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Feds threatening to board up your 73-year-old restaurant? We got a non-binding resolution for that!
We've written a bit about the plight of Louis' Restaurant, the 73-year-old city institution perched over the remains of Sutro Baths. The restaurant has lasted this long despite the arbitrary decision-making of the National Park Service (upon whose land it rests) and can be saved one -- and only one -- way: It must win next month's bidding process against other folks hoping to put a restaurant on that site. There is no other way.
S
o, Supervisor Eric Mar's non-binding resolution in support of Louis' is ... nice -- he's obviously been there with his family (
and he probably Facebooked it). But Mar's resolution and $2.35 will get you a cup of coffee.
SF Weekly asked Louis' Restaurant co-owner and chef Tom Hontalas his feelings about the non-binding resolution. You can add "diplomat" to his many job titles: "It couldn't hurt," he says. "When we submit our bid, we'll put that in there." One of Hontalas' busy employees was less sanguine: "It's politics, just politics," she said. "It is what it is."
Yes, it is what it is -- another non-binding resolution from Mar, who's become the Board of Supervisors go-to guy whenever they want to make a non-binding statement that will accomplish nothing. Check out this impressive resume:
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Supervisor Eric Mar, our non-binding king
- Guess what supervisor felt the need to introduce a "Resolution endorsing the first World March for Peace and Nonviolence, calling for the end of war and nuclear arms, and the elimination of violence of all kinds"?
- In a move certain to thrill the heavily Russian Jewish Richmond District, Mar told a pro-Palestinian gathering, "I'm terribly proud to be standing here in solidarity with you" before promising the Board of Supervisors would prioritize "global justice." Regardless of one's position on the Mideast, it's not likely 11,625 voters in District 1 elected Mar because of his views on "global justice." They likely wanted to make sure the Richmond would still be called the Richmond.
- Finally, here's one that isn't a non-binding resolution and could actually cost real money: With Muni facing chronic funding shortages and 10 percent service cuts on the way, Mar objected to a million-dollar plan to wrap buses in advertising, stating "creeping and creepy commercialism" would send the wrong message. The message sent when service cuts cause buses to not show up at all -- or arrive looking as if someone raised goats in them -- well, let's not go there.
In any event, best of luck to Louis' and Mar's resolution. If I ever see Mar at Louis' I resolve to buy him a cup of coffee. And, for a change, that resolution is binding.
