Tony Downtown Restaurant One Market Touts Mayor Breed Visit, Urges ‘Responsible’ Dining

A Market Street restaurant says that San Francisco Mayor London Breed is still eating out, and that others should follow her lead.

In an email sent by a spokesperson, power lunch/dinner spot One Market announced that SF Mayor London Breed “is still eating out, you should too!” According to the spokesperson, Breed took lunch at the spot on Thursday, “in support of the local restaurant industry during this stressful time.”

By “this stressful time,” they undoubtedly mean the uncertain landscape wrought by COVID-19, the pandemic that at most recent count has 18 reported cases in San Francisco. The virus wasn’t named in the press release — instead, One Market’s spokesperson simply said that “our hope is that others will follow in her lead and eat responsibly at those restaurants that are adjusting their services to best prevent transmission while allowing guests to still enjoy their favorite dining experiences.”

It’s a reasonable hope, given that, according to City Controller Ben Rosenfield, restaurants in SF are seeing a 50 percent drop in business, a number that’s expected to increase as the crisis continues. According to Eater’s Jenny G. Zhang, while “there is no fail-safe method” to avoid the disease and “the best thing you can do right now is limit your contact with others,” according to the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration “there is currently no evidence of food being associated with COVID-19 transmission.” Her full report on the safest ways to dine out (should you choose to do so) can be found here.

And in other news...

• Food critic Soleil Ho says that every dish at Azalina Eusope’s halal Malaysian spot Mahila is “flavorful and self-realized.” [SF Chronicle]
• The 2020 James Beard Awards, which boast a multitude of Bay Area contenders, have been postponed from April until later this summer. [Eater National]
• Local mini-chain the Plant Cafe Organic has closed its Marina location, but its spots in the Dogpatch, Financial District, and SFO are still serving up smoothies, salads, and its beet-centric Plant “burger. [Tablehopper]
• Napa Valley’s Diamond Creek Vineyards has been snapped up by French Champagne company Maison Louis Roederer. The acquisition deal includes the winery, its 79-acre Calistoga property, and 20 acres of vineyards. [SF Chronicle]
• Four-year-old Concord Peruvian spot Lima has shuttered after four years in the game. According to co-owner Elizabeth Marquez, business is good, but “it’s getting harder and harder to find employees,” hence the closure. [East Bay Times]
• San Francisco Burger Inspector/artist Jeremy Fish checked out Spruce’s $22 burger, and dropped an extra $7 for the addition of cheese and $40 for a tableside truffle shave. The (oddly personified) verdict on the (apparently female) burger? “I probably wouldn’t take her on a second date if she wasn’t wearing the bun, cheese and truffles.” [SF Gate]
• SF probiotics company ZBiotics — the sole product of which is a $36-for-three-shots alleged hangover cure — just scored $2.3 million in funding Thursday. [SF Business Times]