Mission Beer Garden Zeitgeist Dumps Its Picnic Tables, Temporarily Reopens

Big changes are in store for the popular outdoor seating at Mission District dive Zeitgeist.

The back patio area at Zeitgeist, a 42-year-old Valencia Street bar that proudly owns its motto of “Warm Beer, Cold Women,” will no longer boast its oft-packed picnic tables, Hoodline reports, as concerns over social distancing have prompted an as-yet-undetermined layout change.

The dive’s sunny yard was briefly endangered back in 2017, when the proposed design of a nearby development threatened to cast a chilly shadow on the spot. That threat was averted by order of San Francisco’s Planning Commission, Mission Local reported at the time, much to the pleasure of Zeitgeist bartender Charles, who said then that “When the sun shines, that’s when I make my money, that’s when our neighborhood gets a chance to come out and use our beer garden as their backyard.”

Owner Lara Burmeister called upon her patrons then to help save the bar from darkness, and she’s asking for help again to ensure that the bar can reopen in a socially-distant fashion. She tells Hoodline that she’s seeking feedback on a plan to replace Zeitgeist’s tables with “16 safely distanced high tables,” perhaps, or seating placed only along the garden’s border (don’t worry, old-timers, the porta-potties that once graced the bar’s periphery have been gone for a decade).

To help make her decision, Zeitgeist (which has been closed since the city’s shelter-in-place order went down in March) will reopen for two days only, from noon to 5 p.m. on May 30 and 31, its website says, to test a takeout menu of grilled cheese, margaritas, and bloody marys. Those waiting in line will be asked for their thoughts on the potential patio plans, Burmeister tells Hoodline, and if the weekend take-out plan is a success, “we’d do it again,” the bar says on its site.

And in other news...

• Workers at an Oakland McDonald’s went on strike Tuesday, saying that the store manager told them to use masks made out of (unused) dog diapers. Workers say that say four employees of the Telegraph Avenue McDonald’s tested positive for COVID-19, but its owner says only three fell ill and the dog diaper claim is “entirely false.” [San Jose Mercury News]
• Lusamerica Fish, a seafood packing plant in Morgan Hill, is reportedly the epicenter of a coronavirus outbreak. The Santa Clara County Department of Public Health says 38 confirmed cases have been traced to the plant, which packs fish sold under the “Tasty Catch” brand. [East Bay Times]
• San Francisco-based Instacart has been asked, repeatedly, why they refuse to offer publicly-promised paid leave for workers with COVID-19, but they refuse to answer [The Verge], but the company is far more forthcoming when it comes to its new self-service ad platform, which will allow paid promotion within its search results [Marketing Dive].
• Scott’s Seafood, a 34-year-old San Jose crab and saute destination, has reopened for takeout in the historic Twohy building, after its previous location was slated for redevelopment. [San Jose Mercury News]
• Mizkan America, a tomato processing plant in Stockton, was the site of a three-alarm fire Tuesday. The effort to fight the smoky blaze was complicated by the weather — it was 93 degrees out, and near the fire “water landing on the street immediately turned into steam upon making contact with the pavement.” [KPIX]
• A California-wide ban on live animal markets moved forward after a Senate hearing Tuesday, buoyed by fears of disease transmission. [ABC 7]