Developments In Development: On Valencia, Queer Cafe Starts And After-School Program Leaves. Bayview Park Breaks Ground

San Francisco CA

19 June, 2021

3:10 PM

Description

By Annika Hom, Mission Local June 18, 2021 Co-Owners from left to right: Katey McKee & Sharon Ratton. Art featured is on loan from CandyBar located in the Tenderloin which had to close due to COVID, and Candybar. The artist: Camila Valdez@camilavaldezart Photo courtesy of McKee and Ratton.Got Milk? Last week, I reported that I'd be among the first to tell you about Milk SF, a mysterious cafe that popped up on Valencia Street near 14th. And I hate to say 'I told you so,' but… wait, no I don't. Told you so! Lo and behold, I've discovered Milk SF is officially a queer-friendly nitro-latte cafe — and what's more appealing to the old softie in me, is it's a true labor of love. Co-owners Katey "Scoots" McKee and Sharon Ratton met in 2019, quickly fell in love, dreamt up this very cafe, and are now engaged. The entire engagement, actually, was focused on Milk SF. "Retelling our story, I'm getting a little touched," Ratton said in her southern twang. Wait, I asked them. You date, plan this cafe, and then you just so happen to land it a location right next door to McKee's other business venture, the queer-friendly salon Glama-Rama!? Okay, okay, McKee replied. She milked the friendly relationship with her gracious landlord. Besides, plenty of commercial space is up for grabs around them on 302 Valencia St. "He really wants to see this block look more exciting and more flavorful. So he just said 'write a proposal, tell me your terms and I'll sign the lease.' Pretty magical," McKee recalled. "We joke how the husbands can come wait in the cafe while the wives get their hair done." In its previous life, the space was residentially zoned. Thanks to Proposition H, which aimed to kick down some barriers for San Francisco small biz owners, McKee and Ratton are in the process of changing it. The inside, however, was a different story. "The whole kitchen didn't exist. We had to build a wall, move a door, all the painting," McKee said. "Rip out a shower," Ratton added. A few friends helped put up a staircase. A picture reveals steps are painted every color under the rainbow. Both swear by offerings that include a Bourbon Burnt Caramel Banana Iced, Latte, a Sichuan Peppercorn Rose Iced Latte and Jasmine Iced Latte. There will be food, but no booze — sorry if you expected a white Russian. In fact, operating a handful of LGBTQ-safe businesses that don't offer alcohol is a deliberate source of pride. "The queer community have been relegated to the nightlife before this… it was always where we were safe. That's changing," Ratton said. Now the bright blue Milk SF sits pretty next to the loud pink Glama-Rama! — a down-low nod to gender fluidity, and a secret symbol of their love. Soft opening is on June 26 for Pride Month, which will host a Pink Saturday event. McKee and Ratton are utterly excited. The doors officially open in July. Whatcha waiting for? Scoots on over. Time to Clean Haus The kids are alright. However, their after-school program is not. Contrary to the outdated website message, Third Haus, the child learning community and after-school program on 455 Valencia St., is not on pause but officially kaput. Like several other businesses, Third Haus's model couldn't survive the blows the pandemic dealt, a source close to the company told me. The community, which launched in 2018, relied on interactive spaces where kids could create and "ideate" under a mentor. I think few would venture sheltering-in-place exactly conducive to that environment. So just like everyone else, they pivoted to Zoom meetings. These fell flat. After all, a goofy screen background can only fix so much. The kiddos and employees have moved on, and now the space is looking for a new tenant. But not just anyone — someone really committed to the "community." So, take what you will with that. Some new digs When a pack of the state's top dogs come down to San Francisco for a photo opp, it's either for campaign season or a big deal. Lucky for me, it's the latter. Indian Basin Shoreline Park, one of the San Francisco Recreation and Parks' biggest projects in a generation, broke ground yesterday and even the governor had something to chime in about it. Why not? There'll be illuminated bike paths, natural habits, and gardens, oh my! I'm most excited to lounge on the docks and get more bad tan lines. About 1.7 miles is slated for the waterfront, and this swath begins to narrow inequity park gaps for Bayview Hunters' Point residents. It'll come out to $140 million, which a mix of state, local and private funding will address. This park, too, is one tiny piece of the project overall. Not more than a mile over is the planned destination for some 2,500 public and affordable housing units. But there's a lot of work to be done, considering the literally toxic past of Hunter's Point. A Bayview native group, Rubecon Builders, will head the land's remediation process. While it's a long way out, you can certainly enjoy the high-quality pictures of shovels in dirt today. From us, to you, with love It's been quick work. An unsafe building on San Bruno Ave. was okayed by a longtime DBI inspector Bennie Curran — despite almost no recorded inspections taking place on-site, as revealed by our superstar Joe Eskenazi. On Monday, we learned Curran, who also made news for failing to initially document a $180,000 "loan" from a developer, had resigned. Clearing the way for more housing? Rafael Mandelman is all for it… except when it means uprooting pre-existing amenities for long-term residents without "just cause." And according to housing rights activists, this phenomenon is spreading citywide. Mandelman's new ordinance may put an end to it. Who said affordable housing can't be pretty, too? A fully affordable, 127-unit building on Folsom and 16th got a mural makeover. The beautiful new face look familiar? Probably because it's the revered Mexican American artist Yolanda López. What I'm reading Move over, Bob the Builder. These Oakland artists made eight "tiny homes" for their unhoused neighbors, citing the homelessness crisis which will probably worsen as evictions loom. It warmed my heart, but also made me wonder if this could be replicated elsewhere. Read more at ABC7. Okay, I'm officially Lauren Hepler's fangirl. In the Chron, she writes the moving and human-centered "New legal challenge revives 'huge war' over Hunters Point's toxic legacy." A move for 12,000 housing units slated for the shipyard and Candlestick Park faces litigation aimed to block further construction, which started in the pandemic. Residents allege they never got notice about it and want more clean up done. The piece quietly conjures questions surrounding all planning processes — when we slap down housing units, where are we putting them, and who are we asking to move into them? When we do, what health risks are we possibly asking them to swallow in the meantime? Mission Local covers San Francisco from the vantage point of the Mission, a neighborhood with all of the promise and problems of a major city. You can support Mission Local here.