Mission Mission

Local artist Rio Yañez laments another neighborhood closure:

The closing of US Video marks the final death of Video stores in the Mission that cater to working class Latino families in the neighborhood. All that’s left in the neighborhood is Lost Weekend. I never thought I’d live to see the day that it would be easier to rent a copy of some obscure Orson Welles film than a copy of Transformers (or some other commercial mainstream movie).

Read on.

I guess working-class Latino families are just going to have to learn to love Mr. Arkadin and rad t-shirts.

Congratulations to Joshua, winning the ultimate hamster lifestyle statement, the Rickshaw Bags made Beerdolero, with this haiku:

tepid cans in hand
two arms do not do as much
beerdolero me

Joshua stopped by Bender’s to pick up the prize from a rowdy crew who forced him to “try it out”, to make sure that it works, with their (our) empty, dripping beer cans.

In case you missed it, check out the other entries here.

And, finally, here’s the winning entry spoken.

Cheaper than a taco.

Shortly after reading my thinly-vieled plea to reinstate the Beerdolero, the fine folks at Rickshaw Bagworks invited me down to: A. Obtain a hand-made Beerdolero. B. Tour of their facilities in the SF’s Dogpatch district (allegedly named by a drunkard). C. Dance an Irish jig for them (no joke).

The Beerdolero works great. It is a velcro-secured sleeve that you can attach to any strap, including the one affixed to your Gibson Flying V. Cans fit very snugly into the sturdy loops and wont fall out. It does weigh down the front a bit, so it helps if you are carrying something in the bag to counter-balance.

So why do you want this, aside from the fact that it completes your hipster douche outfit? First of all, this may be the only one you’ll ever see. You can’t buy it from Rickshaw because they only offer them as promotional items. It’s also clear that your beer-carrying situation is dire. How dire? Well, you’re gonna have to tell us… with poetry:

Post a haiku lament about your current beverage transport methods. Be sure to use a real email address in your comment. The best haiku, judged somewhat arbitrarily by us and Rickshaw, wins the Beerdolero. You have until Friday, 3pm to submit

Oh yeah, it’s probably bad to encourage drinking and cycling, so be sure to load this baby up with, uh, Hansen’s if you’re gonna hop on the bike.

Thanks to Lisa, Kati and the rest of the gang at Rickshaw Bagworks for being awesome. Rickshaw Bags is an environmentally conscious and completely local company that puts out super high-quality customized stuff. Be sure to stop by and say hi to them.

Update: Kati says that “Beerdoilero” should be spelled “Beerdolero”.

Also, more about the Beerdolero from Mark Dwight at Rickshaw Bagworks!

I just wanted to give a little background on our Beerdalero… we made the first three Beerdaleros for our company debut at Interbike 2008, just for fun, and raffled one each day at our booth. We have never made it available for purchase. For one thing, it takes about 2 hours to make a Beerdalero — and we make them right here in SF — so they would be ridiculously expensive at retail. Besides, not everything needs to be commercially exploited. We prefer to make just a few now and then for special occasions and special friends — like Mission Mission. Happy Cinco de Mayo! -Mark

The messenger-bag-PBR-can-storage arms race continues! Check out Rickshaw Bagworks‘ game-changing “Beerdolero”  innovation, which combines space-saving strap storage and the highly-fashionable Mexican Revolutionary look. All of this comes at a cost though: none of this actually keeps your beverages cool.

There’s another catch: apparently, only five of these were made and they were given away a month ago as part of a St. Patty’s Day promotion. LAME.

Now, I know some of your Rickshaw folks read this here blog. How about another test run for the summer season?

Previously:

Cool Kids Use Cool Stuff: Dolores Chiller

The Tens has the scoop.

I was feeling a little nostalgic, so I decided to make one last shopping trip to Delano’s for old time’s sake.  It was fairly disarming to witness firsthand the depleted shelves and bins throughout the store.  A few other shoppers milled about, almost seeming more interested in surveying the scene than picking out groceries. 

A somber air permeated the place, and not even the sounds of ABBA emanating from the tinny overhead speakers could shake out the funk.

Some of the more depressing shelves (plus an UPLIFTING STORY and an UPDATE!!!), after the jump:

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When we’ve got this guy ready to take its place?  Nice enclosure!

Previously:

Delano’s IGA on the Ropes?

Could the vultures soon be circling the dessicated carcass of the Mission’s most convenient late-night supermarket?  Inquisitive reader Ann C. expresses her concern:

I was wondering if you guys know anything about the DeLano’s on 23rd and South Van Ness supposedly closing.  I noticed they were missing produce on Monday, and I asked one of the employees if they were remodeling.  He said they were actually supposed to CLOSE THE STORE that day, but it got postponed. 

I want that DeLano’s to stay open!!! It’s convenient and it’s not a Whole Foods.  I even like that it’s not a Safeway because it’s not crowded ever, and the employees that work there are really nice.  Can you guys look into this or something?   One of the checkers told me to contact DeLano’s and try to tell them to keep it open (415-381-6700). 

Has anyone else heard anything about this development?

It wouldn’t be completely unexpected, since supermarkets not named Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s have been having a notoriously rough go of it lately, as evidenced by the recent closure of the Nob Hill Cala Foods, which was replaced by (what else?) condos.  And let’s not forget that this particular South Van Ness location used to be a Cala Foods itself once before (and a Siris long before that, but that’s a whole other story for another time):

It’s difficult to keep up with the cheap produce prices at the myriad corner markets around the neighborhood.  Casa Lucas and the like are tough to beat with that 4 for a dollar avocado special.  I think Duc Loi is still going strong, but they cover a completely different niche.  And Ann herself does admit that the place is never even crowded.

Nonetheless, I would hate to see this place go, especially because the people that work there are soooo nice, and it’s great to have a place to turn when your hectic lifestyle precludes you from going grocery shopping until 1am.

BUMMERZ UPDATE!!!  Commenter Paul Valdez says:

Yes, it is true. Checker, Michelle, told me last weekend that they will close in one week. Too bad. Yes, they were all nice and the Delano family could’ve given that location some ‘attention’…

[Photos by Romleys, who seems to have somewhat of a penchant for supermarket history]

Frjtz is exploring the possibilities of the new Valencia Street and all its extra space. I’ve never eaten there, and the menu, prices and ambiance don’t entice me. But actually sitting down outside without the fear of Gavin Newsom popping out from behind a safety cone and forcing me onto a one way bus trip to Santa Cruz, that sounds pretty nice. What do you think?

Construction. That’s what’s up.