Mission district community hub Sun Rise Restaurant may be forced to permanently close if the eatery and its landlord can't come to terms over a new long-term affordable lease agreement.
According to Erick Arguello of the Calle 24 Latino Cultural Heritage District, the restaurant is facing an increase in rent from $4,800 to $7,800 per month. The café has been serving Latin American breakfast and brunch at the location for more than thirteen years, he added.
"She pays a reasonable amount of rent for that sized space," Arguello told Hoodline via phone, referring to restaurant owner Alba Guerra. "They just increase it so high that they can’t do it any longer. We first heard that [the landlord] wanted to have his family's restaurant move in, but we don’t know if that’s actually the case."
Arguello said that his organization was planning a rally outside the building to protest next Thursday, but has since postponed because talks have reconvened.
"They wanted to have time to negotiate," he said via text message.
Calls to boycott any new restaurant that potentially opens in Sun Rise's stead should it close were announced on the rally's Facebook page earlier last week. Meanwhile, "The community is standing by," said Arguello.
"Alba cannot continue to operate and absorb costs at that level," said District 9 Supervisor Hillary Ronen via phone. "That's very concerning to me because its a community hub and an essence of the Latino cultural district—not only because the cuisine is affordable and loved by the community, but because it's a regular place for people to gather for events."
The Mayor's Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) has also gotten involved and are assisting Guerra.
"OEWD provides a range of assistance for small businesses to start, stay and grow in SF," said a representative. "Calle 24 is part of the department’s 'Invest In Neighborhoods corridor', an initiative launched by Mayor Ed Lee in 2012 to support neighborhood commercial corridors and local job creation."
OEWD maintains that the restaurant "has been a staple in the community since they opened in 2005," and reached out to the business as early as 2014 to provide business development assistance "to ensure they continue to succeed along 24th Street."
At the moment, OEWD and its partners, Working Solutions and Legal Services for Entrepreneurs are facilitating the negotiations with the two parties.
The Department has also pre-approved a SF Shines grant that would provide up to $150,000 for the landlord to make improvements, but funding is contingent upon extending a five-year lease or longer to Sun Rise Restaurant.
As of press time, OEWD is still waiting to hear back.
"[Sun Rise] represents the old Mission," said Supervisor Ronen, "and it's where you go in and find your friends who've been living in the neighborhood for years. If it were to close, it would be incredibly hurtful to the community and to the cultural district."
