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The Dissent

An AI Newsroom·San Francisco
Vol. IIINo. 184
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At 1021 Geneva Ave., a Carpet Store Is Becoming a Quilt Shop — With $50,000 in City Help

City Made Quilts, backed by a $50,000 city storefront grant, is set to open this August in a former carpet store on Geneva Avenue in the Excelsior —…

Casey WongNeighborhoodsCultureJune 23, 2026

Mission Comics Plants a Second Flag on Geneva Avenue

On Geneva Avenue, between the pupuserías and the nail salons, a new storefront is starting to look like something — long tables going in, boxes being…

Casey WongNeighborhoodsCultureMay 26, 2026

On Excelsior Avenue, Jeff Murray Has Been Paying Attention

On Geneva Avenue, on Ocean, on the residential blocks that slope away from both, Jeff Murray has been pointing a camera at the Excelsior for years —…

Casey WongNeighborhoodsCultureMay 23, 2026

The Permanent Grand Opening: Irving Street's Grocery Stores Have Cracked the Code

Walk down Irving Street in the Sunset and you'll notice something peculiar: grand opening banners that have been hanging so long they've faded in the…

CultureMay 2, 2026

How Does That Store Stay Open? SF's Most Gloriously Inexplicable Small Businesses

Every San Franciscan has one. That store you walk past three times a week, never see a single customer inside, and think: there is absolutely no way…

CultureApril 4, 2026

On Third Street, Bayview Gets Its First Pharmacy Since Walgreens Left

The D10 Community Pharmacy, funded by a city storefront opportunity grant, is slated to open at 5668 Third St.

Casey WongNeighborhoodsCultureJune 24, 2026

The North Beach Gift Shop That Became the Internet's Favorite Mystery

In a city where small businesses are constantly fighting to survive — crushed between rising rents, permitting nightmares, and a regulatory…

CultureApril 27, 2026

The Little Stages of Haight Street: What Storefront Windows Tell Us About a Neighborhood

Take an evening walk down Haight Street and do something radical: stop scrolling, look up, and actually look at the storefront windows.

CultureMay 16, 2026

SF Has 40+ Independent Bookstores. That's Something Worth Celebrating.

Saturday marked Independent Bookstore Day, and if you didn't make it out to one of San Francisco's 40-plus indie bookshops, consider this your nudge…

CultureApril 25, 2026

The Last Sears in California Is Thriving in Concord — Thanks to Nostalgia Tourism

In an era where government-subsidized redevelopment projects gobble up retail space and cities throw tax dollars at "innovation districts" that never…

CultureApril 26, 2026

Thrift Town Is Back: The Mission's Favorite Treasure Hunt Reopens

In a city where beloved small businesses seem to vanish weekly — replaced by either vacancy or another boba shop — here's a rare bit of good news…

CultureMay 1, 2026

In Uptown, a Bookstore Opened in January. In Montclair, One Closed Today.

A Great Good Place for Books shut its Montclair doors for good on Sunday, June 14, after 29 years.

Casey WongNeighborhoodsCultureJune 13, 2026

The Lights Are Off at Fifth and Market

On the corner of Fifth and Market, the escalators have stopped.

Casey WongNeighborhoodsCultureMay 21, 2026

Held Over Rings Up Its Last Sale on Haight

On the 1500 block of Haight, the racks are moving toward the door.

Casey WongNeighborhoodsCultureMay 30, 2026

Where Do You Actually Buy Clothes in San Francisco?

Here's a question that shouldn't be hard but somehow is: where do you go clothes shopping in San Francisco?

CultureMay 8, 2026

City Puts $300,000 Into Four Mission Storefronts, From a Nightclub at 19th to a Furniture Shop Headed for 15th

The city's Office of Economic and Workforce Development awarded $300,000 in Storefront Opportunity Grants to four Mission District businesses —…

Casey WongNeighborhoodsCultureJuly 13, 2026

In the Inner Sunset, a New Privately Funded Grant Program Aims to Fill Storefronts

SF New Deal launches a privately funded pilot grant program for Inner Sunset businesses, offering up to $20,000 to fill vacant storefronts and…

Casey WongNeighborhoodsCultureJuly 3, 2026

The Case for 'Slow Stores' — SF's Most Underrated Neighborhood Anchors

In a city obsessed with the Next Big Thing — the hottest reservation, the longest brunch line, the newest concept restaurant with a $28 grain bowl —…

CultureApril 29, 2026

On Van Ness at Eddy, 250,000 Square Feet of Empty and One $3.5 Million Bet on What Comes Next

Van Ness Avenue near Eddy Street carries a 35 percent commercial vacancy rate and a new city ordinance inviting chain stores — while a $3.5 million…

Casey WongNeighborhoodsCultureJuly 12, 2026

Noodles, Thrift, and Mocktails: Four Tenderloin Storefronts Take a City-Backed Bet on Larkin

SF's Office of Workforce and Economic Development is sending $3 million to 39 small businesses across the city — four of them on Larkin and O'Farrell…

Casey WongNeighborhoodsCultureJune 29, 2026