Lower Haight cafe that closed was burglarized twice, neighbors say - San Francisco Chronicle

takanadalagi.blogspot.com

This past week, no jazz music poured out of Café International, located just off the corner of Haight and Fillmore streets in the Lower Haight. 

Instead, a bright pink sign informed customers that beloved owner Zahra Saleh had “gone thinkin’” in the light of several break-ins in the area — two of which targeted her shop. 

“My Lower Haight is sinking in a sea of lawlessness,” Saleh wrote in a note posted on the Café door. “I am tired and need time to find a way NOT to be another Lower Haight business who shuts down and leaves San Francisco.” 

Data from the San Francisco Police Department shows officers have been called to the corner of Haight and Fillmore three times this year for burglaries. Former customers and fellow business owners said they believe two of those were for Café International. 

A note posted to the door of Café International tells customers the business will be closed for the week.

Megan Munce/The Chronicle

About a month-and-a-half ago, someone broke into Café International overnight and burglarized the store, customer Mario Landau-Holdsworth recalled. The next day customers showed up in droves, buying as much as they could to help console Saleh and make up for what was stolen, he said. 

Then two weeks ago, the business was broken into again. Mike Stevens, who owns Mike’s Barber Shop across the street, learned about it from Saleh when he stopped in for coffee the next morning. 

The Chronicle could not reach Saleh for comment. 

Up until the past few months, the section of the Lower Haight near Café International was relatively quiet, according to Bryan Yim. He has been the manager of Nara Sushi, just next door to Café International, for six years. In all that time, he said the restaurant has never been broken into. He hasn’t noticed any car break-ins on the street either, he said.

A sign posted outside Café International tells customers the business is closed for a week. Owner Zahra Saleh said the closure was due to a “sea of lawlessness.”

Megan Munce/The Chronicle

But business owners described a recent string of break-ins in the area. In May, a thief broke into Purple Rice, located across the street from Café International. Money and other items were taken from the business, according to owner Jin Woo Jun. Police were called in the morning, but the thief was long gone.

Around the same time, Stevens noticed an attempted break in, he said. But a gate and five locks on the door kept them out.

Still, it prompted him to put up motion sensor lights and stickers for his alarm company to try to dissuade future thefts.

“It was all down the block,” Stevens said. “You expect it now.”

More from Megan Fan Munce

To see Saleh become a victim to the break-ins was “sobering,” said Jim Woods, CEO of Woods Beer & Wine Co. 

Woods opened a bar up down the street from Café International just before the start of the pandemic. Even then, Saleh made a point to make him feel welcome in the community of legacy businesses, he said. 

Saleh also supports local musicians by hosting live music in the cafe and even employing customers who are in between jobs, Landau-Holdsworth said. He has been going to Café International since 2009 and briefly worked there. 

“It’s heartbreaking,” he said. “When something like that happens to a local business, who’s going to bail them out?”

Reach Megan Fan Munce: Megan.Munce@sfchronicle.com

Adblock test (Why?)

"cafe" - Google News
September 02, 2023 at 06:03PM
https://ift.tt/bKm6W0Q

Lower Haight cafe that closed was burglarized twice, neighbors say - San Francisco Chronicle
"cafe" - Google News
https://ift.tt/iFLsP19
https://ift.tt/mjYLFVp