What’s Taking So Long? Talking SF’s Comeback with Tony Gemignani
by Joe Bonadio
In a city full of distinct neighborhoods, North Beach is an especially unique place. As any longtime San Franciscan can tell you, North Beach moves according to its own orbit, one informed by our history, our architecture and community. Newcomers often dismiss the neighborhood as a tourist trap, but they couldn’t possibly be more wrong: what makes North Beach the beacon that it has become is our locals.
That’s one of the reasons North Beach was the first neighborhood to storm back after the pandemic. While the rest of the city was still convalescing and licking its wounds, North Beach businesses were rallying, moving their seating areas outside and reclaiming unused parking spaces to kickstart the citywide Shared Spaces campaign. The North Beachers were the first to come out—then perfectly on cue, the rest of the city migrated back to The Beach, presumably remembering what it was they used to like so much about it.
Other neighborhoods weren’t so lucky; SOMA and the Financial District, plagued by the abrupt and protracted disappearance of downtown workers, were particularly hard hit. But even in North Beach, the comeback has been incomplete. Come out any Saturday night, and looking around at the busy streets packed with revelers, you might think that everything has returned to normal here. But come back on a Tuesday night and it’s likely to be half-deserted, and Covid-quiet.
It sometimes feels as if San Francisco is holding its collective breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop: waiting for the travelers and conventioneers to come marching back in to restore our proud city to its former glory. The question on everyone’s lips: what exactly is holding us back?
Tony Gemignani is about as invested as one could possibly be in North Beach, with three restaurants (Tony’s Pizza Napoletana, Capo’s and Slice House by Tony Gemignani), an Italian grocery (Giovanni’s) and a bakery (Toscano Bros.), all within a three block spread.
But while this is clearly his home turf, he has been anything but shy about expanding. Tony has been in Vegas for a dozen years already with his thriving Pizza Rock concept, and the past couple of years has seen the chef making serious moves in the national franchise space with his Slice House by Tony Gemignani.
I recently sat down with Tony to talk about his rapidly expanding business, San Francisco, and our city’s not-so-fast turnaround. Lightly edited for clarity and length, our conversation is below.
Joe Bonadio (JB): Tony, we talk pretty often about the growth your business is experiencing, and all the new openings. And it always seems like you’re going a hundred miles an hour.
On the other hand, here in San Francisco a lot of people are scratching their heads, because things are not coming back as quickly as they thought they would. What do you think is going on?
Tony Gemignani (TG): Yeah, as I’ve been expanding into other markets, we’ve been seeing a lot of growth. But as I look at San Francisco, it’s been….well, more cold than hot. You see a lot of businesses coming in, but a lot more going out. I don’t know what the statistics are, but every time you look at the news you see it: Three more San Francisco restaurants close their doors.
A big part of it is our lunches, for sure. Because less people are at work, and some of these bigger companies are still allowing employees to work from home. And that has a domino effect: from a corner market to a café, from a coffeeshop to a happy hour.
I think some of the new moves they’re making to get people back into the office—not only the mayor, but the governor stepping in to get people back into the office—that’s important. I know some people don’t want to hear that, and that they like their time at home. But when it comes to a functioning city, including nightlife, you need people. If you don’t have people, you don’t have customers.
So is it going to be a 4-day kind of workforce, where everyone has either the Friday or the Monday off? Yeah, that could be.
JB: They’ve been trying to get that done in this country for decades.
TG: Well, on the corporate side of it, the companies saw it as a cheaper way to run the business. It just became the norm, but it has affected the city a lot.
JB: Yeah, I think it’s just incredibly shortsighted. I was just talking with a friend who works with a liquor distributor; they just closed their offices here in the city, and they’re going remote. This is a liquor distributor. You’d think they would understand how much decisions like this affect their business.
TG: Well, working remote has become the thing to do since Covid. But that’s why there’s less people in the city, period. And that’s a big problem.
As you would expect, breakfasts and lunches have slowed down a lot. Dinners here have been pretty good still, but it’s very weekend driven. Everybody’s busy on the weekend, but it’s the Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays that move a business from good to great.
So I think that’s the first step: businesses need to take steps to get their people back into the office. I’m hearing different things recently, but that’s what they’re trying to do.
JB: Well, like you said, people don’t want to hear it. But it seems to me that if you were hired under a certain set of conditions….if you were hired as a remote worker, then I get it. But if you were hired to show up to work, the rules don’t change.
TG: Well they did change, for a couple of years. But they should change back, for the health of the city.
On the other hand, the length of a buildout, the high cost of rent and insurance, the business taxes….they make it really difficult.
Everything’s kind of against you when you’re trying to build anything. I haven’t built anything here in a long time—the last thing I built in San Francisco was Toscano Brothers Bakery, during Covid. So the last concept I built here was in 2020. It’s crazy that that’s five years ago!
They’re saying that the mayor is trying to make it easier for businesses to open. But it is still tough. It’s a marathon, and you’re trying to open before you start paying rent. And everyone can see that day coming, and you’re trying to speed up as much as you can. Unfortunately, you’re at the city’s mercy.
So when you build something as an owner, you end up saying Man, I’m never going to build anything again.
JB: I remember when you were building the bakery.
TG: It’s just always something. It’s so much work, and there’s so much bureaucracy to go through.
So there are a lot of things holding the city back. How hard it is for a new business to open; there are less people in the city; rents are even more expensive, although the city is slower.
JB: How do you feel about the amount of negative press coverage the city receives?
TG: Two things that you always want to see: for the city to be cleaner, and safer. But people always want to write about what’s bad, and hate to write about the good things.
JB: If it bleeds, it leads.
TG: Exactly. And when it comes San Francisco, other cities can’t wait to talk bad about us.
I mean, it’s a beautiful city, it’s amazing. And I feel like it has been cleaner since the beginning of the year, and it seems to be a little safer.
But still, it’s so behind in that regard. When I drive down Market over by Sixth Street, and through the Tenderloin….have those areas expanded? I feel like they have. It can feel like Downtown New York City in the 80’s down there sometimes.
JB: I think those areas did expand during Covid, but they’re shrinking down again.
TG: I think they are.
JB: And as much as I agree with you that it has to do with people coming back to work, we need our tourists and convention people too. That’s why it’s so dead out there during the week.
TG: Yes, conventions are a big part of it, tourism is a big part of it. Why aren’t the tourists coming here? Bad press. Why aren’t the conventions coming? Not safe, dirty.
JB: And perception is kind of lagging behind reality.
TG: Yes. And it’s expensive. It’s all of those.
JB: Meanwhile, how do you feel about North Beach these days?
TG: In comparison, North Beach is the best of all the neighborhoods in San Francisco. I hate to see anyone trying to change North Beach, because I feel that this is the neighborhood you look at as an example of what a place really can be.
JB: I agree. In comparison to any neighborhood anywhere, for that matter.
TG: Compared to any city, yes.
You know, it’s funny how you still see posts on social media saying the only reason we’re busy, or another place here is busy, is because North Beach is a tourist trap. It just makes me laugh—because where is the tourism?
JB: Eighty-five percent of the people in this place right now are locals. I guarantee it.
TG: I know. I literally saw someone who posted: Nobody local goes there. And I’m laughing, because I know that d-bag definitely isn’t coming in here to see anything. That night, my whole bar was locals! It’s just so stupid.
JB: Thanks again Tony. It’s good talking to you, as always.
