Incoming District 11 Supervisor-elect Chyanne Chen has her work cut out for her — particularly in the Excelsior.
The neighborhood is home to hundreds of businesses — a mix of mom-and-pop restaurants, laundromats and other service-oriented stores, plus a newer breed of stores like Tala Wines and, my personal favorite, Excelsior Coffee. But any resident or visitor to the Excelsior can see the often-overlooked neighborhood has a storefront vacancy problem, one that Chen told Gazetteer SF is “truly unacceptable.”
Chen, a progressive, narrowly beat tech-backed moderate Michael Lai in November’s election with a campaign that vowed to “revive and grow” small businesses in the area. Ahead of her inaugural term, which begins Jan. 8, Chen told Gazetteer she plans to go on a “listening tour" among small business owners, and create a small business task force to inform her policies.
“There’s a lot on the table,” Chen said, including bringing more events that bring foot traffic back to the area, à la Sunday Streets and the city’s Vacant to Vibrant pop-up program, and increasing police foot patrols and street-level community ambassadors. But she wants to make sure she’s not “just single-tracking ideas and resources.”
Tala Drzewiecki, owner of boutique wine bar Tala Wine in the Excelsior, told Gazetteer by email that small businesses in the neighborhood have historically been neglected by City Hall, leading to the Excelsior “hemorrhaging businesses left and right.” Drzewiecki, who opened her wine shop last June on Mission Street, said small businesses face a number of issues in the area, including robberies, competing with street vendors, trash, and, unsurprisingly, high rent.
Chen is still working on the specifics of her plan, but said she wants “to find ways that are not just cookie-cutter” to help small businesses. She also plans to lean on the nearly 23-year-old Excelsior Action Group, which last year became an official community benefit district, to solidify a partnership between her office and local businesses.
“I don’t want to be recreating the wheel, but rather supporting organizations that are already in D11 to expand their services,” she said.
Cathy Mulkey Meyer, the board chair for the Excelsior Action Group, told Gazetteer she wants the city to invest the same amount of resources toward the Excelsior as it does toward downtown.
“I’m talking about investments that help people move into empty storefronts,” she said.
Many businesses face plumbing and electrical issues that Mulkey Meyer believes could be addressed with policy solutions, such as clarifying which party is responsible for repairs in leased buildings, and then helping that party cover the costs. She pointed to a couple of restaurants in the area that are closing thanks to longstanding plumbing problems that the buildings’ landlords refused to fix.
“Property owners and tenants need help with that,” Mulkey Meyer said. “Maybe there could be some kind of forgivable grant.”
With a new district supervisor — and mayor — entering City Hall next week, Drzewiecki of Tala Wine also called for more support in the form of grants, whether for plumbing repairs or storefront vandalism.
The city already offers a vandalism grant worth up to $2,000, but Drzewiecki would like to see a larger grant to support preventative measures. She said she recently received a quote for a new security gate for a cool $13,000.
“You have to sell a lot of wine to pay for that,” she said.
As Chen approaches her swearing-in as District 11 supervisor on Wednesday, she’s aware that she’s entering the City Hall chambers at a time when the city is facing a massive budget problem. San Francisco’s projected $876 million budget shortfall over the next two years means resources will be limited across the board, and city departments are already preparing for budget cuts. But whatever resources District 11 gets, Chen plans to be ready to use them wisely.
“When we have the opportunity to really amplify [our district], we want to make sure we grab it,” she said. “We are District 11 and we deserve your attention.”
