March 21, 2006

Potrero’s Small Businesses Offer a Piece of History

By Gretchen Helsel
Special to the Neighborhood Newswire

Flo’s Hair Styling, located on 20th Street, is small on space, but big on history. Plaques adorning one wall list achievements in hair structure and chemistry dating back to 1971. The Wildroot Cream-Oil sitting by the sink is 45 years old.

Cimino. 73, has owned his place for 53 years. He became a barber when he was 17 years old and opened Flo’s at 20. For the three years in between, Cimino worked at a barber shop on 24th and Alabama streets. There he gained loyal customers who followed him when he opened his own storefront. “You give a guy a good haircut, he’ll come back,” said Cimino about his success. Like many small businesses on the Hill, when Flo’s first opened, he was “working for practically nothing,” he said. “But, that’s the way it was in those days. Nowadays guys want to start at the top.”

Cimino lives in the same Alabama Street house he was born in and still sees friends he made in kindergarten. “I raised four kids out of this place,” said Cimino, proudly pointing out pictures of his sons.

Kayren Hudiburgh, 62, is another longtime business owner and Potrero Hill resident. Along with Lester Zeidman, she owns The Good Life Grocery on 20th Street. The store, which opened in 1974, began when many City neighborhoods had food-buying clubs. Four to five neighbors would purchase bulk goods at produce markets and distribute them to fellow residents.

“That wound up being a lot of work. We all thought if we could get all this stuff in one place it would be a whole lot easier,” said Hudiburgh in her office, a chilly loft above the 1,200 square-foot store.

“This is an old-fashioned way to do business, which is unique in today’s fast-paced world,” said Hudiburgh. “There is a consciousness to support independence and local business, which is unique to San Francisco ... a part of our independent flavor.”

Keith Guntner, 59, of Center Hardware at 999 Mariposa has “been in hardware since I could walk.” Growing up, his family owned a hardware store in Ocean View. Since 1980, Guntner has been a majority partner at Center. The large space, 15,000 square feet, and convenience to the freeway attracted Guntner to what was then an old steel warehouse at the foot of the 280-southbound freeway on-ramp.

Guntner’s son Blake, 29, works alongside him on the floor of the store, while his daughter, Jamie Gubman, 32, staffs the upstairs office. Guntner seems to already be making plans for his 19-month-old grandson.

Challenges are emerging for the Hill’s owner-operated small businesses. A Whole Foods under construction at 17th and Rhode Island streets could eat some of Good Life’s lunch. Ever the community-supporter, Hudiburgh noted that she was “glad it is a Whole Foods and not a Target. It is a beautiful store with good food.” But that doesn’t mean she’ll take the new competition lying down. To combat Whole Foods, Good Life will upgrade its facility. “I’ll do whatever it takes for me to stay competitive, but it has to make sense financially for me to stay open,” said Hudiburgh. She emphasized her commitment to her employees, who receive comprehensive health benefits. “As long as people keep walking their dogs and their kids by, I’ll be here,” said Hudiburgh.

Guntner is confident his family business will stay busy once a 148,500 square-foot Home Depot moves in just on the other side of 280 on Bayshore Boulevard. Because his store caters to a more commercial crowd, contractors instead of weekend do-it-yourselfers, time is an issue. “What you can get here in three to five minutes would take you over 10 minutes at Home Depot,” said Guntner. “It’s a smaller store and I have people who can actually help you. There is always someone up front to ring you up.”

Cimino is happy about new businesses in the area, but hopes Potrero Hill does not lose its “glamour.” “The whole Hill has changed,” said Cimino, waiting for his 2:30 appointment to arrive. “With UCSF, all the condos and new homes, this place is up and coming.”

Hudiburgh believes that local businesses can help the Hill retain its character. “There needs to be outreach on behalf of the merchants; this has always been an activist community,” she said.

A common fear on the Hill is the introduction of large, impersonal businesses, especially on 18th Street. “We can’t say no, but we are certainly not trying to encourage big-box development in Potrero Hill,” said City Planner Jasper Rubin. He added that Board of Supervisors resolutions, though non-binding, call for restrictions on “formula retail.”

Cimino, who’s looked out on the same block of 20th Street for over half a century has found security. “Money protects; people pay for the views, they are not going to build and block those. Plus, the merchant’s and neighborhood associations won’t let em.”

Keith Goldstein, Potrero Hill Association of Merchants and Businesses president, echoed Cimino’s sentiment of fighting big box development. “Right now we are gearing up for a major effort,” said Goldstein. His association has teamed up with the Potrero Boosters and the Dogpatch Neighborhood Association for a “louder voice.”

“This is a critical time,” said Goldstein, adding that the San Francisco Planning Department will soon make zoning recommendations for the area. Goldstein’s main concern is a change of designation on 18th and 20th streets from Neighborhood Commercial NC1 and NC2 to NC3. “We do not want to get NC3; that allows for business space up to 50,000 square feet,” said Goldstein, who has lived on the Hill for 34 years. “We want to be able to keep those neighborhood-serving businesses.”