The Many Similarities Between Cotton, Minnesota And San Francisco

Cotton is a small town on the Iron Range in northern Minnesota and has a population of 437.  San Francisco has a population of a little more than 800,000 and is a large city with tall buildings.  What do these two cities have in common?  Officially, and I say sarcastically, as of August 2024 neither of these cities have a 24/7 supermarket or restaurant.

Denny’s.  The last of the 24/7 restaurants in San Francisco to close

That's right.  When Denny's closed down in August 2024, it was the last of the 24-hour dining establishments in San Francisco.  There are a few places open over the weekends, but none 24/7 anymore.

When I moved here in 1988 to attend San Francisco State University, there were two different supermarket chains and at least a dozen restaurants that never closed. How did this happen?   Why does a city that is home to Hippies, activists, ravers, and tech entrepreneurs still roll up its sidewalks at 10:00pm?How did this happen?   Why does a city t

Some historians point to the events of 1906. At the end of the 19th century, San Francisco was known for being a den of iniquity and vice.  Chinatown still had opium dens.  The terms vigilante, hooligan, and Shanghaied/Shanghaiing originated in San Francisco, so the city had a dubious reputation. 

When the 1906 Earthquake and fire razed a third of the city, civic leaders took advantage of this opportunity and embarked on a campaign to create a new image for San Francisco.  One that is safe for families, free from vice (although there was pleasantly of that clandestinely going around), and in an effort to present an image of civility started proverbially rolling up the sidewalks at 10:00pm.

Beginning with the soldiers returning from the Pacific Theater in WWII, young people have been flocking to (and through) San Francisco.  Be they the Beatniks of the 1950s, the Hippies of the 1960s, the gay scene of the 1970s and up until 2024 with 20-somethings seeking their fortune in tech and AI.  One would think that after 70 years of one youth-wave after another, one of these movements would plant the seeds of a late-night culture.

It was also around the late 1990s a number of nightclubs closed in our SOMA neighborhood, which was primarily a warehouse/industrial district. In the early 1970s artists found the abundant warehouse space conducive to their artwork, so they moved in as San Francisco's industrial lineage was ending.   As the artists moved in business catering to their needs (bookstores, art supplies, and yes nightclubs) soon followed. 

I don't know if there is a correlation, but I noticed a precipitous drop in 24-hour establishments once the tech boom began in earnest in the first decade of the 21st century.   Then the pandemic landed like a ton of bricks, and the few that survived never returned to their 24-hour status.

Then this dynamic happened:  A tech worker who spends 16 hours a day on the job moves into his hip SOMA District condo, which happens to be next to a nightclub, a neighborhood which now has become the destination for tech workers moving to San Francisco.  Because of the long days the Googles and Apples demand from him, he is forced to work late at night and early in the morning.  Because of the noise, he calls the cops on the nightclub next door, which had been there decades before he arrived.  The cops fine the club for a noise ordinance violation, and after a string of those the club closes down.

 The best you can find in 24/7 hour dining

Is it crime that keeps the city from having a late-night culture?  SFPD has stated that crime rates across the board are down.

Could it be a post-pandemic effect on tourism?  Not likely.  The San Francisco Convention and Visitors bureau recorded 23 million visitors last year.  That’s almost pre-pandemic numbers.

I like to consider myself an expert on the city, but I still down know why a city like San Francisco has no restaurants or supermarkets open 24 hours a day, seven-days a week.

As a hotel concierge, I can’t tell you the number of times Spaniards and Brazilians would come to my desk and say, "It's 10:00pm, we're ready for dinner.   What do you recommend?”  In those situations, all I could do is inform them was that they had two opinions:  a coffee shop or McDonald's. And now they are not even open 24-hours a day.

Who knew Cotton, Minnesota and San Francisco has so much in common?