023-09-15T12:56:36","modified_gmt":"2023-09-15T19:56:36","slug":"doing-good-but-not-good-enough-shops-eateries-closing-in-the-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/09\/15\/doing-good-but-not-good-enough-shops-eateries-closing-in-the-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Doing good, but not good enough:\u2019 shops, eateries closing in the Mission"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"\" by\u00a0JUNYAO YANG<\/a><\/strong> SEPTEMBER 14, 2023 (MissionLocal.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Il
Il Pollaio, the grilled chicken spot on Mission St., closed last month. Photo by Junyao Yang.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Two restaurants, a chic clothing store, and an \u201cephemeral\u201d tattoo studio are closing up shop in the Mission, the latest in comings and goings in the neighborhood.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dumpling Club<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dumpling Club, the local food retail and community space that makes small-batch dumplings with local ingredients, announced Sunday that it will be closing in early October. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Owner Cathay Bi announced the end of Dumpling Club on Instagram<\/a>. The shop\u2019s last day will be Oct. 8. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Dumpling Club, the restaurant and community space, will be closed in early October. Photo by Junyao Yang.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Since it opened in early 2020 at 3233 22nd St., Dumpling Club has been making fluffy pork buns, creative dumplings and comforting congee throughout the pandemic and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been almost four years since Bi started testing out recipes in her kitchen. At first, she hoped to put nutritious Chinese food on the table for her kids in less than 15 minutes, before experimenting with feeding hungry customers.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No single factor drove the decision to close the shop, Bi wrote in her goodbye post. \u201cBut I can say it is spectacularly hard to run a small business in post-pandemic San Francisco \u2014 especially one that is low margin, high cash flow, and capital-intensive.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For some, Dumpling Club is more than a place for food. First dates happen here, as well as proposal stories, said Bi. The flavors of the food bring back memories that were long lost. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople really feel like it connects them to a piece of their heritage,\u201d Bi said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subscribe to our daily newsletter<\/strong> and have the latest stories from Mission Local delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s really good!\u201d Andrea Akers yelled to someone checking out the menu on Dumpling Club\u2019s door this Tuesday. Akers, who works organizing the 22nd Street farmers market, was busy putting \u201ctow-away zone\u201d signs on the sidewalk in preparation for the market on Thursday. She said she has eaten from the dumpling spot a couple times, ordering takeout because the lines are always long. Her favorite is \u201csome wonton-like pork thing, served with chili oil.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ll miss the owner, the staff and how good neighbors they were,\u201d Akers said. \u201cI hope they can come back, maybe not at the same location, but somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bi is working on finalizing the timeline for the next four weeks, \u201cmaking sure everyone has a chance to buy dumplings and experience our food before we close, and support my team.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next Thursday and Friday, Bi will bring back a Taiwanese menu, including the Gua Bao (pork belly buns) that Bi said are a favorite. It will also host special events on Sept. 28 to 30 to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, a traditional Chinese festival. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SYSTEM<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

SYSTEM, the design retail store at 786 Valencia Street that sells chic utility clothing, camera accessories, outdoor tools and industrial design goods, is also closing. Its last day will be Sept. 28. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe wanted to stay, but the landlord is basically a little unrealistic about what they think the place is worth right now,\u201d said owner Richard Liu. \u201cWe\u2019ve just been paying them all of our profits for the past few years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
SYSTEM, the design retail store on Valencia St. will be closed on Sept. 28. Photo by Junyao Yang.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Shoplifting is also a growing concern for Liu. During the first five of its eight years on Valencia, the shop had a small number of thefts. But in the last three years, that number climbed close to 20, Liu said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On weekdays, around 10 to 20 people walk in the store, and on weekends it would be 100 to 200, said Jeremy Pascual, one of the store\u2019s three staff members. This, he said, was \u201cgood, but not good enough,\u201d compared to pre-pandemic, when SYSTEM was doing \u201creally well.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the store closing, the SYSTEM brand will only operate online and through its wholesale partners. Some of the store\u2019s furniture and other fixtures are also available for sale, although Liu is hesitant to part with them, hoping to start over someday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe want to reopen one day,\u201d Liu said. \u201cIn a lower-priced part of the city where I can just focus on the retail experience and not so much on selling.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the big question. When is SF gonna be back?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amanda Ondretti and Caroline T., who work at the gift store Open Editions next door, are sad to see SYSTEM go. They heard about the thefts and break-ins from a group chat where Valencia shops share such information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey are super awesome,\u201d Ondretti said. \u201cFor us, we have a wide price range of products, but for them, if they lost something of a high price value, it could be a big loss.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ephemeral Tattoo<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"The
Ephemeral Tattoo studio on Valencia St. will be closed later this week. Photo by Junyao Yang.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ephemeral, a temporary-tattoo start-up, is closing its studio on Valencia Street, together with other studios in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Washington D.C. and Houston.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last day for appointment at Ephemeral will be Sept. 17, an employee at the Valencia location said. The San Francisco Chronicle<\/em> first reported<\/a> the closure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ephemeral opened<\/a> at 962 Valencia St. last year. It has drawn customers who want tattoos without the lifetime commitment. According to its website, Ephemeral\u2019s ink fades in under two years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But some customers who expected their tattoos to disappear over time had complained that they were still very visible after two years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Il Pollaio<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Il Pollaio, a classic North Beach grilled-chicken spot that opened its second location at 2859 Mission St. three years ago, closed its Mission location last month. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are very sad to say that Il Pollaio at Mission St. is officially closed,\u201d the owners announced on Instagram<\/a> on Aug. 17. \u201cWe have loved working in this neighborhood for the past three years and gave it our all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Il Pollaio closed its Mission location last month. Its North Beach location will remain open. Photo by Junyao Yang.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tucked into a row of shops and taquerias, Il Pollaio served flame-grilled chicken, hot Italian sausages and steak fries. The restaurant was a mainstay in North Beach, where it opened in 1984, and added the Mission location in 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maria Castellucci Bautista, who owns the restaurant with her husband, Alejandro, told Mission Local in 2019<\/a> that, in the Mission location, she hoped to recreate the neighborhood atmosphere she and her family have been building over the last decade and a half in North Beach.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For patrons, Il Pollaio\u2019s location on Columbus Street is still open to satisfy their grilled chicken cravings.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JUNYAO YANG<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

junyao@missionlocal.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Junyao Yang is a data reporter for Mission Local through the California Local News Fellowship. Junyao is passionate about creating visuals that tell stories in creative ways. She received her Master\u2019s degree from UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Sometimes she tries too hard to get attention from cute dogs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by\u00a0JUNYAO YANG SEPTEMBER 14, 2023 (MissionLocal.org) Two restaurants, a chic clothing store, and an \u201cephemeral\u201d tattoo studio are closing up shop in the Mission, the latest in comings and goings in the neighborhood.   Dumpling Club Dumpling Club, the local food retail and community space that makes small-batch dumplings with local… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1074],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28505"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28505"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28506,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28505\/revisions\/28506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}