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This Week's Top Stories

housing

Greystar Breaks Ground Monday at 400 Divisadero — Neighbors and HANC Sharply Divided on 203-Unit Project

The nation's largest apartment developer is set to begin construction October 19 on the long-vacant Touchless Car Wash site, ending a decade of delays but igniting a fresh debate over affordability and corporate landlords.

Construction is scheduled to begin Monday, October 19, at 400 Divisadero Street — the former Touchless Car Wash site at the edge of Lower Haight — where Greystar Real Estate Partners will build an eight-story, 203-unit apartment building with ground-floor retail. Public Works permits authorizing sidewalk closures along Divisadero and Oak Street list October 19 as the start date, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, which first reported Greystar's acquisition and financing of the project in August.

Read the full story: San Francisco Chronicle →
restaurants

Pasta Supply Co. Is Coming to Cole Valley — Chef Anthony Strong Targets October Opening at Former Peet's on Cole Street

Chef Anthony Strong's popular pasta counter has listed 919 Cole Street as 'Coming Soon,' with the neighborhood opening anticipated this month after a community crowdfunding campaign surpassed half its $400,000 goal within its first week.

Chef Anthony Strong, who has lived in Cole Valley for twelve years, is preparing to open the third location of Pasta Supply Co. at 919 Cole Street — a roughly 700-square-foot space vacated when Peet's Coffee closed earlier this year, one of about 30 Bay Area Peet's locations shuttered after Keurig Dr Pepper absorbed parent…

Read the full story: SF Standard →
books

Litquake Brings 'Listen to Your Elders' Reading to Haight Branch Library This Sunday

San Francisco's 27th annual literary festival, running through October 24, includes a free Elder Project reading at the SFPL Haight Branch on Sunday afternoon — one of several Litquake events in these neighborhoods this week.

Litquake 2026, the city's annual literary festival now in its 27th year, runs October 8 through 24 across dozens of venues citywide, and the Haight neighborhood's own branch of the San Francisco Public Library is on the schedule.

Read the full story: Litquake 2026 Schedule →

The week ahead

Haight & Cole Valley · forecast issued October 16, 2026 · National Weather Service

  1. Fri 84°58° Sunny
  2. Sat 79°56° Sunny
  3. Sun 65°53° Sunny
  4. Mon 61°53° Mostly Sunny
  5. Tue 62°52° Chance Light Rain
  6. Wed 66°54° Slight Chance Light Rain
  7. Thu 64°53° Mostly Sunny

Upcoming & Ongoing in the Community

Saturday, October 17

38th Annual SF Old Car Picnic

Classic cars, trucks, motorcycles, and bicycles from model year 2001 or older gather at Speedway Meadow in Golden Gate Park. Free for spectators; vehicle entry donations benefit programs for people with developmental disabilities. No pre-registration required.

  • Location:Hellman Hollow (Historic Speedway Meadow), Golden Gate Park
  • Time:7:00 AM–4:00 PM
Verify details →

Sunday, October 18

Litquake: 'Listen to Your Elders' — Elder Project Reading at SFPL Haight Branch

A free public reading by senior writers from Litquake's Elder Project. Part of Litquake 2026, San Francisco's annual literary festival running October 8–24.

  • Location:SFPL Haight Branch, 1833 Page Street
  • Time:2:00 PM
Verify details →

Saturday, October 24

4th Annual Bay Beats Launch Party

The San Francisco Public Library's Bay Beats local music streaming platform celebrates its 2026 collection with a free outdoor concert featuring Frankie Maston, Skip the Needle, Spencer Noble, and William Johnston's Extravagant Superband. Giveaways and food trucks on site.

  • Location:Golden Gate Park Bandshell, 75 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive
  • Time:2:00 PM–6:00 PM
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October 29, 30, and 31

Haunted Haight Walking Tours — Halloween Dates

Tommy Netzband of the San Francisco Ghost Society leads two-hour Halloween ghost-hunting walks through Haight-Ashbury using custom paranormal investigation equipment. $29 per person; limited to 14 guests per tour. Advance tickets required at hauntedhaight.com.

  • Location:Meets outside Magnolia's Brewery, 1398 Haight Street
  • Time:7:00 PM
Verify details →

Through October 31

Free Saturdays at the de Young Museum

Bay Area residents receive free general admission to the permanent collection galleries every Saturday; advance timed tickets required. Current special exhibitions include Treasures of the Pharaohs and Rooted in Place: California Native Art (ticketed separately).

  • Location:de Young Museum, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, Golden Gate Park
  • Time:9:30 AM–5:15 PM
Verify details →

More from the Community

KEXP

KEXP and Blue Bear Music Hub Moves Into Feasibility Phase — First Update Expected Early 2027

The proposal to transform the historic Doolan-Larson Building at Haight and Ashbury into a music and cultural hub remains in early stages, with no construction timeline set.

Read the full story: Blue Bear School of Music →

Community Directory

Mexican & Latin American

Haight-Ashbury Landmark

Cha Cha Cha

Caribbean tapas bar

Haight Street institution since 1984 serving Caribbean tapas, paella, jerk chicken, and pitchers of house sangria in a lively, colorful dining room.

Visit website →
Haight-Ashbury

Parada 22

Puerto Rican restaurant

Veteran-owned neighborhood spot serving home-cooked Puerto Rican comfort food — mofongo, pernil asado, tostones, and rice and beans — daily from 10am.

Visit website →
Lower Haight

Nopalito

Modern Mexican restaurant

Organic, from-scratch Mexican cooking from the Nopa team, plating blue-corn tacos, carnitas, and mole made with local and sustainable ingredients.

Visit website →

Bars & Wine Bars

Haight-Ashbury Landmark

Magnolia Brewing – Haight

Brewpub

Haight Street's landmark craft brewery and gastropub, reopened in late 2024 under new local ownership with a refreshed taproom, house-brewed beers, and elevated pub food.

Visit website →
Haight-Ashbury

The Alembic

Craft cocktail bar and restaurant

Inventive American cocktail bar and restaurant on Haight Street with 100-plus bourbons and scotches, farm-driven small plates, and a cozy, dimly lit interior.

Visit website →
Haight-Ashbury Landmark

Zam Zam

Classic cocktail bar

One of the Haight's most storied dive bars, with Persian-themed décor, a circular bar, and perfectly made martinis in a setting unchanged for decades.

Visit website →
Cole Valley

InoVino

Italian wine bar

Intimate Cole Valley wine bar with an excellent selection of Italian bottles, solid pastas, and charcuterie-and-cheese boards in a cozy setting.

Visit website →
Lower Haight Landmark

Toronado

Craft beer bar

Lower Haight craft-beer pilgrimage site with 50 taps of rare and sought-after brews, sticker-plastered walls, and a cash-only, no-nonsense vibe — now under new local ownership as of June 2026.

Visit website →
Lower Haight

Bar Jabroni

Natural wine bar

Lively Lower Haight wine bar pouring chilled reds and orange wines alongside small plates like beef tartare with Szechuan peppercorns and house-made focaccia.

Visit website →
Lower Haight

Noc Noc

Dive bar

Lower Haight bar with trippy, Tim Burton-esque décor that is a neighbourhood fixture — only in San Francisco.

Visit website →
Lower Haight

Danny Coyle's

Irish pub

Friendly Lower Haight Irish bar open until 2am, with a great tap selection, sports on TV, and a loyal neighbourhood crowd.

Visit website →
Lower Haight

Woods Lowside

Beer and wine bar

Casual Lower Haight bar with crisp, dry house beers, natural wines, Detroit-style pizza from Joyride Pizza on site, and a heated back patio.

Visit website →

Brunch & Breakfast

Haight-Ashbury Landmark

Pork Store Cafe

American breakfast and brunch café

Much-loved Haight Street diner serving enormous portions of scratch-made breakfast and brunch at affordable prices since 1989.

Visit website →
Cole Valley Landmark

Zazie

French bistro

Beloved Cole Valley French bistro open since 1992, famous for its weekend brunch with Provençal-inspired eggs, crêpes, and a sunny back patio.

Visit website →
Cole Valley

Crepes On Cole

Crêperie and casual diner

Casual Cole Valley standby open late most nights, offering sweet and savory crêpes, burgers, and beer in a relaxed neighbourhood setting.

Visit website →

Pizza & Sandwiches

Haight-Ashbury Landmark

Escape From New York Pizza

New York-style pizza by the slice

San Francisco Legacy Business since 1986, slinging hot New York-style slices with creative toppings late into the night on Haight Street.

Visit website →

Mediterranean & Middle Eastern

Cole Valley

Beit Rima

Palestinian-Jordanian restaurant

Award-winning Cole Valley spot serving Arabic comfort food — hand-kneaded bread, crispy falafel, chicken skewers, and za'atar-dusted pita — with a devoted neighborhood following.

Visit website →

Seafood & American

Cole Valley

Cole Valley Tavern

American bar and restaurant

Neighborhood go-to American bar with a warm dining room, rotating food specials, and an ice cream window that draws lines on warm evenings.

Visit website →

Italian & Deli

Cole Valley

Bambino's Ristorante

Italian restaurant

Charming old-school Italian restaurant in Cole Valley with hearty classic pastas and a warm, neighbourhood trattoria feel.

Visit website →

Coffee & Cafés

Cole Valley New

Double Black

Coffee shop

New Cole Valley coffee shop inside the Yardsale outdoor apparel store, drawing queues for iced hojicha lattes with black-sesame cold foam.

Visit website →

Know of a listing that's wrong or a business that's closed? Report a correction →

Sources & Editorial Notes

Stories in My Town News are compiled from public sources, and with assistance from AI. Please verify important details at the cited source. All named individuals appear only in their publicly documented roles. Directory listings reflect publicly available contact information and are updated periodically.
1

S.F.'s notorious housing saga at Divisadero car wash is over, 203 apartments are coming

 ·  https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/apartment-divisadero-street-san-francisco-22386042.php

2

Greystar to revive long-stalled Divisadero housing project with car wash acquisition

 ·  https://therealdeal.com/san-francisco/2026/08/17/greystar-to-buy-redevelop-divisadero-car-wash-site/

3

Long-Vacant Divisadero Car Wash Site Is Finally Headed for Redevelopment

 ·  https://sfist.com/2026/08/13/long-vacant-divisadero-car-wash-site-is-finally-headed-for-redevelopment-2/

4

Why is SF encouraging a notorious landlord to build luxury housing in the Haight?

 ·  https://48hills.org/2026/09/why-is-sf-encouraging-a-notorious-landlord-to-build-luxury-housing-in-the-haight/

5

Predatory Corporate Landlord Greystar Real Estate Partners This Way Comes

 ·  https://www.hanc-sf.org/24-home/1003-predatory-corporate-landlord-greystar-real-estate-partners-this-way-comes

6

Bilal Mahmood Fixed It: New Homes to Rise at Old Car Wash

 ·  https://growsf.org/news/2026-08-13-bilal-mahmood-fixed-divisadero-car-wash/

7

Earn pappardelle for life at Pasta Supply Co's newest location

 ·  https://sfstandard.com/2026/08/12/earn-pappardelle-life-pasta-supply-co-s-newest-location/

8

Pasta Supply Co. will open a third restaurant in SF's Cole Valley

 ·  https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/pasta-supply-cole-valley-san-francisco-22383695.php

9

Pasta Supply Co. — Menu + Info

 ·  https://www.pastasupplyco.com/info

10

Litquake 2026 Schedule and Directory

 ·  https://litquake2026.sched.com/

11

Litquake Foundation — California Arts Council Grantee Database

 ·  https://arts.ca.gov/?p=64936

12

38th Annual San Francisco Old Car Picnic

 ·  https://www.sfcarpicnic.com/

13

Free Saturdays at the de Young

 ·  https://www.famsf.org/events/free-saturdays-de-young

14

4th Annual Bay Beats Launch Party — Illuminate Live

 ·  https://illuminate.org/events/

15

Go Ghost Hunting This Halloween with Haunted Haight Walking Tours

 ·  https://www.hauntedhaight.com/blog/d5emb3w6ysokdx3t3ern5p6v2037ga

16

HANC Officer and Board Nominations are Open

 ·  https://hanc-sf.org/24-home/1004-hanc-officer-and-board-nominations-are-open-12

17

Blue Bear and KEXP at Haight and Ashbury

 ·  https://bluebearmusic.org/haight-ashbury/