Original Joe’s Opening In North Beach In January 2012

The S.F. Chronicle reports on a highly-anticipated new addition to North Beach in 2012:  Original Joe’s across from Washington Square.

“The signature red booths are installed. The charbroiler has been fired up. Even the Art Deco mermaids have been hung.  Yes, Original Joe’s is almost back.

The North Beach reincarnation of the San Francisco classic – the Tenderloin original burned down four years ago – is about a month away, and the Duggan family is making sure the legacy is brought over to the new location (601 Union St.), oftentimes literally.  The old Tenderloin phone number has been carried over, and someone ferried over the old bar stools, too. Though the space is larger than the original, there is the exact same number of red booths (23) in the dining room. But Original Joe’s signature is the open kitchen, which required removing some walls.

‘You can’t be Original Joe’s without the exhibition kitchen. It’s what makes us what we are,’ says owner John Duggan.”

Read the Latest Edition of The Semaphore

Download an electronic version of the latest edition of THD’s one and only quarterly magazine, The Semaphore, here:  Issue 196, Fall 2011: Pioneer Park At 10 Years

This edition features enlightening interviews with new neighborhood business owners, a special story about Julius’ Castle, a full page photo spread about this year’s fourth annual THD ArtWalk event, a delicious review of the new Basque restaurant on Broadway, information about important issues in the neighborhood, and much more.

THD members receive a mailed copy of the Sempahore four times a year.  Become a THD member right now by clicking here:  http://www.thd.org/join-now/

Chronicle Spotlights Filbert Steps & Grace Marchant Gardens

On October 23, the S.F. Chronicle’s Sunday “Cityscapes” photoessay shined a warm spotlight on our very own Filbert Steps & Grace Marchant Gardens.  Writer John King characterized them as the result of “acts of defiance” by residents over the years to create an immersive and memorable neighborhood and urban space:  “This is San Francisco as rain forest, opulent and moist.”

See the photoessay here:

“Filbert Steps offer ascent through urban growth”