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Vol. 50, No. 2
February 2026
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THE NOE VALLEY VOICE A Quick Job Survey Yields a Host of Openings
Resident Teaches Merchants How to Respond to ICE
By John Ferrannini
By Matthew S. Bajko
Noe Employers Need Waiters, Cooks, and Fitness Trainers
Many Businesses Already Show Signs of Solidarity
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oe Valley businesses are hiring as the year gets under way. Two restaurants with plans to open soon are among the neighborhood businesses advertising jobs. Dave Wasem, the owner of Grand Lake Kitchen, is opening a third location of his neighborhood restaurant serving standard American fare, brunch, and cocktails in the former Mr. Digby’s space at 1199 Church St. in March. Wasem says he is “looking for all positions,” including managers, servers, bartenders, food runners, kitchen managers, lead line cooks, line cooks, prep cooks, and dishwashers. Applicants can apply by emailing noe@grandlakekitchen.com. Peruvian restaurant Fresca Noe Valley, whose doors have been closed for three years at 3945 24th St., is remodeling to open “soon,” according to a November post by co-owner Ivan Calvo-Perez. The restaurant is looking for line cooks/cocineros to join its kitchen team. The positions pay $20 to $24 an hour, and interested applicants can apply online at Indeed or Glassdoor.com. Bartenders and servers are also needed for 30-hour-a-week
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We’re Mutts About You: For several years in February, Noe Valley Pet Company at 1451 Church St. has decorated its window with hearts sporting the names of neighborhood dogs and cats as a thank-you and acknowledgment. “This Valentine's Day,” invites owner Paula Harris, stop by and write a love note to your pet.” Photo by Jack Tipple
jobs, and those pay $19 to $21 per hour. YuBalance Fitness Club at 4159 24th St. is looking for a full-time personal trainer, says proprietor Shala Cox. (Call 415-796-3929.) So too is Roar women’s strength training studio, according to founder and CEO Michelle Kunkel, who noted her business is “rapidly growing.” At its Noe Valley location at 1500 CONTINUED ON PAGE 7
Want to Pick Up a Walking Habit? It’s a Breeze to Find a Group, Start the Trail on Sanchez Loop By Emily Hayes
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very Saturday morning at 10 a.m. you can see a group of neighborhood walkers making their way down the still slow Sanchez Street.
Members of the group—dubbed Noe Walks—gather at the intersection of 24th and Sanchez near the Noe Valley Town Square, then walk to 30th Street and back. Organizer Chris Nanda started Noe Walks in 2021, when Covid-19 CONTINUED ON PAGE 13
Onward to 30th: Accompanied by his 10-week-old son, Noe Walks founder Chris Nanda (left) and group members (l–r) John Hamilton, David Gast, and Carol Leonard stride south on Sanchez Street on a sunny Saturday in January. Photo by Emily Hayes
Church Says No to St. Paul Landmark State Law Clouds City’s Efforts To Preserve Religious Sites By Matthew S. Bajko
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fforts to add several church sites in or near Noe Valley to San Francisco’s list of official landmarks are now in doubt, due to a state law that allows religious properties to be exempted from such designations. Landmarking is a preservation tool that can give local leaders a measure of control in protecting historic structures from demolition. But not always. In 2000, a divided California Supreme Court issued a ruling that upheld legislation enacted in 1994 which allowed religious groups to tear down noncommercial property they no longer needed or they could not afford to maintain. Then-Justice Marvin Baxter noted that the “exemptions free the owners to use the property as they would have done had the property not been designated a historical landmark.” That legal precedent was cited by John Christian, executive director of the Archdiocese of San Francisco Real Property Support Corporation, in voicing the church’s opposition last month to a proposed landmark designation for St. Paul’s Catholic Church, the twinspired jewel at 1660 Church St. The 115-year-old church is known for its English Gothic architecture, as well as its role in the 1992 film Sister Act, starring Whoopi Goldberg. Speaking at the Jan. 21 meeting of the San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission, Christian also objected to landmark status for the buildings of Most Holy Redeemer Roman Catholic CONTINUED ON PAGE 11
ith tensions rising after a fatal shooting by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis in early January, Dan Geiger decided to ramp up his efforts to educate business owners in San Francisco. He began reaching out to merchants’ groups across the city, offering free presentations on what business owners should do if ICE agents showed up at their store or restaurant. “Everybody is freaking out about ICE,” says Geiger, a semi-retired business consultant with an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, a career in nonprofits such as the U.S. Green Building Council, and six years of experience on the board of the Northern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). On Jan. 13, Geiger addressed the Noe Valley Merchants and Professionals Association (NVMPA). Geiger advised the members, “If ICE comes into a place, number one stay calm. Do not confront. Also, do not consent, unless they have a judicial warrant.” A resident of Cesar Chavez Street at Dolores Street since the late 1980s, Geiger started his campaign last fall, speaking with individual merchants in Noe Valley. He walked along Church and 24th streets handing out signs for businesses to put in their windows. The colorful posters, made by the advocacy group Indivisible, feature a CONTINUED ON PAGE 9
“Immigrants Welcome”: Local business consultant Dan Geiger displays the poster he has been handing out to shops in Noe Valley, along with advice on the limits of ICE authority. Photo by Art Bodner