A Historic Black-Owned Bayview Bar Could Get a Second Wind From a Mission District Industry Vet

A legendary Bayview bar may get a second wind thanks to a storied food and drink entrepreneur in the Mission. Sam Jordan’s closed in 2019 after more than 60 years of serving the Bayview cheap drinks and good times. Now, the bar will get new life from Mission District entrepreneur Juan Rosas, owner of Taqueria Vallarta and bar El Trebol. Mission Local reports Sam Jordan’s held significance to the neighborhood as it was named after San Francisco’s first Black mayoral candidate in 1963. It was also the oldest Black-owned bar in the city when it closed.

What’s unclear is what the space could look like under Rosas. The new owner bought the building and didn’t reply to the paper’s request for an interview, which means it could be an entirely new business — as opposed to Sam Jordan’s part two. That said, District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton told Mission Local he hopes the spirit of Sam Jordan will live on in whatever business takes up residence at 4004 Third Street. “The community isn’t expecting anything less,” the supervisor told the outlet.

Wine startup abruptly shuts down operations

Underground Cellar, a wine startup with more than $13.5 million in venture-backed dollars, let customers know it would “shut down for all future ordering and shipping” on April 24. The business offered random wine “upgrades” to customers who purchased bottles through the company and a “CloudCellar” that stored those wines until customers wanted to open their prized bottles. Now, numerous Underground Cellar users have no access to the wines stored with the company. The Chronicle reports that on April 28, Erik Jensen, who had 42 bottles and more than $3,000 tied up in the business, sued the company.

San Francisco's favorite rooftop bar is expanding its footprint — sort of

Kaiyo Rooftop, one of the city’s best places to get a rooftop drink, will expand into a ground floor space of the same building it already occupies at 701 Third Street. The San Francisco Business Times reports the ultra-glam Nikkei restaurant and bar hopes to start operations in the 2,000-square-foot ground floor space in the fall.

A former East Bay barbecue destination is open again

Black Star Pirate BBQ said farewell to its loyal fanbase in November 2022 with a fitting pirate’s funeral. But East Bay Nosh reports longtime caterer Arnon Oren has taken over the Point San Pablo Harbor restaurant space and reopened the location as Sailing Goat on April 28. Guests can expect pizza, shareable stews and curries, and plenty of beer and wine.

New San Francisco farmer’s market gets love from Black Lives Matter

Dragonspunk, the Bayview nonprofit behind the city’s newest farmers market, got a big shout-out from Black Lives Matter on social media. On the Black Lives Matter Instagram, the organization highlighted Dragonspunk as a part of an ongoing Earth Day series. The organization’s new farmer’s market debuted on April 29.