San Francisco, CA
Flour + Water Is Getting Into the Garlic Fries and Pizza Game With the Giants
Big names in the San Francisco food scene are setting up shop in the growing Mission Rock development, and one more business is readying its space for the baseball season. Flour + Water Pizza Shop debuts on Monday, April 14, slinging slices and whole pies for Giants fans and the wider Mission Bay neighborhood.
This new space isn’t meant to be a dupe of the flagship Flour + Water Pizzeria in North Beach; instead, this upcoming spot is meant to be a blueprint for more pizza shops to come, with a more casual, concentrated menu. Still, it’s not the average pizza shop, either. This location has the added element of Giants game days to contend with, and chefs and restaurant partners Thomas McNaughton and Ryan Pollnow are pulling out all the stops to make those heavily trafficked days run smoothly with a slice window plugged into the side of the building for easy ordering of ready-to-go slices, a front counter with cashiers, self-order kiosks, phone ordering, and QR codes at the tables. “All of those things were birthed out of [the question of], ‘What’s the best operation on game day?’” McNaughton says.
The Mission Rock shop doesn’t stray too far from the original. The takeout window will most likely see plenty of the Big Slice — Flour + Water’s name for their large, single slices — pass through to customers’ hands, with Margherita and pepperoni options as well as a rotating third slice as a special. Red sauce fans can order full-sized pie versions of those two slices, along with the Hawaiian which pairs capicola with pineapple, and a hit of pickled fresnos and chile crisp for a bump of heat; the Meatza, which combines pepperoni with sausage and guanciale; plus the smoky eggplant option, which can be vegan-ized. Also on the menu is a basil pesto pizza, as well as the Conrad, a vegetarian pie that mixes kale and mushrooms with roasted garlic, two kinds of cheese, and red onions. The cacio e pepe pizza, meanwhile, features a mix of fresh mozzarella, pecorino crema, and fontina cheese set against specks of black pepper. All pies can also be made into gluten-free Sicilian options.
All that being said, this new shop has a few surprises in store. The group expands its appetizer menu of cheese pull-worthy mozz sticks and Calabrian chicken wings with the addition of ballpark garlic fries — an ode to the popular version inside Oracle Park — served with a cacio e pepe dip that’s also thankfully a side sauce add-on for pies alongside the ranch and marinara dips. Soft serve is also on the menu in this space with toppings like Amarena cherries and brown butter cereal crunch served atop two soft serve flavors, salted caramel and fior di latte, or cow’s milk mozzarella. On the drinks side, guests can choose between a glass of red or white wine; on tap, there will also be a choice of two beers or the Flour + Water spritz made with citrus, hibiscus, and sparkling wine. But the shop also has a full liquor license they’ll be deploying for a boozy slushie made with tequila, passion fruit, citrus, and aperitif, or a shot of Don Julio Blanco as a “cheers to the home team.” There’s no proper bar, but the additions give the shop some oomph in the drinks department.
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At Mission Rock, however, it’s not all talk about feeding hungry Giants fans: McNaughton and Pollnow also considered how their pizza fills a space for the neighborhood and the locals living and working in the larger Mission Bay. Though they proceeded cautiously when first approached by the Giants and Tishman Speyer to open in Mission Rock, as the development grew and foot traffic increased, the Flour + Water team saw the potential in moving across the Third Street Bridge and into the neighborhood. “It gave us more confidence in knowing that it’s not just a development next to the Giants stadium, it’s a developing neighborhood in San Francisco,” Pollnow says. With the ebb and flow of baseball fans, the duo knows it’s important to also show up for the community — what that looks like is comfortable seating areas inside and outside on the adjacent sidewalk and plaza, as well as delivery and to-go options that are as convenient as possible.
This opening is an exciting next big step in the growing Flour + Water empire. Following the June 2023 opening of the flagship in North Beach, and as the team settles into its new routine at the Mission Rock development, already the Flour + Water team has their eyes on their next First: An inaugural East Bay location locked in for Oakland.
Flour + Water Pizza Shop (1090 Dr. Maya Angelou Lane, Suite A) debuts Monday, April 14, and will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., daily.
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San Francisco, CA
San Francisco considers closing some permanent supportive housing
In San Francisco, homeless advocates are expressing concern as the city considers potentially closing some of its permanent supportive housing sites. As the San Francisco Chronicle reported, homeless service providers reported that the mayor’s chief of health and human services met with housing providers last month that the city was working on a list of potential buildings to be closed.
Multiple homeless advocates told NBC Bay Area they had heard about this proposal and the general approach by Mayor Daniel Lurie’s office to reexamine how the city uses permanent supportive housing.
“This is something that’s been discussed for a few months at this point,” said Christin Evans, a former San Francisco Homeless Oversight Commissioner and current small business owner in the city.
Advocates describe permanent supportive housing (PSH) as a more stable and long term option for people experiencing homelessness, providing a place to live that is directly connected to the health and social services a person needs when transitioning out of homelessness. San Francisco currently has more than 9,000 site-based permanent supportive housing units.
Mayor Daniel Lurie’s press secretary, Charles Lutvak, shared a statement on Thursday, noting, “… our administration is prioritizing tools to get people struggling with addiction into treatment and the path to stability.”
“Permanent supportive housing is a critical one, but we need to make it work better,” Lutvak continued, noting the city is spending $300 million a year while also facing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal cuts.
Lutvak also said it is not determined yet whether the city will be closing permanent supportive housing beds in the coming months.
Still, the conversations so far are enough to have advocates worried.
“Every housing unit you get rid of, you’ve got additional homeless people on the streets,” said Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director with the Coalition on Homelessness.
Friedenbach said there are currently thousands of people on the city’s waitlist to get into permanent supportive housing.
“Permanent supportive housing does work. It has been studied to death, and it is the primary resolution of homelessness that has the highest level of success,” she added.
This conversation about permanent supportive housing units is unfolding as the city already faces a 643 million dollar budget gap. But advocates argue, while housing is expensive, it will cost the city even more to have unhoused people in the city who are disconnected from a place to live or support services.
“We’re cutting really essential services for our most vulnerable san Franciscans, and its actually going to harm our recovery as a city,” Evans said.
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco tops US housing market as homes sell far over asking, report says
The average San Francisco home sold for nearly 90% over the asking price in March, according to Redfin.
The city is now the most expensive metro area in the country.
Artificial intelligence is driving much of those costs, as companies grow and hire, with many requiring staff to work in person.
Housing inventory, on the other hand, isn’t keeping up.
NBC Bay Area spoke with Arrian Binning, an agent with the Binnings Team at Christie’s San Francisco, who said the city is expensive but worth the investment.
“San Francisco is one of the best markets in the world,” Binning said. “I’ve seen supply constriction benefit property owners, so when you’re a property owner in a market that has scarce inventory but also is an engine of growth, that’s kind of the trifecta in terms of investing your hard-earned dollars into a new home.”
San Francisco bumped San Jose out of the top spot.
In San Jose, the median home price in March was more than $1.46 million, about what it was a year ago.
NBC Bay Area’s Kris Sanchez has the full report in the video above.
San Francisco, CA
Thousands head to San Francisco’s East Cut for 415 Day Market & Party
On April 15, back in the year 1850, San Francisco was first incorporated as a city. Each year on April 15, many in San Francisco celebrate 415 day, honoring that anniversary and the date that aligns with the city’s area code. Wednesday, thousands of people headed to The Crossing at East Cut for a night market to ring in the occasion.
This night market was hosted by San Francisco-based record label EMPIRE along with the East Cut Community Benefit District. The event brought a fleet of food trucks and local vendors to the plaza at The Crossing at East Cut, as well as musical talent performing throughout the evening. This night market was free for attendees and drew in people of all ages, many of whom were decked out in their most San Francisco-inspired outfits.
“We are so honored to have this happening here at The Crossing at East Cut, to be welcoming people from across the city, from across the Bay Area, to come see what downtown can be, and to celebrate the beauty of San Francisco,” said Andrew Robinson, the executive director of the East Cut Community Benefit District. Robinson explained that this was the Benefit District’s first time helping to put on the 415 Day celebration. He noted that the event brought in welcome business and foot traffic to the neighborhood.
EMPIRE CEO Ghazi Shami, who is a San Francisco native, was at the event too. Shami explained to NBC Bay Area that the event is a chance to put a spotlight on the creative community in San Francisco.
“I’m a product of my environment, I love San Francisco,” Shami said.
“It’s perfect time to celebrate, like our cultural diversity, music, food, street fashion, all the things that make San Francisco unique,” he said.
Shami added that he hopes next year to see even more 415 Day celebrations across San Francisco.
“I hope this becomes something that everybody adopts and celebrates no matter where you’re from,” he said.
The crowds at the event continued to grow throughout the night. People stopped to take photos with a giant, illuminated “415 Day” sign at the plaza.
“Just seeing this community come together, the diversity, the music, the food, we got it all in San Francisco,” said San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, addressing the crowd at the start of the event.
An artist who goes by the name Mando told NBC Bay Area he though the event was “well orchestrated,” he enjoyed the food, drinks, and entertainment.
Mando, who lives in San Francisco, said he thinks 415 Day is an important holiday for the city.
“I think celebrating 415 Day is like a religion, if you’re from the city you basically gotta live it up today, today is the day,” he said.
“The bridge, the city, the everything, the music, the culture, it’s a beautiful thing, today’s the day to just let it all out and not care about nothing,” he continued.
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