SoMa Favorite Deli Board Saved From Demolition in Surprise Move

The owners of SoMa restaurants Deli Board and Fondue Cowboy, both facing the looming prospect of a move forced by development of their land parcel, can breathe a sigh of relief. In a serious surprise action, the SF Board of Supervisors unanimously rejected a planned 63-unit housing development — despite prior approval from the Planning Commission.

That shocked onlookers, including Deli Board owner Adam Mesnick, who had already been scouring the city for a new home for his popular sandwich shop, which is about to turn 10 years old.

“It’s a twist of fate,” says Mesnick. “I didn’t legitimately ever expect this to happen.” Mesnick had known of the potential for development for years, and even wrote a letter of support for his landlord’s efforts to build the housing.

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“There need to be more places for people, it’s obvious that people are in need,” he says. But the news is good for his business, which gets a major reprieve — though eventually, development is still likely.

In the end, supervisors’ objections to the building were over a shadow it would cast into a nearby public space — Victoria Manalo Draves Park. Those concerns hadn’t been adequately examined by the Planning Commission, supervisors decided.

In rejecting the project, SoMa supervisor Matt Haney said “We absolutely need more housing... [but] this isn’t a meaningless shadow on someone’s backyard. This is a shadow that falls on the only multi-use public park in SoMa.”

Now the development project is back to the drawing board — and Deli Board and Fondue Cowboy can wait to look for new locations until another day. “Restaurant life... it’s a roller coaster,” Mesnick said.

• SF supervisors reject 63-unit SoMa development over shadow concerns [SF Curbe]