First things first: Emmy’s Spaghetti Shack isn’t going anywhere. That being said, the business is changing ownership. An eagle-eyed tipster and Emmy’s regular recently noted some slight changes including a new website and a handful of new menu items. As it turns out, Emmy’s bartender Michael Irish bought the business and officially took over on Wednesday, July 31, as first reported by Broke-Ass Stuart. It’s perhaps the best case scenario for the sale of a longtime San Francisco favorite; Irish saved up and was in the market to buy and run his own bar, and Emmy’s founder Emmy Kaplan wanted to sell. “I was doing it all on my own through Covid, working every day delivering food and even opening a temporary grocery for neighbors,” Kaplan told BAS. “I never wanted to close the Shack but I started to think about different options.”

Irish hails from Brooklyn and snagged his first San Francisco job at Emmy’s, working as a bartender for the last three years at the Bernal Heights restaurant. Most importantly, he understands the shack’s place in the neighborhood. “I’m gonna keep it really fun and silly,” Irish tells Eater SF, “and we’re still going to have fun for the holidays and put up all the lights and the fake snow and everything, as Emmy’s always been doing for years. I’ve been a loyal employee and I’ve always liked the place.”

Still, Irish is placing his stamp on the place. Cocktails will run between $12 and $14 while shots are priced at $5, and there will be happy hours, as BAS reports. Irish will maintain the majority of the menu but he also plans to add new dishes. On the weekends, food will be available until midnight and Irish is also preparing a whopper of a regular Monday night (cash only) deal starting Monday, August 12: One salad, one appetizer, one entree, one dessert, and one bottle of wine for $60. “Everyone complains about how expensive things are,” Irish says, “so put your money where your mouth is and we’ll see you on Mondays.”

One thing that has already changed, however, that Irish hopes won’t freak people out: The unicorn mural is now gone and replaced with old-school, 1950s wood paneling. “I had to make something more mine,” he says. “I’m not a big unicorn guy. But that’s the only thing that’s gone — everything else will be the same.”

Irish promises he will keep the Dolly Parton booth up, and when he gets some time, he’ll add a tribute booth for Kaplan, a fitting salute from Irish as he and his family take over as the next generation of Emmy’s. “Especially here and in Brooklyn, all these bigger cities, places just leave all the time,” Irish says. “This is not one of those cases. If you liked Emmy’s before, you’ll still like it. I promise.”

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Emmy’s Spaghetti Shack

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Emmy’s Spaghetti Shack (3230 Mission Street, San Francisco) is open 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with plans to extend weekend hours soon.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Hundreds of people attending the West Coast Taco and Beer Festival in San Francisco Saturday were met with a long line leading to underwhelming expectations. For many, the event was not what they paid for.

“It was probably like almost an hour in line,” said Matt Jenkins who attended the event with his fiancée. “They only had one person checking tickets at the front door, which was insane. I don’t know, there were like probably over 1,000 people that were waiting in line.”

According to an admission ticket, the event offered alcohol tastings and taco samples from over 30 vendors. However, according to Jenkins and his fiancée Willa, it wasn’t anywhere close to that.

“It was not 30,” said Willa Bautista. “Ten maybe, and the beer was a little sample, and the line to get it was long.”

They also say none of the food was free. It all costed extra.

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“We had heard after the first 20 minutes, all of the free options ran out,” Jenkins said. “But no one was even able to get in by the time that was offered.”

In a statement, Blue Stream Entertainment, the organizer said:

“We’re saddened to hear about the reaction we’ve had coming to San Francisco. When we built this company, our mission was to bring a community together to celebrate local chefs and breweries. We are as transparent as we possibly can be and we understand the community’s frustration with the long lines and the limited tastings. We are currently working with our vendors to improve future events to make sure that we hold our mission statement true and improve the guest experience.”

They went on to say they have changed the format for their upcoming event in San Jose. The tickets will include bottomless beer samples and the food will be for purchase. Jenkins and Bautista say they have tried to ask for refunds but haven’t been able to get ahold of anyone.

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“I DM’d them on Instagram explaining the situation and asking for a refund, but I haven’t heard anything back yet,” Bautista said. “There wasn’t, like, an email or ‘contact us’ or anything, like, so I don’t know.”

Bautista said the event’s Instagram page was full of angry comments from festival attendees, and she believes a lot of those comments were deleted.

“I was looking at the comments. It was basically saying ‘This is a scam. Don’t go,’” she said. “Then, when we left the event like 30 minutes later, I wanted to see if more had commented and all the comments I saw before were gone.”

To them, it was something they looked forward to, but now they think they just wasted $100.

“It is extremely deceptive of those people to throw an event like that,” Jenkins said. “Then to think they will be ok having people come to an event like that.”

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco Mayor London Breed recently promised a more aggressive approach to cleaning up encampments in the city. Crews removed several encampments in the last week. CBS News Bay Area returned to three different spots and found tents had also returned to those locations.

“This (tent) definitely wasn’t here this morning. This gentleman just moved in right now,” said Ramsey Armstrong as he walked along Treat Avenue.

Armstrong works at a salon across from the Treat Avenue encampment. City workers cleared the area about five days ago. A few people returned Sunday morning to set up their tents.

“As soon as the cops go, they’ll be back the next day,” Armstrong said. “Where do they got to go? I mean it doesn’t surprise me at all.”

Ramsey said it happens every time after an encampment cleanup.

“What good is doing that if there’s no solution longterm for these individuals? Yes, be aggressive, but also be aggressive in having a sustainable system,” Armstrong said.

Nearby on Folsom Street between 18th and 19th streets, a few people living in tents admitted the city had cleared their tents several days ago.

“It’s what happens. I’ve been watching this happen for a long time. I’ve been living here for over 40 years,” said Susan Patton-Fox.

It was the same situation on Willow Street in the Tenderloin. City workers offered shelter and removed tents multiple times last week. Police even made one arrest but, on Sunday afternoon, there were few new tents and a lot of campers, some could be seen using drugs.

“They definitely have been ramping up the consistency of it and the time frames,” said Anthony Schliecher about the encampment cleanups.

Schliecher is unhoused and was standing at the corner of Willow and Larkin Streets.

“Not everyone wants help, not everyone does. It’s sad. Some people just aren’t ready,” Schliecher said.

He said he declined the shelter that was offered to him before because it felt like jail. Others said they wanted apartments, not rooms they would have to share with strangers.

“It’s not just a drug issue but there’s a lot of mental issues out here,” said Jeff Duhadway, who is unhoused.

Neighbors said a permanent fix will require more housing, case workers and, ultimately, a lot more money that the city may not have.

“All the candidates (in the mayoral race) are talking about what they want to do about the homeless but of course nobody has a way to figure out how to get more places for these folks to go,” said Patton-Fox.

Armstrong said he appreciated the city for stepping up their efforts but he wants a longterm fix.

“They should have a full-flex solution. Don’t just do things just to try get re-elected. And then, boom! Once you’re elected, things drop again. People don’t want to see that,” Armstrong said.