Posts Tagged ‘upscale’
Saturday, June 2nd, 2012
I’ll tell you, San Francisco doesn’t have too many Republicans but they manage to come out in force during Steve Restivo’s annual Union Street Eco Urban (or is it Urban Eco?) Street Festival.
I can just about assure that the Mitt Romney people will on the scene and out in force, with the ironing boards and whatnot – like this guy:
All right now here’s your Union Street Festival Decision Tree:
“1. Is it sunny outside?
2. Can you stand crowds of overgrown sorority girls and fraternity boys?
3. Can you stand crowded beer gardens filled with the aforementioned?
If you answered yes to the above, proceed to the Union Street Festival. “
Dude, harsh!
But here’s the retort, from a party-lover, here’s the other side of this perfect dramaturgical dyad:
“SORRY FOR:
(1) PARTYING AND HAVING FUN AT A FESTIVAL
(2) NOT BEING A GRANDMA, and
(3) LIVING LIFE A LITTLE.”
So there you go.
The alcohol drinking used to be totally wide open, and then things got toned down a bit, and now I think even the walled-off beer “gardens” are gone. But you can always join one of the annual beer-fueled house parties, why not?
All right, let’s travel back to years past – here are some shots from yesteryear:
“Now here’s what’s funny when the so-called neighbors who own houses near traditional San Francisco street parties, like the Bay to Breakers Fun Run and the Union Street Festival. Inevitably, some of the actual neighbors, the people what live on the street itself, throw open their doors for anything-goes, beer-fueled house parties.
Anyway, today Andrea Koskey has the news about how there will be no more beer gardens at the Union Street Festival 2011, prompting this response from Serg of the Uptown Almanac:
“Yeah because rock and fucking roll brings the “wilder element.” Yeah I bet it must be nuts when your heehaw ass festival gets raided by tall-can wielding dave matthews fans. Ain’t no dancing in this town bitches! We want to sell shitty ass freeway artwork and braclets made out of old rocks and trash to senior citizens and sweater knots. Fucking dumb asses chewing on shitty grilled meat on a stick can’t hang out in beer gardens or do whatever dumb fucking bullshit it is that they do on their lame ass stoops on Union st. Union street can suck my balls, that shit has been herbfest from the gate, amatuer hour trainwreck can stay gone.”
O.K. then.
All right, get your house partay tickets or invites now. (It’ll be a piece of cake if you are popular/cute enough.)
The perils of post-adolescent Union Street Fest shotgunning. The front of this house faces Union:
That entire residence was filled to the brim with partiers in 2008. Ah, memories.
All right, see you there, or not.
Now enjoy a trip down Union Street Festival Memory Lane:
This thing is biiiig – it will take you a long time to wander about Union:
You know who proved popular was Tom Rigney, “electric violinist, Cajun fiddler, composer, graphic artist, and leader of the American roots music band, Tom Rigney and Flambeau.”
Best in Show – Candy Wrapper Handbags, something like this, as seen on Oprah
Micro cupcakes continue their dominance over the cuisine of the late aughts
Your streetfest four basic food groups are poultry (including turkey legs, they’re not just for renaissance festivals anymore), corn on the cob, couscous (not pictured) and garlic fries (not pictured).
2.5 star-rated Left at Albuquerque [sadly closed now, I think] offered crowd-pleasing beer towers to sidewalk diners:
Now they’re renting out A2B electric scooters to tourists. Do people really ride these things on the Golden Gate Bridge sidewalks at 20 per back and forth to Sausalito? People do. Anyway, Blazing Saddles bike rentals was offering test drives.
Suds on the Roof, but much less than in years past. I think a man partying outdoors feels more like a man if he can have a red cup of suds.
“Eco-Urban” Union Street featured a hell of a lot of gas powered Honda generators, but this year, not so much. Originally, I thought this distribution amplifier was a box full of car batteries, but now I’m at a loss at figuring out how this band got its power. If they had a generator, they hid it well.
What’s this?
It’s an overhead extention cord leading from a Union Street business to one of the food vendors in the middle of the street. Is that an extension cord being used as internal wiring? Cough electrical code cough.
Oh, there it is! One of at least two Hondas in operation today.
But at least all the amplified music won’t disturb this slumbering. ear-protected pooch.
It’s big, in’nt?
And here’s the lateral view from our most-polarizing street fest yesterday, the day with “fewer hooligans” drinking beer according to at least one Sunday attendee:
I’ll tell you, myself, I didn’t see too many “drunken douchebags.” Myself. Anyway, it’s nice to see Union busy for a change.
Lots of swag from our corporate overlords at this street faire:
All right, here are a few of the Repubs. Yes on B and Fix MUNI Now were a few of their issues:
And here are some more. These people were promoting Dana Walsh (no, not the character on 24 and not this cutie, oh no – the Republican Dana Walsh).
As usual, the West End was strictly for kids:
And dogs, of course:
Fandango let people take two free spins on their unfairly-weighted (aka loaded, gaffed, cogged, weighted, crooked, or gag) swag roulette wheel – that was a mistake. Scored a bumper sticker the first try and then a precious $50 credit code the second. Bonus.
And of course, another Mini MUNI Meltdown, right on sked:
Tags: 1760 union, 2010, 2011, 2012, 6, 6th, 7, 7th, annual, banned, bay area, beer bong, beer garden, beergarden, bicycle, bike, bio-hybrid, boycott, california, cancelled, concept car, cow hollow, drinking, eco, eco-urban, electric, fair, faire, fest, Festival, fillmore, generators, gough, green, house, james lipton, june, LLC, mnarina, party, photos, rental, Restivo, saab, San Francisco, SF, shot gun, shot gunning, shotgun, shotgunning, steiner, stephen, Stephen Restivo, Steve, Steve Restivo, Steven, Steven Restivo, street, Tom Rigney, union, union street, union street festival, upscale, urban, yuppies
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Friday, June 3rd, 2011
Just so you know.
Click here to get an idea on what to expect on Union Street in the Cow Hollow / Marina this weekend, June 4-5, 2011.
But keep in mind that you will be venturing onto the northern slopes of NIMBY Mountain, the Fortress of Reaction, you’ll be dealing with the Specific Whites of Pacific Heights Adjacent, so forget about walking around with an open container all obvious the way you can at other City-sanctioned bacchanalia.
You gotta be sly fox, like this gal. The SFPD is totally cool with this:
Click to expand
Great. Now you’re all set to party with the attractive denizens of the Marina, where even the fat slobs are appealing in a Jack Black / Judd Apatow kind of way.
I can’t believe this video documenting life on Fillmore Street was pulled from YouTube. (This screengrab still looks like a movie still to me.)
Oh well.
(Oh, and by the way Union Street Festival, you might be Urban, but you’re not Eco, not in the least, especially because everything’s Eco in 2011. Just so you know.)
And oh kids, stay out of the West End of Union, as that’s reserved for the little ones. Party People should stay on the other side of Fillmore.
Have fun…
Tags: 1760 union, 2010, 2011, 6, 6th, 7, 7th, annual, banned, bay area, beer bong, beer garden, beergarden, bicycle, bike, bio-hybrid, boycott, california, cancelled, concept car, cow hollow, drinking, eco, eco-urban, electric, fair, faire, fest, Festival, fillmore, generators, gough, green, house, june, LLC, mnarina, party, photos, rental, Restivo, San Francisco, SF, shot gun, shot gunning, shotgun, shotgunning, steiner, stephen, Stephen Restivo, Steve, Steve Restivo, Steven, Steven Restivo, street, Tom Rigney, union, union street, union street festival, upscale, urban, yuppies
Posted in art, events, food and drink | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 25th, 2011
Now here’s what’s funny when the so-called neighbors who own houses near traditional San Francisco street parties, like the Bay to Breakers Fun Run and the Union Street Festival, complain about traditional San Francisco street parties like the Bay to Breakers Fun Run and the Union Street Festival. Inevitably, some of the actual neighbors, the people what live on the street itself, throw open their doors for anything-goes, beer-fueled house parties.
Anyway, today Andrea Koskey has the news about how there will be no more beer gardens at the Union Street Festival 2011, prompting this response from Serg of the Uptown Almanac:
“Yeah because rock and fucking roll brings the “wilder element.” Yeah I bet it must be nuts when your heehaw ass festival gets raided by tall can weilding dave matthews fans. Ain’t know dancing in this town bitches! We want to sell shitty ass freeway artwork and braclets made out of old rocks and trash to senior citizens and sweater knots. Fucking dumb asses chewing on shitty grilled meat on a stick can’t hang out in beer gardens or do whatever dumb fucking bullshit it is that they do on their lame ass stoops on Union st. Union street can suck my balls, that shit has been herbfest from the gate, amatuer hour trainwreck can stay gone.”
O.K. then.
All right, get your house partay tickets or invites now. (It’ll be a piece of cake if you are popular/cute enough.)
The perils of post-adolescent Union Street Fest shotgunning. The front of this house faces Union:
That entire residence was filled to the brim with partiers in 2008. Ah, memories.
All right, see you there, or not.
Now enjoy a trip down Union Street Festival Memory Lane:
This thing is biiiig – it will take you a long time to wander about Union:
You know who proved popular was Tom Rigney, “electric violinist, Cajun fiddler, composer, graphic artist, and leader of the American roots music band, Tom Rigney and Flambeau.”
Best in Show – Candy Wrapper Handbags, something like this, as seen on Oprah
Micro cupcakes continue their dominance over the cuisine of the late aughts
Your streetfest four basic food groups are poultry (including turkey legs, they’re not just for renaissance festivals anymore), corn on the cob, couscous (not pictured) and garlic fries (not pictured).
2.5 star-rated Left at Albuquerque [sadly closed now, I think] offered crowd-pleasing beer towers to sidewalk diners:
Now they’re renting out A2B electric scooters to tourists. Do people really ride these things on the Golden Gate Bridge sidewalks at 20 per back and forth to Sausalito? People do. Anyway, Blazing Saddles bike rentals was offering test drives.
Suds on the Roof, but much less than in years past. I think a man partying outdoors feels more like a man if he can have a red cup of suds.
“Eco-Urban” Union Street featured a hell of a lot of gas powered Honda generators, but this year, not so much. Originally, I thought this distribution amplifier was a box full of car batteries, but now I’m at a loss at figuring out how this band got its power. If they had a generator, they hid it well.
What’s this?
It’s an overhead extention cord leading from a Union Street business to one of the food vendors in the middle of the street. Is that an extension cord being used as internal wiring? Cough electrical code cough.
Oh, there it is! One of at least two Hondas in operation today.
But at least all the amplified music won’t disturb this slumbering. ear-protected pooch.
It’s big, in’nt?
And here’s the lateral view from our most-polarizing street fest yesterday, the day with “fewer hooligans” drinking beer according to at least one Sunday attendee:
I’ll tell you, myself, I didn’t see too many “drunken douchebags.” Myself. Anyway, it’s nice to see Union busy for a change.
Lots of swag from our corporate overlords at this street faire:
All right, here are a few of the Repubs. Yes on B and Fix MUNI Now were a few of their issues:
And here are some more. These people were promoting Dana Walsh (no, not the character on 24 and not this cutie, oh no – the Republican Dana Walsh).
As usual, the West End was strictly for kids:
And dogs, of course:
Fandango let people take two free spins on their unfairly-weighted (aka loaded, gaffed, cogged, weighted, crooked, or gag) swag roulette wheel – that was a mistake. Scored a bumper sticker the first try and then a precious $50 credit code the second. Bonus.
And of course, another Mini MUNI Meltdown, right on sked:
Tags: 1760 union, 2010, 2011, 6, 6th, 7, 7th, annual, banned, bay area, beer bong, beer garden, beergarden, bicycle, bike, bio-hybrid, boycott, california, cancelled, concept car, cow hollow, drinking, eco, eco-urban, electric, fair, faire, fest, Festival, fillmore, generators, gough, green, house, june, LLC, mnarina, party, photos, rental, Restivo, San Francisco, SF, shot gun, shot gunning, shotgun, shotgunning, steiner, stephen, Stephen Restivo, Steve, Steve Restivo, Steven, Steven Restivo, street, Tom Rigney, union, union street, union street festival, upscale, urban, yuppies
Posted in events | 1 Comment »
Monday, June 7th, 2010
Here’s what Steven Restivo’s popular Union Street “Eco-Urban” Festival looks like in a typical year. It’s big, in’nt?
And here’s the lateral view from our most-polarizing street fest yesterday, the day with “fewer hooligans” drinking beer according to at least one Sunday attendee:
I’ll tell you, myself, I didn’t see too many “drunken douchebags.” Myself. Anyway, it’s nice to see Union busy for a change.
Lots of swag from our corporate overlords at this street faire:
All right, here are a few of the Repubs. Yes on B and Fix MUNI Now were a few of their issues:
And here are some more. These people were promoting Dana Walsh (no, not the character on 24 and not this cutie, oh no – the Republican Dana Walsh).
As usual, the West End was strictly for kids:
And dogs, of course:
Fandango let people take two free spins on their unfairly-weighted (aka loaded, gaffed, cogged, weighted, crooked, or gag) swag roulette wheel – that was a mistake. Scored a bumper sticker the first try and then a precious $50 credit code the second. Bonus.
And of course, another Mini MUNI Meltdown, right on sked:
See you next year, maybe.
Check out who all was there, after the jump
(more…)
Tags: 1760 union, 2010, 6, 6th, 7, 7th, annual, banned, beer bong, beer garden, beergarden, bicycle, bike, bio-hybrid, boycott, cancelled, concept car, cow hollow, drinking, eco, eco-urban, electric, fair, faire, fest, Festival, fillmore, generators, gough, green, house, june, LLC, mnarina, party, photos, rental, Restivo, San Francisco, SF, shot gun, shot gunning, shotgun, shotgunning, steiner, stephen, Stephen Restivo, Steve, Steve Restivo, Steven, Steven Restivo, street, Tom Rigney, union, union street, union street festival, upscale, urban, yuppies
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Wednesday, October 21st, 2009
As promised, the free, “hella entertaining” Most Interesting Show in the World rocked San Francisco’s SoMA district last night at The Mezzanine. Dos Equis picked up the tab and brought a truckload of smooth, refreshing XX Ambar (Amber?) and XX Lager to hand out for free. Verily, it was “dope.” If this is how our corporate overlords want to spend their money during a recession, whom are we to argue?
See below to discover if this show is coming to your town next. If you’re in Houston, Texas, you can get your ticks now. Otherwise, you’ll have to figure things out on your own. (You had to go through ShowClix to get tickets in S.F.)
[UPDATE: Now you can get tickets for all shows by clicking on TOUR DATES here and then on "RSVP" for your town. Still a few ticks left in Fun Diego, I see...]
Sax-playing host Angelo Moore of Fishbone is the high-energy MC on the MISW ’09 tour:
Click to expand
The crowd seemed to be in a good mood:
It’s Melody Sweets!:
Beatboxer Butterscotch accompanying what must be the world’s largest saxamophone – a purple bass:
The Human Spring!:
There were whips and crossbows in the house, but edged weapons were the order of the day:
Mr. and Mrs. G have a Mr. and Mrs. Smith thing going on, apparently.
Aiming a crossbow using a mirror to pop a balloon. Love hurts:
The whole shebang was a benefit for the San Francisco Food Bank:
This was the line early on going up Jessie Street betwixt 5th and 6th Streets. But everybody got in so long as they had their printed-out ticket. The Mezz at Triple Four Jessie appears to be a well run nightclub, with an aware but mellow staff that enforces rules without any unneccesary vitriol. Hurray!
Is it the Most Interesting Show in the World? Check it:
MISW 2009 TOUR SCHEDULE
Oct. 20 San Francisco Mezzanine
Oct. 21 Los Angeles Avalon
Oct. 22 San Diego 4th and B
Oct. 23 Scottsdale Venue of Scottsdale
Oct. 26 Denver Cervantes Masterpiece Bllrm.
Oct. 29 Houston Warehouse Live!
Oct. 30 San Antonio Scout Bar
Oct. 31 Dallas Granada Theater
Nov. 1 Austin La Zona Rosa
Nov. 2 Austin La Zona Rosa
Nov. 6 Chicago Park West
Nov. 10 Atlanta Variety Playhouse
Nov. 11 Charlotte The Visulite Theater
Nov. 12 Baltimore Recher Theater
Nov. 13 New York Webster Hall
Nov. 18 Tampa Bay Skipper’s Smokehouse
Nov. 19 Ft. Lauderdale Revolution Live
Tags: 20, 2008, 2009, 20th, 444, 4th and B, acrobat, ambar, amber, angelo moore, arizona, Atlanta, austin, Avalon, az, ballroom, Baltimore, bass, Beatboxer, beer, bryant, burlesque, Butterscotch, ca, california, carolina, Cervantes Masterpiece, charlotte, chicago, chinese, circus, Co., colorado, comic, Contortionist, Dallas, dangerous, Dangerous Mr. and Mrs. G, denver, dos equis, fishbone, fl, fla, florida, free, Ft. Lauderdale, ga, georgia, Granada Theater, harrioson, Heineken, Houston, human, Human Beat-Box, Human Slinky, I'll, il, illinois, in the world, jesse, jim rose, La Zona Rosa, lager, los angeles, Mark Faje, maryland, MD, Mei Ling, meiling, melody sweets, Mezzanine, misw, most interesting, most interesting man, most interesting show in the world, Mr. and Mrs. G, new york, north, November, october, octover, Offbeat Variety Show, Park West, Recher Theater, Revolution Live, San Antonio, san diego, San Francisco, saxamophone, saxophone, Scottsdale, Scout Bar, singer, Skipper’s Smokehouse, soma, south, south of market, Tampa Bay, texas, The Human Slinky, the most interesting show in the world, The World’s Most Dangerous Comic, tickets, tx, upscale, Variety Playhouse, Venue of Scottsdale, Visulite Theater, Warehouse Live!, Webster Hall, world, world famous, world's most dangerous, World's Most Dangerous Comic, xx, Zona Rosa
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Friday, October 16th, 2009
[UPDATE: The San Francisco show was a smash success.]
Here are some more details for the Most Interesting Show in the World coming this Tuesday night. It’s being paid for by our corporate overlords at Dos Equis beer, but you still have to get your free ticket before they’re all gone.
See you there!
Featuring a collection of incredible, mind-bending acts from around the globe including:
Burlesque Singer, Melody Sweets
The Dangerous Mr. and Mrs. G
World Famous Contortionist, Melanie Chi
The Human Slinky
The World’s Most Dangerous Comic, Mark Faje
The Human Beat-Box, Butterscotch
Tags: 20, 2008, 2009, 20th, 444, angelo moore, beer, bryant, burlesque, Butterscotch, california, circus, Dangerous Mr. and Mrs. G, dos equis, fishbone, free, harrioson, Heineken, Human Beat-Box, Human Slinky, in the world, jesse, jim rose, los angeles, Mark Faje, melody sweets, Mezzanine, most interesting, most interesting man, most interesting show in the world, october, Offbeat Variety Show, san diego, San Francisco, singer, soma, south of market, the most interesting show in the world, tickets, upscale, world, World's Most Dangerous Comic
Posted in events | 2 Comments »
Monday, October 12th, 2009
[UPDATE: Uh oh, the show in San Francisco is now sold out - even though (or especially because) it's free, it's sold out. Sorry. Stay thirsty, my friends!]
[REUPDATE: The San Francsico show was a hit.]
Hey, you know what you ought to be doing next week on the evening of Tuesday, October 20? You ought to be going to the Mezzanine at Triple Four Jessie in the SoMA to see The Most Interesting Show in the World.
Why’s that? Because it’s an “Upscale, Offbeat Variety Show” inspired by the iconic and controversial ”Most Interesting Man in the World” campaign for Dos Equis beer.
People, the price is right on this one – the only question is how much work it’s going to be for you to get in. The whole shebang will be run by this buzz-saw-wielding fellow, Jim Rose:
And you’ll get to see the versatile Melody Sweets - probably not as Tina Turner…
via 3DGorillaBob
…nor as a luau dancer…
…but you know Melody will most likely be more in a burlesque mode, if this article from Austinist last year is any indication.
How do you get tickets? I don’t know, but figuring that out will be something to work on this week, in’nt?
All the deets so far:
Dos Equis’ Most Interesting Show in the World Returns With 16-City Nationwide Tour
Upscale, Offbeat Variety Show is Inspired by the Iconic ‘The Most Interesting Man in the World’ Campaign
Dos Equis today announced the return of “The Most Interesting Show in the World” tour (MISW), a one-of-a-kind, touring upscale, offbeat variety show inspired by the award-winning “The Most Interesting Man in the World” campaign. This year’s MISW will once again feature a menagerie of multinational performers, including acrobats, beatboxers, burlesque performers, contortionists, crossbow marksmen and daredevils that will excite and delight audiences in 16 cities from coast to coast.
“We had great consumer response to the launch of the Most Interesting Show in the World last year and are focused on building upon that success to create an even more dynamic and unique brand experience,” said Paul Smailes, brand director for Dos Equis. “We’re bringing together engaging new entertainers and previous fan favorites to thrill consumers and continue to reinforce Dos Equis as the champion of interesting.”
Angelo Moore, poet, spoken word performer, saxophonist and founding member of the influential punk rock band “Fishbone,” will serve as the show’s host and MC.
Beginning with San Francisco on Oct. 20, the MISW will travel from the West Coast to the East Coast and make 16 tour stops, including shows in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and New York, enthralling audiences at upscale nightlife venues across the country with a unique blend of humor, seductiveness and visual entertainment.
New York-based Mirrorball is the experiential marketing agency in charge of the development and implementation of the multi-award winning MISW tour.
The show is written and produced by Randy Weiner and Weiner Entertainment Group. Weiner is the creator of the “The Donkey Show,” a variety program that has toured New York, London, Madrid and Seoul, as well as the Las Vegas show “Beacher’s Madhouse.”
The MISW tour will be supported by online media and local in-market promotions.
All MISW attendees must be 21 or over.
For more information, please visit www.dosequis.com/mostinterestingshow.
MISW 2009 TOUR SCHEDULE*
Oct. 20 San Francisco Mezzanine
Oct. 21 Los Angeles Avalon
Oct. 22 San Diego 4th and B
Oct. 23 Scottsdale Venue of Scottsdale
Oct. 26 Denver Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom
Oct. 29 Houston Warehouse Live!
Oct. 30 San Antonio Scout Bar
Oct. 31 Dallas Granada Theater
Nov. 1 Austin La Zona Rosa
Nov. 2 Austin La Zona Rosa
Nov. 6 Chicago Park West
Nov. 10 Atlanta Variety Playhouse
Nov. 11 Charlotte The Visulite Theater
Nov. 12 Baltimore Recher Theater
Nov. 13 New York Webster Hall
Nov. 18 Tampa Bay Skipper’s Smokehouse
Nov. 19 Ft. Lauderdale Revolution Live
About Heineken USA
Heineken USA Inc., the nation’s premier beer importer, is a subsidiary of Heineken International BV, which is the world’s most international brewer. Brands imported into the U.S. include: Heineken Lager, the world’s most international beer brand; Heineken Premium Light; Amstel Light, a leading imported light beer brand; Newcastle Brown Ale, the leading imported ale in the United States; and Buckler non-alcoholic brew. Heineken USA is also the exclusive USA importer for the Tecate, Tecate Light, Dos Equis, Sol, Carta Blanca and Bohemia brands from FEMSA Cerveza of Mexico. Please visit EnjoyHeinekenResponsibly.com.
See you there!
Tags: 20, 2008, 2009, 20th, 444, beer, bryant, burlesque, california, circus, dos equis, free, harrioson, Heineken, in the world, jesse, jim rose, los angeles, melody sweets, Mezzanine, most interesting, most interesting man, most interesting show in the world, october, Offbeat Variety Show, san diego, San Francisco, soma, south of market, the most interesting show in the world, tickets, upscale, world
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Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
[UPDATE: Whoops, apparently the Chronicle has two Andrew Rosses covering similar beats? Oh noes! Well, all the better. Speaking of mistakes, what are the odds that I'll see a lit up snowflake on Market Street tonight? About 100%, based on the past two weeks' observation. Oh well. Good thing those snowflakes don't use petroleum-based electricity, huh?]
You see, normally the San Francisco Chronicle‘s Andrew S. Ross is lumped together with PhilMatier, thusly:
But sometimes they let him run wild and unchained, all by his lonesome, thusly:
As here, where Andrew Ross gives his take on the order of battle of this morning’s Whole Foods Showdown: Six Flags Over Noe Valley, Don’t Mess With Texas. See what Andrew did there? He fleshed things out, he gave more detail, he added to the story.
Que bueno!
(Now, you give those limited column inches to somebody like C.W. Nevius to check in with 24th Street and what would you get? Well, maybe vitriol and emotion, and maybe that would be it. Oh well.)
Anyway, there’s nothing wrong with M&R together (a quarter mil. we have to pay for horrible, soon-to-be-cancelled Trauma, where the average worker, we’re talking median and mode here, makes rock-bottom minimum wage?), but they should let Andrew out of the bizness ghetto and allow him to run wild over any and all subjects of the day
And that’s the The Bottom Line.
[UPDATE: Whole Foods has started to construct a defensive wall made of pumpkins, but how strong could it be? We'll find out soon enough.]
[UPDATE 2, Electric Boogaloo: War Reporter Andy Wright has extensive coverage from the field of battle]
Tags: 24th, 24th street, 30, 30th, 3950 24th, Andrew Ross, andrew s ross, association, bags, bell, bevan, blog, boycott, Bread Baking Ceremony, CEO, chronicle, Church Street, Community Benefit District, dufty, editorial, facebook, Friends, girlcott, goodie, goody, grand, grocery, health care, healthcare, inc, Jennifer Dobrowolski, John, John Mackey, Mackey, market, matier, Mayor, Merchants, neighborhood, neighbors, nimbies, nimby, nimbys, noe, Noe Valley, NVMPA, opening, payola, Professionals, protesters, Reform, ross, San Francisco, september, single payer, street, supermarket, upper, upscale, wall street journal, wez, whole foods
Posted in protests | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
Oh, it’s going to be on tomorrow morning at the Grand Opening of the new Whole Foods at 3950 24th Street in The Valley. San Francisco’s fifth WF will start the sacred Bread Baking Ceremony at the same time protesters arrive to raise a ruckus about health care reform and CEO John Mackey, mkay?
Everyone is welcome to the store and the protest – highly unlike the invite-only events Whole Foods has recently held for the fearsome neighborhood groups. It’s called outreach or something. Whole Foods just ought to put these neighborhood associations on the payroll the way Sutro Tower, Inc. pays money to neighborhood groups around Mount Sutro to shut them up. A little payola (or granola in a huge goodie bag) can go a long way when you’re trying to placate the NIMBYs, of course.
Anywho, be there at 9:45 AM tomorrow to see San Francisco’s upscale version of Harlan County, USA.
And just think, after the boycott, “You’ll feel proud to come in and get food to serve to your family, friends, and neighbors.” Remember how embarrassed you were serving up that slop from the old Bell Market? Those days are over, soon as the boycott ends.
And if you’re not boycotting, sign up for the store tour on Tuesday, October 6th:
Tuesday Tours: A Taste of Whole Foods Market
10-11am Please sign up in advance, but the tour is FREE and limited in size. | Details
Both seasoned shoppers and new customers can benefit from a guided store tour, especially with so many unique choices available! In this tour, we’ll showcase what we mean when we say we offer all-natural, real food, at the best possible price. This is your chance to ask, listen and learn everything you want to know about our market. Please sign up in advance, but the tour is FREE and limited in size.
And here’s the bacchanalia you were excluded from:
“We are eagerly awaiting our opening next week on Wednesday, September 30th ! We have been working hard and are so delighted that we’re almost there! Further, we feel incredibly grateful for the support, well wishes, humor, smiles and hospitality that our new community has shown us! As a very small token of our thanks, we’d like to invite you to join us at our very own “Whole Foods Market Tapas Truck” on Saturday, September 26th from 11a-2p (really it’s a Taco Truck, but we’ll be serving Spanish Tapas—but you can’t miss it in our parking lot.)
Marketing Team Leader
Whole Foods Market, Noe Valley”
This is a special invitation ONLY event for our neighbors in the associations that we have been working with.
Have a look at the attached & either print a copy of this to bring with you or contact me so that I can get you printed copies that I have here at the store.
Any question, please ask—we’ll see you very soon!
Best regards,
Jennifer Dobrowolski”
Choose your side and get on out there!
Dead and wounded on either side/
You know it’s only a matter of time
Tags: 24th street, 30, 30th, 3950 24th, association, bags, bell, blog, boycott, Bread Baking Ceremony, CEO, Church Street, Community Benefit District, editorial, facebook, Friends, girlcott, goodie, goody, grand, grocery, health care, healthcare, inc, Jennifer Dobrowolski, John, John Mackey, Mackey, market, Merchants, neighborhood, neighbors, nimbies, nimby, nimbys, noe, Noe Valley, NVMPA, opening, payola, Professionals, protesters, Reform, San Francisco, september, single payer, STI, street, supermarket, sutro tower, upper, upscale, wall street journal, whole foods
Posted in protests | 5 Comments »
Saturday, June 6th, 2009
Uh oh, seems as if there’s a little unrest at the paradise that is this weekend’s Union Street “Eco-Urban” Festival 2009. No, it wasn’t the Republican party recruiting again, it was trouble with promoter Steven Restivo trying to tamp down on the boozy house parties that have occurred on Union Street during festival weekends past.
What you would have is hundreds of kids at Union Street residences drinking beer. Heaven forfend! Let’s hear from Party Person Brooke on the Yelp:
“Each year (for the last 5!) some friends of mine who live on Union St have a big party during the festival which allows all of us to get together, drink, dance, and be merry and peruse in and out of the street festival. It’s a well managed production, with control of who comes and goes, safe, in control, etc…. This year Steven Restivo has put an end to it, and the festival hasn’t even started yet! Steven took it into his own hands by calling the police, the fire marshals, and LANDLORDS of the apartments and buildings on Union St ahead of time, to ensure there were no parties this weekend, OTHER THAN THE ONE HE WAS THROWING. It seems he’s a big cry baby and thinks the house parties which are a custom with Union St Fest detract sales from the Beer Gardens he hosts.”
Doesn’t that just twist your mellow? Stevo “slandered the organizers of the party and contacted the building owners“? Oh well. That means no more house parties, like this one from last year.
The perils of post-adolescent Union Street Fest shotgunning. The front of this house faces Union.
That entire residence was filled to the brim with partiers in 2008. Ah, memories.
Oh well, on to this year. Of course, you’ve got to expect more than a modicum of peroxide, silicone, designer funglasses and lapdogs. Of course, it’s Cow Hollow.
Having said that, the seems a perfectly fine fest. Let’s take a gander at 2009. By the way, it continues tomorrow.
This thing is biiiig – it will take you a long time to wander about Union even if you don’t hit the biergärtens:
You know who proved popular was Tom Rigney, “electric violinist, Cajun fiddler, composer, graphic artist, and leader of the American roots music band, Tom Rigney and Flambeau.”
Best in Show – Candy Wrapper Handbags, something like this, as seen on Oprah
Micro cupcakes continue their dominance over the cuisine of the late aughts
Your streetfest four basic food groups are poultry (including turkey legs, they’re not just for renaissance festivals anymore), corn on the cob, couscous (not pictured) and garlic fries (not pictured).
2.5 star-rated Left at Albuquerque offered crowd-pleasing beer towers to sidewalk diners:
Now they’re renting out A2B electric scooters to tourists. Do people really ride these things on the Golden Gate Bridge sidewalks at 20 per back and forth to Sausalito? People do. Anyway, Blazing Saddles bike rentals was offering test drives.
Suds on the Roof, but much less than in years past. I think a man partying outdoors feels more like a man if he can have a red cup of suds.
Last year’s “Eco-Urban” fest featured a hell of a lot of gas powered Honda generators, but this year, not so much. Originally, I thought this distribution amplifier was a box full of car batteries, but now I’m at a loss at figuring out how this band got its power. If they had a generator, they hid it well.
What’s this?
It’s an overhead extention cord leading from a Union Street business to one of the food vendors in the middle of the street. Is that an extension cord being used as internal wiring? Cough electrical code cough.
Oh, there it is! One of at least two Hondas in operation today.
But at least all the amplified music won’t disturb this slumbering. ear-protected pooch.
See you there tomorrow and next year!
See all the participants, after the jump.
(more…)
Tags: 1760 union, 2008, 6, 6th, 7, 7th, a2b, annual, banned, beer bong, beer garden, beergarden, bicycle, bike, bio-hybrid, boycott, cancelled, concept car, cow hollow, drinking, electric, Event Services, fair, faire, fest, Festival, fillmore, generators, gough, house, june, LLC, mnarina, party, photos, rental, Restivo, saab, San Francisco, SF, shot gun, shot gunning, shotgun, shotgunning, steiner, stephen, Stephen Restivo, Steve, Steve Restivo, Steven, Steven Restivo, street, Tom Rigney, union, union street, union street festival, upscale, yuppies
Posted in events | 1 Comment »
