San Francisco, CA
Black-owned San Francisco bakery burglarized and left with over $25K in losses
SAN FRANCISCO – A Black-owned bakery in San Francisco was dealt a huge blow when it was burglarized Tuesday morning. Despite the setback, the owner has demonstrated resilience and a commitment to his community.
Azikiwee Anderson, the founder of Rize Up Bakery, recounted that his lead baker had arrived at work around 4 a.m. and immediately noticed that things were out of place.
“The garage door was just all the way open,” said Anderson. “When he got upstairs, it was just like, you know, computer gone, computer gone, computer gone, things open and thrown around. He knew that things were wrong.”
When Anderson arrived at the bakery, located at 1160 Howard Street, he realized the full extent of the burglary.
Police are investigating, but Anderson said officers would not collect fingerprints at the scene.
Fortunately, no one was present during the incident, and while electronics and cash were stolen, he didn’t feel like the world was caving in on him.
However, the situation took another turn when his food safety specialist delivered another blow—any unsealed food had to be discarded.
“So now you’re talking about three days of dough, thousands of dollars worth of things that are supposed to be going to customers,” Anderson explained. ” A lot of people count on us and we got to deliver. So that was the part that kind of pushed me a little bit over the edge.”
Nevertheless, Anderson has been heartened by the support of his community.
“The community that we’ve been trying to stand behind for the last three years is really showing up for us and it’s making it tolerable,” he expressed.
The burglary was not captured on video, as Anderson couldn’t afford security cameras for his business. However, he is reconsidering this decision in the wake of the break-in.
Among the setbacks he encountered after the incident, the most significant was the loss of food.
“When I was a kid, you know, we were homeless and we didn’t have no food. So the idea of throwing away hundreds of loaves, I think this is the biggest loss we’ve ever had in the whole time that we’ve been in business,” he shared.
He painted a big picture of the overall losses, noting that around $12,000 in electronics and cash were stolen.
“When you start getting into the labor, the time, the multiple days it took to create all the dough, to throw it all away, to have people make all the ingredients and make all the dough again, and pay overtime. I think we’re probably creeping up into $25,000 to $30,000,” Anderson explained.
Rize Up Bakery was born out of Anderson’s need to cope with the isolation of the pandemic and the social unrest following the killing of George Floyd. It allowed him to channel his anger and frustration into something positive.
Even in the face of a costly setback, Anderson continues to see the best in humanity.
“That’s the only real reason I think I haven’t burst into tears. I’ve been fighting it back all day,” he said. “I’ve had people reach out from all, all over the place telling me that we mean so much to them and that they want us to know, they got our back.”
He added, “The world is a beautiful place. You just got to care about people.”
Community members have started donating to help Rize Up Bakery recover its losses. Anderson emphasized that all donations will be directed toward covering labor costs and ingredient expenses for replacing orders and the stolen electronics.
“At the end of the day, you know, buying bread and enjoying bread and telling your friends about us, that’s that’ll kind of help us in the long run” he said.
If you wish to donate to Rize Up Bakery, you can do so by clicking here.
San Francisco, CA
Dev Patel look-alike contest to be held in San Francisco
Three women are taking their love of actor Dev Patel and turning it into a contest.
The friends are organizing a Dev Patel look-alike contest in San Francisco on Nov. 10 at the Miguel Hidalgo Statue in Dolores Park.
They got the idea after a similar event was held in New York City for Timothee Chalamet. That event drew thousands of people, including the star himself.
The organizers of the San Francisco event say they don’t expect Patel to show up, but they are expecting to meet some of his doppelgangers.
“I feel like everyone has met someone, that even remotely looks like Dev Patel or kind of has the same facial features, structure,” organizer Tasnim Khandakar said. “So, I also felt like there is also a lot of diversity here in San Francisco Bay Area. So, it feels like a kind of a good way to celebrate the actor and the people who live here.”
The women say they created the event, expecting a small gathering. But, now more than 140 people have RSVP’d.
“We’re ready for it, we’re prepared for it, we’re excited,” organizer Sitara Bellam said.
The winner of the contest will get $50, presented on a large check and a “Monkey Man” statue.
“I think we’re looking for someone who is really passionate about this too. I don’t think you have to look exactly like Dev Patel,” Khandakar said.
Bellam added: “It’s got to be like a guy that’s written by women, that vibe. You know, the ‘Pride and Prejudice,’ ‘Mr. Darcy’ vibe. I feel like that’s the Dev Patel energy.”
The contest starts at 1 p.m.
San Francisco, CA
Local races are reason why some San Francisco voters have yet to submit ballot
SAN FRANCISCO – Election Day is less than two days away, but the majority of San Franciscans’ ballots have not been returned yet.
According to the San Francisco Department of Elections, about 33% of vote-by-mail ballots have been returned.
City supervisor candidate Marjan Philhour spent her Sunday canvassing to get out the vote. She’s running against current City Supervisor Connie Chan.
Philhour says she’s talked to many voters who still haven’t submitted their ballots.
“I think in San Francisco voters take voting very seriously and I think many of them are probably going back to their high school and college days and are procrastinating,” Philhour said.
She thinks part of the reason is because of just how many decisions San Francisco voters are required to make to complete their ballot.
“We have a 300-page voter guide in San Francisco,” Philhour said.
Joe Asiano handed in his ballot on Sunday, he says the volume of ballot measures definitely slowed him down.
“I think because the book was pretty thick and there’s a lot of measures we had to consider and review and there’s some state ones,” said Asiano. “Locally we have a lot going on too.”
That sentiment was echoed by Kevin Born.
“It was a lot,” said Born. “It just felt like we’re making a lot of decisions and there was a lot of information in there and it was a lot to go through.”
Born hasn’t handed in his ballot yet. That’s because he doesn’t want to just drop it in any ballot box, he wants to take it directly to city hall.
“It just feels like that’s where we want to take it and there’s been weird stuff going on and we’re going to take it to city hall,” Born said.
For Asiano, he felt safe dropping his ballot at the box at the library.
He says he’s grateful to get to participate in the electoral process and now he’s just going to sit back and wait to see what happens next.
“I think there’s going to be a lot of action next week and I’m glad we did it and I hope everything is going to be OK,” said Asiano.
If people are concerned about the status of their ballot, they can use the California Secretary of State’s Where’s my ballot feature to track it themselves.
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco Giants Linked to Blockbuster Trade for Outfield Slugger
The San Francisco Giants are entering an offseason that many believe could be extremely busy for them. As has been the case in recent years, the Giants are expected to pursue a big splash move or two.
Many rumblings have connected them to a pursuit of superstar outfielder Juan Soto. While they will likely show interest in Soto, there is a very small chance that they will actually end up landing him.
With that likely being the case, San Francisco will need to look into other avenues to make a big move.
They could look into signing other elite free agent options. Names like Corbin Burnes and Blake Snell have been connected to the Giants, while Anthony Santander and Teoscar Hernandez have come up as bats San Francisco could target.
However, there is another option that would require a blockbuster trade to pull off.
Mike Axisa of CBS Sports has suggested that the Giants could be a top trade destination for Chicago White Sox star slugging outfielder Luis Robert Jr.
“The Giants and Phillies stand out as potential landing spots for Robert. The Dodgers too.”
Robert would certainly be an intriguing option. He’s a bit of a risk, as he had a very poor season in 2024, but the elite potential at the plate is clearly there for him.
When everything was said and done this season, he played in 100 games. He hit 14 home runs to go along with 35 RBI, while batting .224/.278/.379.
Back in 2023, however, Robert showed much more of the potential that makes him such an intriguing trade target. In that season, he played in 145 games, hitting 38 home runs and driving in 80 RBI. His slash line was also much better, hitting .264/.315/.542.
At just 27 years old, Robert is in the early stages of his prime. In the right situation, he could become a superstar.
San Francisco would be wise to look into trading for Robert. While they should look into a trade for him, they should make sure not to overpay. The White Sox aren’t going to give him away cheap, but Robert is not a sure thing.
This is just another route that the Giants could choose to take. Robert would give them a potential superstar slugger and a long-term piece to build around. Unfortunately, he could also end up being a bust if he doesn’t develop.
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