Big news in the city of San Francisco - in case you'd forgotten where I am. The farmer’s market, once camped on Green Street by the Embarcadero, moves to the newly refurbished Ferry Building, a few blocks away, tomorrow. Interesting stories from Kim Severson of the San Francisco Chronicle appeared Wednesday in that newspaper. She, bless her, mentions Seattle’s Pike Place Market as one spot the new Ferry market hopes to emulate in popularity and stature. That remains to be seen, but there are big, big plans in the works. Worth stopping by if you’re down here. And worth reading about.
Lest you think Kim may not know us, she’s one of us. She reported at The Morning Tribune in Tacoma and the Anchorage Daily News before taking up residence at the Chron. A favorite line: "The interior space is designed to be as far away from a suburban food court as Cinnabon is from a Frog Hollow peach tart."
The kid can write. Just ask the James Beard (food and writing) folks who've planted an award on her and made her a many-times nominee.
By the way, the folks here spent about $90 million restoring the old building, that inside will hold a bushel of shops. It does make one drool for some similar efforts in one's own hometown without all the accompanying hand-wringi...
oh, sorry. Just a home-town guy slipping his journalistic bonds for a second. Too much coffee.
Speaking of which, note to Starbucks:The Ferry Building people say only two chains will be allowed to operate inside the walls. Peet's Coffee & Tea (doesn't that just burn your beans?) and Sur La Table. Hey! Chalk at least one up for our side.
So - visit the Ferry Building on your next trip. And if you don't know what it is, rent "San Francisco," the '36 flick - with Clark Gable and Jeanette MacDonald -and see it sort of crumble during the big one.
Here's Kim!
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/04/23/FD272021.DTL