Matt Devours the Doughnut Muffin
Below is the comment I received from a neighbor:
Vita says:I am 73 years old and my bedroom is located next to the new bakery. I like the taste of Hilary’s food, but I don’t like the smell in my bedroom. I am ok with people drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes outside, but I am not ok with smoke in my bedroom. All I want is 50 feet non-smoking zone around my windows. I am ok with loud laughing people, but I am not happy that I will hear it in my bedroom. I didn’t hire a lawyer to fight the outside seating because I believe in common sense. Would you be happy with 8-10 outside seating’s just next to your windows 6 days a week from 6:00am to 4:00pm with the possibility of extended hours? Hillary’s bakery is in the heart of residential complex. Let’s keep the residential area clean, and have some peace and quiet as it was before.
Vita,
Neighbor
And – finally – here’s my response:
Vita, I absolutely positively unequivocally agree with you about the smoking. Last year San Francisco updated their no-smoking ordinance and it now bans smoking in all of the following areas:
Changes implemented immediately by the new ordinance:
- Waiting in line — ATMs, movie theaters, outside nightclubs, ticket lines
- Building entrances — you must smoke at the curb unless there’s no curb, in which case there’s no smoking within 15 feet of a building entrance, exit, operable window or vent
- Hotels — no smoking throughout entire lobby of hotels and motels and 75 percent of guest rooms
- Farmers markets
- Common areas of apartments, condos and single-occupancy room hotels, including outdoor courtyards
- All bars and charity bingo establishmentsBeginning Oct. 24, 2010
- Ban to include outdoor eating areas of restaurantsvia the San Francisco Examiner
So it seems to me that regardless of whether or not outdoor tables are added to the Devil’s Teeth bakery, smoking is already prohibited within 15 feet of any building entrance, so if people are smoking I’d encourage you to call and get them cited. I grew up with a mother that smoked (and still does) so believe me when I say you have my full empathy when it comes to dealing with second hand smoke!
I’m not sure from your comment if you are upset with the Devil’s Teeth bakery in general, or just the bakery with the possibility of outdoor seating. I guess my feeling about the noise is that we live in a city, and that the sounds of people coming and going, sirens, and so forth are just a part of the ambient noise level that comes from living in close quarters with others. The hours don’t seem particularly horrible, and even if the permit allows seating beginning at 6am, my experience of San Francisco is that very few people are awake at that hour of the day, much less sitting outside on the sidewalk chatting and laughing away.
As for the smells, I really didn’t notice any food smell at all until I was inside the bakery, and then I thought it was a rather delightful and delicious smell. I could think of much worse smells…
In terms of the neighborhood, it felt to me like the block that Devil’s Teeth is located on a relatively “commercial” area of Noriega, with the Noriega Produce market, a taqueria, pizza parlor, and several other business within one block of the bakery. It felt to me like an appropriate location for a bakery, particularly one that might foster a sense of connection amongst neighbors.
I also have to say that I’m not the one that lives there, so I’m sure it seems condescending and rude of me to sit here and write about all the reasons a bakery below your home is a good idea. I though the food was delicious, I’m sad to hear that a new business has caused such unhappiness for you. I hope you are able to come to some type of win/win agreement with everyone involved, and do appreciate your comment even if I don’t agree with all of it.
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- Noriega St.
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- Bakery Exterior
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- Yum Yum
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- Yum
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i Matt,
I just thought I’d make some comments on this issue. The difficult part is that I feel for both sides.
As a long-time resident of the neighborhood, I was pretty desperate for a place like Devil’s Teeth Bakery. It’s like a dream come true having it here. The baked goodies are so delicious. The owner, Hillary, is such a delightful lady. I’m sure she is feeling very lucky to have so much success with her bakery so soon after opening. She gets nothing but 5-star reviews on Yelp. I have no doubt that she opened her business in good conscience and does not wish to disturb anybody, especially the residents she wishes to become her regular customers.
After reading Vita’s comments above, I think she has very valid points. The Sunset is a nice, quiet area to live. I would not be happy if I had to go from a quiet environment to having noisy strangers talking and smoking directly outside my residence during a significant portion of my day. Vita’s comment is that the bakery is in the heart of a residential “complex”, not that it’s in the heart of a somewhat commercial area (with the pizza joint and produce market across the street). Those other establishments are commercial buildings that have been there for at least 30 years, and they are not part of a residential building. The entire side of the street is full of small businesses, but the side of the street where the bakery is has been quietly residential for at least 30 years. Let’s also remember that Vita is 73 years old. It’s not always easy to say to the elderly, “well if you don’t like it, you can move.” The elderly in SF face so many financial difficulties. They live on low incomes in a city with one of the highest standards of living in the nation. Many of them live in rent controlled buildings and simply could not afford to move. Noise from 6 or 7 am to 4pm for an elderly person could be very difficult, especially if they are dealing with a lot of health problems and need a lot of rest. I think there needs to be a great amount of awareness when it comes to issues facing the elderly in San Francisco. Further, you did not smell anything because the fan does not blow fumes from baking and frying beignets (BTW I am extremely allergic to fumes from fried oils, as many people are) into the bakery. It blows fumes outside, possibly close to a neighbor’s window. I want my house smelling they way I want it to smell, not like a bakery. I don’t think it’s fair to make light of Vita’s comments by saying that there are worse things in life to have to smell or whatever the comment was to that effect. I also think it was disrespectful of anyone to say that residents are upset over “laughter.” Laughing or crying, noise is noise!
I just hope this can be worked out amicably. From Vita’s tone in her post, she seems to be very politely stating her issues, and I think she deserves some respect.
Elizabeth
Elizabeth,
Thanks for your comment. I’m sorry to hear that you feel my response was disrespectful towards Vita, that wasn’t my intent.
In terms of noise, I guess I don’t agree that noise is noise. I think the yelling or arguing that can come from people standing outside bars or the sounds of delivery trucks backing up to load or unload are a very different type of noise than people sitting and enjoying food with friends. But that is just my personal opinion and experience.
I don’t believe I ever made a comment to the effect of “If you don’t like it, you can move,” and I’m quite certain I was never flip or thoughtless about the financial situation of anyone involved.
I still feel that part of living in a city is living in close quarters with other people, and that the nature and shape of those relationships will change over time.
Based on comments I’ve seen elsewhere, I went to Devil’s Teeth expecting to be horrified at the noise, smells, and traffic. And I really wasn’t. That’s my experience and I tried my best to express it without being disrespectful towards anyone else.
Thanks again for your comment!
Matt
Hi Matt,
To clarify, I didn’t mean to imply that you made a comment to the effect of “if you don’t like it, you can move,” but I know that may people would say that. I have had to move apartments more than once because my neighbors could not keep quiet despite numerous discussions with them, except I was dealing with a 40-year old on drugs watching porn at 3 am.
Also, I say that noise is noise because I had an experience recently where people were standing right in front of my house, laughing and talking for what seemed like forever. At first it was fine, but after 20 minutes you begin to wonder when they will go away. The Sunset is a pretty safe area. We have neighborhood watches, and it’s alarming to have strangers standing outside your home. I can’t imagine being told I have no other choice than to put up with it every day. So I feel for the resident.
But I love the bakery!
Just wanted to clarify and apologize for the confusion. I have done a fair share of volunteer work acting as an advocate for the elderly, so I suppose I could have sounded more passionate than I meant to sound.
Take care,
Elizabeth