SF Could Actually Become Not the Worst Place to Open a Restaurant

Welcome to p.m. Intel, your bite-sized roundup of Bay Area food and restaurant news. Tips are always welcome, drop them here.

• San Francisco’s reputation as a nightmare of a place to open a restaurant (or retail location) could change, thanks to a proposed new law called First Year Free. Supervisors Hillary Ronen and Matt Haney are introducing the bill today, in a bid to waive a year’s worth of fees that most small businesses have to shell out when opening in the city. That’s a whole slew of permits, licenses, inspections, and so on, typically costing upwards of $30,000. (Remember the horrifying tale of the SF man who spent $200,000 and still couldn’t get his ice cream shop open?) If passed, the law would work alongside Proposition H, introduced to help speed up the tediously slow pace it takes business owners to get permits in this city. Read all about it here, and cross every appendage in hopes that it gives small businesses some relief. [SF Chronicle]
• Krispy Kreme is coming through with a supermoon-themed promotion ahead of this week’s Strawberry Supermoon on Thursday, June 24. It’s the last supermoon of the year, apparently, which means lunar fans should go big with a half-dozen doughnuts filled with strawberry cream, dipped in strawberry icing, then topped with “moon dust,” which are graham cracker crumbs. [KRON4]
• If doughnuts aren’t your thing, head over to Little Original Joe’s in West Portal for some soft serve this week. It’s a little treat to celebrate summer and thank teachers and school admins for sticking through this rough school year. Those hardworking school folks can stop by for a free cup or cone of Strauss Family soft serve with choice of toppings. It’s happening now through Friday, June 25; make sure to present a school ID or badge to receive the offer.
• San Francisco bars are struggling to stock enough beer for their voraciously thirsty post-pandemic customers, according to KPIX. Golden Brands, one of the city’s major distributors, has reduced deliveries to once per month, leaving most storage-limited bars and restaurants out of luck if their customers want, say, a Corona. Apparently it’s most of the big brands that bars aren’t able to receive, which includes SF’s own Anchor Steam. A group of more than 80 bar owners have sent a letter of complaint to Golden Brands with hopes of reinstating more frequent deliveries. [KPIX]
• In more on-demand delivery news, SF-based DoorDash will now partner with Albertsons Cos. to provide grocery delivery from almost 2,000 of its stores. Those brands include Safeway, Vons, and Jewel-Osco, which are scattered liberally throughout the Bay Area. It’s a bid to compete with grocery delivery giants like Walmart and Amazon, according to SF Business Journal. [SF Business Journal]