If you've ever wandered through the Castro with a sweet tooth and a sense of humor, you already know Hot Cookie — the late-night bakery famous for its, shall we say, anatomically expressive cookie shapes. Now the beloved shop has planted a flag on Polk Street, joining forces with Goldenette in what might be the most delightfully unserious small business expansion in recent memory.

Bang bang, indeed.

Look, we spend a lot of time in this column talking about the businesses that leave San Francisco — the ones chased out by red tape, rising rents, and a city government that treats entrepreneurs like ATMs. So when a local business actually grows? That's worth celebrating, anatomical pastries and all.

Hot Cookie has been a Castro institution for years, and their move into the Polk Street corridor signals something encouraging: there's still demand for quirky, independent retail in San Francisco. Not everything has to be a chain pharmacy or a vacant storefront with a "coming soon" sign that never delivers.

As one SF resident put it: "I just wish they were something other than coconut." Fair criticism. Another local's take on the signature cookies was a bit more direct: "I'll take one chocolate vagina to go, please." We're not here to judge your order.

Polk Street has had its ups and downs — like most SF commercial corridors, it's seen vacancies creep in over the past few years. But small operators like Hot Cookie and Goldenette betting on the neighborhood is a vote of confidence that no amount of city-commissioned economic reports can replicate. The best economic development program isn't a grant or a task force — it's making it easy enough for scrappy business owners to take a shot.

So if you're strolling Polk and need a sugar fix with a side of irreverence, you know where to go. Support the locals. Buy the weird cookie. San Francisco is better when its small businesses are thriving — even the ones your grandma might blush at.