San Francisco, CA
Union Street’s Newest Coffee Shop Is So Massive You Can Park a Car Inside
The aroma of coffee greets visitors of Motoring Coffee, but if it’s your first trek to 1525 Union Street, you’ll likely be too distracted to notice. Instead, your attention will be focused on the most unlikely component of an everyday coffee shop: a 1986 Porsche 911 in that iconic Guards Red color. Peek past the Porsche and you’ll find a six-person communal work table balanced on the bed of a 1998 Honda Acty K truck.
Welcome to San Francisco’s new cafe celebrating classic cars and excellent coffee.
The new 2,000-square-foot cafe is the second location of the Los Angeles-based Motoring Club, founded in 2019 by owner Michael Rapetti. It’s part coffee shop, part private club — more on that later — with a space made for working, hanging out, ogling cars, and snacks. “We started as a car storage business and a social club for car enthusiasts,” Rapetti says. “And then we’ve evolved over the years into still having those elements, but also adding coffee and retail and bringing in a more public aspect.”
For coffee, the team works with Coffee Manufactory out of Los Angeles, but more recently they’re going beyond the typical offerings. Rapetti says they’re finetuning where their beans come from and sourcing from new farms and contacts, creating blends that resonate with their customers in Los Angeles (and now San Francisco) but roasted by Manufactory. Beyond the typical offerings of drip, espressos, flat whites, and lattes, the cafe will also have some specialty coffee drinks on hand, such as the popular Burnt Rubber, a cold brew drink with black sesame syrup and activated charcoal with foam on top, plus a dash of black sesame seeds that look like the tread of a tire. Motoring will also have a matcha program through a partnership with Nekohama Matcha in Los Angeles. Beyond that, Motoring makes its syrups in-house and organic, and additionally, alt-milk fanatics will appreciate that there is no upcharge on swapping to, say, almond or oat milk.
On the food side, the cafe is partnering with Saltwater Bakeshop, bringing a slate of morning pastries to the shop. Expect butter croissants, ham and cheese croissants, cinnamon twists, muffins, scones, and more, from the pop-up, a nice preview to the upcoming bakery from Saltwater slated for later this year. A breakfast sandwich from Saltwater is also in the works, as is a fridge for grab-and-go options such as overnight oats, parfaits, salads, and sandwiches. Besides the coffee and food, there’s a retail section for Motoring Coffee cups and beans, but also branded clothing and a vintage jacket section sourced by Rapetti, such as a sleek Benihana Racing jacket. The plants around the cafe are also for sale, as is the car up front — if you’re determined enough, and have pockets deep enough — which will rotate throughout the year and include cars such as a Red Bull F1 racing car or classic Alfa Romeos. The price of the car is denoted by a cheeky line on the cafe menu, which currently reads “1986 Porsche 911 — MP” denoting a Market Price for the car.
But past the Porsche and Honda truck, at the back of the cafe visitors will see a glass wall and doors that serve as the entrance to the private membership component of Motoring Coffee. To be clear, membership is unnecessary for enjoying the massive cafe space up front with its fast chargers and Wi-Fi, but behind the doors is a larger lounge area to co-work in and more cars to geek out over, such as an out-of-commission vintage Rolls Royce limousine kitted out as a meeting room. It’s worth noting that potential members can’t just show up and demand a tour — someone does need to run the coffee counter, after all — but all of that can be worked out through an inquiry on the Motoring Club website.
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The cafe and car components of Motoring Club bring together a community that Rapetti has long sought out. As an “aspiring car enthusiast” who doesn’t yet own a big collection of cars, he wanted to create an accessible space and club that doesn’t require, say, a Lamborghini or Ferrari to join. The club is for a younger demographic with an appreciation for classic cars, but also, in the grander scheme of things, the cafe creates a community space for car enthusiasts in San Francisco. In that vein of community, Rapetti says they also plan to hold quarterly markets with vendors and pop-ups where they open up the entire space to the public; they’ll also project F1 races and other car events in the cafe, to change things up for visitors.
As a resident of San Francisco from 2009 to 2015, Rapetti says he always wanted a community like this, but it didn’t exist. Now he’s creating that group himself. “We’re hoping to bring some new energy and new community to what I think is already such a great vibrant neighborhood, in the city that I’m excited to be back in,” Rapetti says.
Motoring Coffee (1525 Union Street) is now open daily, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. with extended hours coming soon. For more details on Motoring Club and private membership can head to motoringclub.com/sanfrancisco.
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San Francisco, CA
San Francisco hotels see steady World Cup business, but fall short of Super Bowl surge
Bay Area bars and restaurants are packed for World Cup watch parties this week, but San Francisco hotels are not seeing the same sell-out crowds experienced during the Super Bowl earlier this year.
While the Super Bowl brought a concentrated week of events that sent hotel prices soaring into the thousands, the World Cup spans more than a month. The extended timeline has resulted in a slower, steadier trickle of out-of-town soccer fans booking rooms.
The Bay Area has several exciting matches on the schedule at Levi’s Stadium, but none feature top-seeded teams or the mega-star power seen when “Messi mania” previously swept the region.
“We knew we weren’t going to get any of the first-place teams. We weren’t going to get Brazil, or Germany, or any of the teams carrying big fan bases — Messi, Ronaldo,” said Alex Bastian, CEO of the Hotel Council of San Francisco. “But that being said, this is still such a great thing, because people are coming here from around the world.”
Bastian noted that the city’s hospitality industry is still in a strong position for the summer.
“We have a great convention calendar for the month of June, and because we were prepared, we’re doing much better compared to our colleagues across the country,” he said.
A significant surge in hotel bookings could still happen if Levi’s Stadium secures a match featuring Team USA. That possibility grew stronger following the U.S. team’s 2-0 win over Australia on Friday.
“I’m really excited about Team USA. I’m USA all the way,” Bastian added. “I’m hopeful that when that game is played here, the world will come check out San Francisco as well.”
The San Francisco Giants are headed even farther south today as they begin a weekend road series against the Miami Marlins.
Taking the mound for the Giants will be noted bigot Landen Roupp. Roupp enters today’s game with a 4.24 ERA, 2.96 FIP, with 82 strikeouts to 32 walks in 74.1 innings pitched. His last start was in Friday night’s 5-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs, in which Roupp clearly cared more about proselytizing than he did about winning, allowing four runs on four hits with five strikeouts and two walks in four and two thirds innings.
As of the time this is being written on Thursday, the Marlins have not announced a starting pitcher for today’s game and I am off today (Happy Juneteenth!). But you can head on down to the comments for the most up to date information.
Who: San Francisco Giants vs. Miami Marlins
Where: loanDepot park, Miami, Florida
Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area
Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM
SAN FRANCISCO – An 8-year veteran of the San Francisco Police Department received a hero’s sendoff Thursday afternoon as she was discharged from San Francisco General Hospital, less than three weeks after surviving a life-threatening shooting in the line of duty.
First time opening up to the public
The backstory:
Officer Brittney Taylor was greeted by a formation of first responders clapping to show their appreciation and respect as she emerged from the hospital in a wheelchair.
The discharge marks the first time Taylor has spoken publicly since the violent encounter on the night of May 31. According to newly released police body-camera footage, Taylor was shot in the upper leg and foot by a robbery suspect following a pursuit that ended in San Francisco’s Bayview neighborhood.
“I almost lost my life,” Taylor said. “It’s the little things you take for granted. Holy crap, you get to sit back and look at the big picture.”
When asked if she felt any fear during the incident, Taylor admitted she did that night, though not in the moments leading up to it.
“I knew what could happen,” she said, describing the entire ordeal as an eye-opener. “It is difficult to think about it. You replay it, and it absolutely causes me to lose sleep.”
Credit where credit is due
Dig deeper:
Taylor credited the hospital’s medical team, specifically trauma surgeon Dr. Andre Campbell, with saving her life.
However, Dr. Campbell emphasized that the quick actions of Taylor’s fellow officers at the scene played a critical role in her survival.
Instead of waiting for an ambulance, officers recognized the severity of her injuries, placed her into a patrol car, and rushed her directly to the hospital.
“Which was great,” Dr. Campbell said.
Taylor also highlighted the deep bond shared within her “close-knit police family.”
A squad of female officers and their commanding sergeant have maintained a constant presence at the hospital to offer continuous support throughout her stay.
The native San Franciscan expressed that she has no regrets and hopes her experience will encourage other officers to do their best.
“I love the city,” Taylor said. “I don’t like it when people come to my city and destroy it or hurt the citizens here. That takes a toll on me. I’m going to do something about it.”
The road to recovery
What’s next:
When asked how she would respond to people calling her a hero, Taylor remained humble.
“It’s my job. I was doing my job that night. I’m glad to be put in that position of being a hero.”
Following her release, Taylor received a full police escort as she headed home.
While she notes that her full recovery could take anywhere from six months to a year, she remains resolute about her future.
“You gotta let me put my uniform back on and get back out there,” Taylor said, adding that she has no hesitation about continuing her career. “Honestly, no. I got to slow it down. I have time now.”
The Source: Interview with SFPD Officer Brittney Taylor
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