SF Will Remember Tamale Lady With Tamale Lady Day

Tamale Lady Day

The late Virginia Ramos, known to customers as the Tamale Lady, will be remembered with a day designated by the city in her honor: June 23, Ramos’ birthday. Ramos died in September at 65. Supervisor HIllary Ronen announced plans to introduce a resolution declaring the day on Tuesday, the Examiner reports. Known for her roving tamales served at SF dive bars, Ramos emigrated from Mexico to San Francisco with her seven children, working hard to send them to college. On June 22, the bar Zeitgeist will host a celebration, including music and a screening of the short documentary about Ramos, Our Lady of Tamale.

Café by Ayala

Union Square Hotel G and its chic seafood-focused restaurant Ayala have opened a new daytime cafe in the space. Highlights include baked goods from SF’s Black Jet Baking Co, like their fancy poptarts, savory croissants, and pretzel rolls. Hours are Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Why is North Beach riddled with retail vacancies?

A San Francisco Chronicle investigation into the root causes of retail vacancies in North Beach discovers that the two main culprits are city bureaucracy and city-mandated seismic retrofits, which have temporarily closed many businesses across the city. Examples include Caffe Roma, a business that remains vacant because its new owner, the Italian Homemade Company, is tangled in city regulations that will delay a restaurant opening in the space for another year. Interestingly, and despite the claims of district supervisor Aaron Peskin, high asking rents did not appear to be responsible for the vacancies, the Chronicle investigation found.

Palo Alto bans straws, plastic produce bags

Palo Alto’s City Council has voted to ban plastic straws, utensils, produce bags and other single-use items in an effort to reduce waste. The law makes Palo Alto the first Bay Area city to ban plastic produce bags from grocery stores and farmers markets. It goes into effect on January 1, 2020.