A mostly sleepy block of San Francisco’s Financial District could take on the feel of a vibrant European nightlife district as soon as Labor Day if a plan to transform the area into California’s first entertainment zone comes to fruition.
City officials and local business owners revealed new details Monday about a plan to close the block of Front Street between California and Sacramento streets to create a new special events space for the city that would boast outdoor alcohol consumption, live music and new streetscape design.
It’s part of Mayor London Breed’s plan to enliven downtown as it continues to climb out of an economic slump that started during the pandemic. Once buzzing with small businesses, popular eateries and high foot traffic, Front Street has declined in recent years as restaurants and stores have closed their doors amid a dearth of office workers in the area.
Breed has focused in on bringing more people downtown by helping small businesses site new locations in vacant storefronts through the Vacant to Vibrant program, and by closing off alleys like Leidesdorff Street to create inviting urban oases to make the financial district more of a destination for residents and visitors.
“We want to give people working here full time or part time a reason to come back to the office and downtown,” said Ben Bleiman, president of the Entertainment Commission and owner of Harrington’s Bar & Grill on Front Street. “We’re going to activate the street and have fun, and hopefully it’s going to transform Front Street forever.”
Supervisors haven’t approved the mayor’s legislation yet, but they appear likely to support it. The new entertainment zone initiative was made possible after state Sen. Scott Wiener introduced a state bill allowing bars and restaurants to sell booze for outdoor special events through one-time permits.
Currently, restaurants and bars are not allowed to do so, but event vendors can set up and sell beer outside their doorsteps.
Home to longtime eateries and bars Royal Exchange, Schroeder’s and Harrington’s, Front Street is an ideal candidate for the entertainment zone, Bleiman said. The street is close to transit, boasts renowned eateries and has no neighbors nearby to complain about noise.
It won’t be quite like Bourbon Street, Bleiman said, where people walk block to block from bar party to bar party. Instead, Bleiman envisions something akin to Lisbon’s Pink Street or the downtown squares of other European cities, places where residents can sit for lunch or sip wine al fresco during the day and come back for a 49ers party, DJ set or cabaret show in the evening.
“It’s not enough to just close a street and just put in furniture,” Bleiman said. “This needs to have the programming, the beautification, streetscape design and the cool vibe to succeed. Part of it is science, but part of it is art, too.”
In typical San Francisco fashion, business owners like Bleiman will have to jump through the city’s bureaucratic hoops to make that European dream a reality.
Not only will business owners have to apply for a recurring street closure permit, they’ll also foot the bill for individual permits for every daily event they do. Bleiman told the Board of Supervisors Monday that they envision holding two or three events a week, which means businesses may end up spending thousands a year to hold regular events on the street.
“It’s going to be an ongoing project and process, but having so many folks invested in (Front Street’s) success is really exciting,” said Ben Van Houten, a business development manager for nightlife and entertainment with the office of economic and workforce development. “We’re the first to do this in the state, and we want to do it well.”
Some of those bureaucratic hurdles could soon be fixed — like the requirement for alcohol consumption permits for every individual event — if the state Legislature passes a new bill from Wiener that would expand the number of cities that can zone new entertainment areas and streamline the state’s alcohol permitting process.
“There’s work we’re actively doing to support (businesses) as they navigate this and also using this as a test case to think about how we can make this complicated process more navigable for folks moving forward,” Van Houten said.
Supervisor Ahsha Safaí said he’s happy to see that the block’s three restaurants and bars are working together with the Downtown SF Partnership and the San Francisco Building Owners and Managers Association to move the project forward.
“Sometimes when the city drives projects like this, we can’t get out of our own way, and it ends up not being implemented,” Safaí said. “Because these three businesses in particular are driving it, I have a lot more confidence that it’ll actually come to fruition.”
Bleiman said the plan could help jump-start new investments on the street. Three storefronts that once housed McDonald’s, Lee’s Deli and Walgreens are currently empty. If the entertainment zone is a success, business owners will want to be where the people are, Bleiman said.
“If it gets really humming, businesses are going to want to move there, whether it’s a cool art gallery, a wine bar or a fancy restaurant,” Bleiman said. “Who wouldn’t want to be in the middle of an entertainment zone?”
Reach Aldo Toledo: [email protected]
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