For a city that sometimes feels like it's drowning in natural wine bars staffed by people who won't make eye contact with you, Qua O La is a refreshing pivot. Croatian wines remain criminally underappreciated stateside, and if you've never had a glass of Plavac Mali or a crisp Pošip, you're missing out on some of the best value in the wine world. The fact that a family operation — not a venture-backed hospitality group — is behind this makes it even better.

North Beach has quietly been on a roll lately. The neighborhood that some had written off as a tourist trap anchored by mediocre red-sauce joints keeps proving the doubters wrong. Independent, owner-operated spots like this are exactly what makes a neighborhood worth visiting, and worth living near.

Here's the fiscal conservative case for caring: small family businesses are the backbone of a functioning local economy. They don't need tax breaks or city subsidies. They don't require a task force or a ribbon-cutting ceremony with five supervisors jockeying for a photo op. They just need the city to stay out of the way — keep permits reasonable, keep the streets safe, and let entrepreneurs do what they do.

If San Francisco's leaders spent half as much energy streamlining the nightmare of opening a small business here as they do on symbolic resolutions, we'd have ten more spots like Qua O La on every block.

So do yourself a favor: skip the overpriced wine flight at whatever Marina spot your coworker keeps recommending and head to North Beach. Order something Croatian. Support a family business. That's how you actually keep a city alive.