SoMa’s 83-Year-Old Coca-Cola Sign Is Gone for Good

Welcome to p.m. Intel, your midday roundup of Bay Area food and restaurant news from publications near and far. Tips are always welcome, drop them here.

• SoMa’s iconic Coca-Cola sign, which Broke Ass Stuart reports has stood at Fifth and Bryant since 1937, will be removed today. According to KPIX, SF’s Department of Building Inspection confirmed that workers will tear it down at a cost of $100,000, and that its permit stipulates that “it cannot be replaced.” According to SF Gate, “soaring rental costs reportedly prompted the beverage giant to take down the sign.” Those nostalgic for the flashy ad will have to rely on this video for comfort.
• Selby’s, the high-end steak-and-martini club that opened in the summer of 2019, will shutter until spring of 2021, Palo Alto online reports. “With winter approaching and the ongoing shelter-in-place orders limiting indoor dining, we have made the thoughtful decision to temporarily pause service until spring 2021,” its owners, the Bacchus Management Group, said. Out of Bacchus’s portfolio of restaurants, SF’s Spruce, Woodside’s the Village Pub (and spin-off the Village Bakery), and its Pizza Antica mini-chain remain open for business.
• San Francisco’s 15 percent cap on fees delivery apps charge restaurants might remain for two months after the city allows 100 percent capacity inside restaurant dining rooms, the SF Examiner reports. The proposal has passed the Board of Supervisors’ Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee, and the full board will mull the plan on November 3.
• The Golden Gate Restaurant Association is seeking responses for its San Francisco restaurant owner/operator/chef survey. It’s available in English, Espanol, 中文, and Pilipino, and restaurant names and other identifying information will be kept confidential.
• Retired SF Giant great Hunter Pence bought shots for the house at North Beach classic spot Firenze by Night on Saturday. The gesture was one of schadenfreude, NBC Sports reports, a celebration of the LA Dodgers’ loss during Game 4 of the 2020 World Series.
• Get used to dining in parking spaces and on sidewalks, as SF officials have agreed to extend the city’s Shared Spaces program to June 30, 2021. [SFMTA]
• Student journalist Kiana George reported out the below video on Half Moon Bay Wasabi, the only commercial wasabi grower in the state of California and the company behind the fresh wasabi at spots like Rintaro and Robin. [Scot Scoop]