San Francisco, CA

Opinion | Restaurateur: New law aimed at transparency will hit SF restaurants hardest

Published

2 years ago

May 9, 2024

Opinion | Restaurateur: New law aimed at transparency will hit SF restaurants hardest

My business partners and I opened our NoPa restaurant, Che Fico, in 2018. From the start, we included a 4% surcharge to cover the additional costs we faced under the city’s mandated health care coverage plan, which requires restaurants to contribute to a city fund for employees.

When Che Fico reopened post-pandemic, we were driven by a mission to rectify long-standing industry injustices that disproportionately favored a select few—primarily servers and bartenders—at the expense of other workers who didn’t receive tips and worked long hours in substandard conditions. We instituted a 10% surcharge, increased pay across the board and introduced new benefits, such as a 401(k) plan with a 4% match and profit sharing.

It was not easy. We had to adjust our shared tip pool several times to ensure everyone was included and that it was fair to our entire staff. We also increased hourly wages to compensate for potential tip losses. This model epitomized free-market capitalism, where ownership collaborated with labor to find common ground and consumers had the choice to support a business that resonated with their values. Our menu was always clear that the charge would be added to the final bill.

Now a new law known as the “junk fee” bill, taking effect July 1, aims to reshape California’s dining industry by banning restaurants from adding surcharges or service fees to their bills. Instead they’d have to raise menu prices, baking the surcharge in.

While this may initially appear to benefit consumers, it will disproportionately harm small businesses—the latest move in a pattern of well-meaning yet detrimental policy decisions targeting the restaurant industry. It also obscures the challenge of operating in San Francisco, where voters and officials have repeatedly approved costly additional mandates that operators elsewhere do not face.

We can all agree that hidden fees are frustrating. Nothing is worse than booking a hotel room at an advertised price, enjoying your stay and upon checkout, finding your bill laden with resort charges, Wi-Fi charges, valet parking and other surprise fees and taxes. I fully understand the frustration. I am a consumer myself. But the vast majority of restaurants don’t operate this way. If they charge surcharges or service fees, they post it on menus and let guests know when they book a reservation.

Transparency is the goal, and this is one way for operators to show customers all the things they are paying for, beyond the cost of food. Guests have thousands of restaurants to choose from, especially in San Francisco. They can simply decide a certain restaurant isn’t worth the fee. And no restaurateur who believes in good service and repeat business wants to leave a bad taste in a customer’s mouth upon dropping the check.

But the new law focuses more on appearances than on the operational realities of managing a restaurant in one of the nation’s most expensive urban environments.

Gavin Newsom enacted San Francisco’s Health Care Security Ordinance during his tenure as San Francisco mayor. As governor, he continues to influence policy in ways that strain local enterprises. The health ordinance has been one of the most damaging things to happen to San Francisco small businesses and can be directly linked to the beginning of the surcharge trend here. One of the most pervasive problems with that legislation is that it punishes businesses for growing and hiring more workers, adding a cost of several dollars per hour per employee for businesses with 20 or more workers. But rather than use his post as governor to propose a smart, statewide reform of the health ordinance, this new junk fee bill will throw out all surcharges regardless of their purpose or how they are communicated to consumers.

Advocates of eliminating service charges argue that doing so protects consumers, but that fails to consider the pressure San Francisco restaurants face—challenges beyond typical market fluctuations. They contend with some of the highest insurance premiums in the country, soaring utility rates from providers like Pacific Gas & Electric and a labor market characterized by escalating wages and staffing shortages. Consider:

Labor costs are rising: San Francisco’s minimum wage rose from $10.74 per hour in 2014 to $18.67 in 2024—a 74% increase approved by voters and the Board of Supervisors. Such spikes put a significant burden on labor-intensive sectors like the restaurant industry.

Inflation is increasing utility bills and the cost of goods: The pandemic further intensified supply chain disruptions, pushing the costs of ingredients up by about 15% in San Francisco. Officials have approved numerous rate increases for PG&E, leading to a 60-77% increase in commercial rates in the last decade, even as PG&E rakes in billions in profits.

Rent and property costs are soaring: The city’s commercial real estate market has also surged, with rents increasing by about a third since 2014. Rent or mortgage payments are the third-highest expense for many restaurants, after labor and cost of goods.

Surcharges have enabled small businesses to manage these rising costs without shocking customers with drastic or frequent price increases and allowed them to convey these external cost pressures. Removing them could lead to a sudden spike in dining costs, further deterring customers and pushing restaurants toward insolvency.

The irony is stark. Policymakers, comfortably dining at San Francisco’s top restaurants, seem oblivious to the adverse effects of their decisions on those serving them. By eliminating the option to communicate cost pressures through surcharges, the law does not support consumers. This will lead to decreased consumer spending, fewer shifts for waitstaff, reduced orders for suppliers and lower tax revenue from a once-thriving industry.

The “junk fee” law misunderstands basic economic principles: Thin operating margins and insufficient profits can lead businesses to close, which affects the entire community—workers, suppliers, service providers and local artisans. In my own restaurants, our surcharge has allowed us to improve pay across the board, offer a 401(k) with a 4% match and create profit-sharing. If Newsom’s intention is to dismantle these programs, then he is certainly being effective.

Hopefully, before the law takes effect, state leaders will have a dose of common sense and will revise the legislation to preserve the rich diversity of San Francisco’s dining scene. Otherwise, they will simply be compounding the issues that began with the initial health ordinance, without acknowledging the benefits workers and restaurant patrons receive surcharges are clearly spelled out.

David Nayfeld is the co-owner of Back Home Hospitality, which includes Che Fico. Find him at @davidnayfeld on X and Instagram.

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San Francisco, CA

What have San Francisco police been doing at 16th and Mission?

Published

10 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

What have San Francisco police been doing at 16th and Mission?

It’s been nearly 300 days since Mayor Daniel Lurie announced a plan to clean up the 16th Street BART Plaza.

To mark the occasion, Mission Local is adding a new tool for tracking his promises: A dashboard, updated daily, that notes the arrests and citations issued by San Francisco police officers in a 300-meter radius around 16th and Mission streets.

Our dashboard uses daily incident reports filed by officers to track the enforcement of common violations, including drug-related offenses or disorderly conduct.

The San Francisco Police Department releases incident reports with a 24-hour lag. Our dashboard updates daily at noon to include the most current data: Arrests and citations issued the day before.

While the number of incident reports may form the basis of official crime statistics, it would be wrong to think of them as the “official” count, according to the SFPD. There are groups doing outreach work in the plazas, like Ahsing Solutions, that do not regularly release public data quantifying their activities, for example.

What this police data does show, over time, is where the police department is focusing resources and attention.

For example, reports show that in March 2025, after Lurie stated his intention to crack down around 16th and Mission streets, there was a massive spike in arrests and citations. This does not necessarily mean drug-related crimes increased in the vicinity, but simply that, spurred by the mayor’s statement, police officers began enforcing more proactively.

Use our interactive graphics to explore the number and reasons for arrests and citations issued, and keep tabs on trends in SFPD’s enforcement around the 16th Street BART plaza.

You can read our ongoing coverage of the crackdown on 16th Street plaza here.

Arrests and citations issued in last 6 months around 16th and Mission

You can access our archive, with arrests and citations data from 2018, here.

The calendar below shows a snapshot of the arrests and citations issued around a 300-meter radius of the 16th Street BART Plaza for the last six months.

The darker the date, the more arrests and citations took place that day.

The department continuously updates the status of incident reports as they are investigated, and it is possible that the official statistics reported by SFPD to the California Department of Justice may differ from our numbers.

The data below should be considered the most accurate moment-in-time representation of arrests and citations on the day they were filed. Hover over each date to see the reasons for each arrest or citation.

Drug incidents around 16th and Mission

Arrests and citations issued for drug-related offenses skyrocketed earlier this year, after Mayor Lurie made the plaza one of his targets to show how the city can make a difference.

Explore the number of drug-related arrests and citations issued by SFPD around 16th and Mission each month since 2018.

Data for the most recent month will always be incomplete (and consequently lower) because it includes only arrests and citations through yesterday, while previous months reflect full monthly totals.

Drug incidents at 16th and Mission vs. citywide

In most years, the area around 16th and Mission accounts for a majority of the Mission’s drug-related police enforcement.

In the spring of 2025, this area, which accounts for a mere 0.2 percent of the city’s geographical landmass, was responsible for nearly 27 percent of San Francisco’s drug incident reports that resulted in an arrest or citation.

During the pandemic, drug-related arrests and citations dropped to an all-time-low around 16th and Mission but it has recently surpassed pre-pandemic levels.

Most common incidents around 16th and Mission

The table below shows the top 15 offense categories at 16th and Mission, ranked by total number of arrests and citations, over the past 12 months. The sparkline — the small line chart — shows how each category has changed month to month, and the percentage compares the current year to the year before.

We use a rolling 12-month window (365 days from yesterday’s date), rather than a calendar year, so the data stays current. Because the dashboard updates daily, the most recent month will always be incomplete, but using a full year of data minimizes the impact of any one partial month on the overall totals.

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San Francisco, CA

15 injured after San Francisco cable car comes to screeching halt

Published

22 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

15 injured after San Francisco cable car comes to screeching halt

More than a dozen people were injured when a cable car in San Francisco came to a screeching halt on Monday afternoon, rattling passengers inside, according to authorities.

A total of 15 people suffered minor to moderate injuries after the cable car abruptly stopped without warning and tossed around those onboard, the San Francisco Fire Department said on social media.

Over a dozen people were injured when a cable car in San Francisco, Calif., abruptly stopped on Monday afternoon. San Francisco Fire Department

Two people were taken to the hospital with moderate injuries, 11 others were hospitalized with “minor aches and pains,” and two people refused assistance at the scene, authorities said.

Fire officials told ABC7 that an object might have been thrown at the cable car, causing the abrupt stop. Authorities have not officially released information on what led up to the incident.

Some of the cable car’s windows were completely shattered, according to photos of the aftermath. Video posted by fire officials also captured several ambulances crowded around the stopped cable car.

“Safety for our passengers on all Muni vehicles continues to be our top priority. We’ll be conducting a full review of incident details to ensure continued safety on the cable cars,” SFMTA said in a statement.

Overhead view of law enforcement and emergency vehicles responding to a cable car's abrupt stop on California Street in San Francisco. — Fire officials said an object might have been thrown at the cable car, causing the abrupt stop. AP

Cable cars first began running in San Francisco in the 1870s, and became designated as a National Historic Landmark in the 1960s.

Passengers on the famed tourist attractions do not wear seat belts and often hang off the cars, which are partially open-air.

The SFFD and the SFMTA will investigate the incident.

With Post wires

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San Francisco, CA

This Week: E-Bikes, Happy Hour, Holiday Lights – Streetsblog San Francisco

Published

1 day ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

This Week: E-Bikes, Happy Hour, Holiday Lights – Streetsblog San Francisco

Here is a list of events this week.

Monday/tonight! Introduction to E-Bikes. This is a San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, SFMTA/SFCTA-sponsored virtual class. Monday/tonight, December 15, 6-7 p.m. Register for Zoom link.
Tuesday Bike It Forward Community Repair Night. Join the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition as they rehabilitate donated and abandoned bicycles and get them to folks who need them. Tuesday, December 16, 5-7 p.m. San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, 1720 Market Street, S.F.
Wednesday Car-Free Happy Hour. This event is open to everyone, whether they’re car free, car light, car-free curious, or they just want to hang out with fellow urbanists. Wednesday, December 17, 5:30-7 p.m. Cornerstone Berkeley, 2367 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley.
Thursday Vision Zero Committee Meeting. This committee supports the work of improving street safety in San Francisco. Thursday, December 18, 1 p.m. Union Square Conference Room, Floor 7, SFMTA Headquarters, 1 South Van Ness Avenue, S.F.
Thursday Transform Happy Hour with the New Executive Director. Come meet Transform’s new leadership, mingle with like-minded folks, and give your input for Transform’s next chapter. Thursday, December 18, 5:30-8 p.m. Line 51 Brewing Company, 303 Castro Street, Oakland.
Friday Alameda Holiday Lights Ride and Christmas Caroling. Ride to see the holiday lights in Alameda. Friday, December 19, 6:30 p.m. meet, 7 p.m. roll out. Finishes at 10 p.m. MacArthur BART, 555 40th Street, Oakland.