Full Proof, a new bottle shop in the Castro, has one of the more unusual origin stories in San Francisco's small business scene. Its founder saw the writing on the wall as DOGE-driven federal cuts started rolling through agencies, and rather than wait around for the axe to fall, he did something radical: he bet on himself.

The shop is built around a simple, appealing concept — come in, try some gins and amari, and buy what you like. It's part tasting room, part retail, and entirely the kind of neighborhood spot the Castro could use more of. No gimmicks, no $18 cocktails with smoke bubbles. Just good bottles and a comfortable vibe.

Now, we have complicated feelings about DOGE. The impulse to trim federal bloat? Long overdue. The execution? Often chaotic, occasionally cruel, and sometimes targeting people who were doing genuinely useful work. The federal workforce isn't a monolith — some of it is redundant bureaucracy, and some of it is people doing real jobs that matter.

But here's what we unambiguously love: someone who gets knocked down by forces outside their control and responds by building something. That's the entrepreneurial spirit that San Francisco desperately needs more of. Every new small business that opens here is a minor miracle given the permitting labyrinth, the rent, and the general hostility this city sometimes shows toward people trying to make a living.

Full Proof is a reminder that the best response to government dysfunction — whether it's reckless cuts from Washington or suffocating regulations from City Hall — is people creating something of their own. The Castro gets a cool new shop, a former federal employee gets a fresh start, and the rest of us get a place to sample amaro on a Tuesday.

That's a better stimulus package than anything coming out of D.C.