The Lower Haight Neighborhood Vibe Guide

Critically acclaimed Memphis Minnie’s BBQ Joint is San Francisco’s longest, continuously running barbecue restaurant celebrating the time honored American tradition of classic, slow smoked Southern-style barbecue and sides, alongside trendsetting specials. Located at 576 Haight Street, not far from the famed Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, Memphis Minnie’s has lived in its Lower Haight location since 2000. Memphis Minnie’s BBQ Joint has been featured in many local and national publications including KQED’s Bay Area Check Please, SF Examiner, SF Weekly, Eater SF, Thrillist SF, Serious Eats, and Chowhound, and featured in many books including, The 100 Best Barbecue Restaurants in America, America’s Best BBQ: 100 Recipes from America’s Best Smokehouses, Pits, Shacks, Rib Joints, Roadhouses, and Restaurants, and 100 Things to Do in San Francisco Before You Die.

At Memphis Minnie’s BBQ Joint we slow smoke our meats over the heat and smoke of burning white oak logs from 4 to 18 hours, without the additional use of gas or electric heat, because doing so just ain’t the way to make real smokehouse barbecue. Despite the name, Memphis Minnie’s does not represent Tennessee style barbecue — the restaurant is named after our founder’s mother, Minnie, who was from Memphis. At Memphis Minnie’s we may be more representative of Texas-style barbecue, in part, because we use whole oak logs similar to what you’ll find in Central Texas that create a flavor profile that is generally considered smokier than other regional styles, but we also exclusively serve all our meats with sauce on the side.

Memphis Minnie’s crafts all four of our sauces on-site which includes three distinct Southern regional representations including tomato, mustard, and vinegar based sauces, none of which are cloyingly sweet. Memphis Minnie’s philosophy of barbecue was simple, real, slow smoked Southern-style BBQ gets its flavor from the meat, the seasonings, and the smoke generated during the cooking process and does NOT require any sauce.

We are San Francisco’s Premier
Graphic Novel Store
Comix Experience’s flagship store has been open in the same location with the same ownership since April Fool’s Day 1989. There is no better source for new and used graphic novels in San Francisco than Comix Experience, though we also carry a wide, varied and extensive selection of new comic books as well. Whether you’re looking for a unique recommendation for a new series to read, or for the perfect gift to show your friends what a vibrant medium comics and graphic novels are, Comix Experience has you covered.

Comix Experience also has an excellent subscription service available for all of your new comics needs, and we print our own in-house monthly magazine called “Comix Experience Onomatopoeia” to help guide you through each month’s new releases.

Public Transit Friendly
Comix Experience is located in the near-center of San Francisco, and has excellent access by public transportation. We are within a block of the 6, 24, and 71 lines, and are just a short walk from the 5, 21, 22, 31, 33, 37, 43, as well as all of the streetcars (especially the N’s Duboce Park Stop).

Owner Brian Hibbs is an internationally acclaimed expert on comics and comic book retailing, writing the well-respected “Tilting At Windmills” for three decades now. He was on the board of directors for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and served as a judge for the prestigious Eisner Awards. He was one of the original founding members of Comics Pro.

Family-owned and serving authentic comfort food since 1977.

Cafe

Maven is a contemporary interpretation of a lively restaurant and bar, located in the heart of the Lower Haight (which we like to think is the best damn neighborhood in all of San Francisco). Featuring delicious cocktails paired with casual and clever food – our mission is simple: serve substantial, creative dishes – and offer them up with well-crafted, smart cocktails that make all the flavors sing together in perfect harmony.

Guests in our vibrant dining room at Maven will find something for everyone.
From our communal tables crafted from fallen red woods, to an upstairs fireside lounge, a chef’s counter with a front row seat to the kitchen, and a lush living wall above the bar.

A neighborhood spot right on the Wiggle. Stop by for beers and hot dogs and grab a 6-pack or pour to go.

Fort Point is an independent San Francisco beer company made up of people who believe the simple things in life can be a whole lot better.

A collection of ceramics and homeware rooted in folk craft and modern design. Independent, woman-owned, and based in San Francisco.

Earthen vibe is where your most artsy, Earth Mother friend shops for gifts. Earthen is a go-to for simple utility (durable ceramic bowls) and mystical objects (tarot cards) and personal well-being (botanical body washes). Artist Julia Lemke runs this ceramics studio + homewares shop. It’s rooted in folk craft and modern design. It’s as if the book “Women Who Run With the Wolves” and magazine “Dwell” came to life as a home decor shop so you can enjoy your everyday rituals.

Made locally in San Francisco, CA.

The Animal House, a neighborhood pet supply store located in San Francisco’s Lower Haight community, provides holistic food choices and quality pet products. We understand that our customer’s pet is also a member of the family.

Community Garden, Outdoor Basketball Court and Playground.

Ragazza (Italian for girl) is a neighborhood restaurant with wood fired oven, featuring Neapolitan-style thin crust pizza, seasonal salads, antipasti, baked pasta and roasts – all served in a casual convivial setting.

At its heart, Ragazza is an Italian restaurant celebrating what is local and seasonal. Just like our Italian counterparts, we strive to treat the product simply and with care, altering it very little and letting the true flavors shine through. We draw inspiration from Italy for our dishes, and occasionally delve into other parts of the Mediterranean.

There hadn’t been an Arthur Murray location in San Francisco since 2005.

A decade, and many hurdles later, 321 Divisadero Street became the home of Arthur Murray San Francisco.

Over the past 5 years, AMSF has become one of the most active Arthur Murray studios in the world.

While the shelter in place has presented a new challenge, Arthur Murray San Francisco has been leading the way with digital private and group lessons for their students.

Axum Cafe started out as a coffee and tea shop with a small breakfast menu. One day in the mid-1990s, Aberash, one of the owner couples, casually shared her lunch of Injera*, Lentils, and some Chicken with a group of regular customers.

Those customers liked the food very much, and in the subsequent months, she would bring them similar food from her home and they kept encouraging her to make more of it and put it on the menu for others too. Slowly, the word got out and Axum Cafe officially became a restaurant.

Our motto and our mantra is “find something beautiful“ and means not just to come upon a beautiful thing, but to learn a thing’s loveliness by unlocking it with your perception.

Cove is a small shop carrying plants (mainly indoor), and a curated selection of décor and gift items including candles, ceramics, baskets, wall art, books, jewelry, scarves, and natural specimens such as corals, minerals and insects.

Since 2003 (in one iteration or another) we have enjoyed doing business in the Lower Haight. We endeavor not to be formula retail, and don’t care much about the latest trend. Beauty is timeless and should take you out of time, however briefly. Come in and be lost for a little while, meander, enjoy a bit of sanctuary. Or, if you’re in a hurry, we can help you choose the perfect last minute gift and get you quickly on your way.

Our plants come from local growers and local wholesale nurseries and are thus well cared for all along the supply chain. We do not buy from Amazon or other large discount retail outfits.

We offer adoration-worthy objects, from the natural world and from the human hand– the rare, the exquisite, the lush, the wondrous, and, because we strive to keep our prices low: the attainable.

CHOUX is a French bakery specialized in French Cream Puffs and other specialty like Meringues, Financiers, Brioches, Cannelés and more.
Choux is located in the heart of San Francisco, in the Lower Haight.
The pastries are created fresh daily in store by owner Laura Athuil and her team of experienced pastry chefs.

A Choux, pronounced ”shoo” is a french of cream puff, a sweet French dessert, carefully crafted with flaky pastry dough, filled with a unique custard and adorned with delicate icing.

The idea of Tea & Others is to bring diverse yet satisfying high quality drinks to everyone.

Boba can be the magical sprinkles in the drink, but we want to offer more, and not stop at just getting the boba right. We want to get the drink right. Ultimately we want to build the store to be a destination of a one-shop-for-all boba tea house. And we hope you will be there to see that happen. It was a long process to make this idea come true. 1 year to research for the drink, and come up with this fun and quirky design of dinosaur in the cup. 6 month to find a location, and 9 month to get the shop build, needless to say the wait on the permits.…oh man, we won’t even ask you to imagine the process, that’s just cruel to you as a reader.

Now the pieces are coming together, and we don’t want to stop yet. We know there’s more to do, and we hope you will be there to witness all the pleasant surprises along the way.

Kibatsu Sushi Bar provides authentic and delicious tasting Japanese sushi & dishes in San Francisco . Kibatsu Sushi’s affordable prices make our restaurant a natural choice for dine-in and take-out meals in the San Francisco community. Our restaurant is known for its varieties of taste and fresh ingredients. Come and experience our friendly atmosphere and excellent service.

Showcasing independent San Francisco designers who create clothes for party and play.
Private in-store shopping.

Welcome to your new hair home! EDO Salon is an eco-friendly, clean air space that specializes in effortless haircutting and organic color services. We have two light and airy spacious salons on each side of the bay.

We care deeply about our impact on the planet and bring to you only totally eco friendly hair care. We believe in natural, earth friendly, and eco conscious products.

Hair styling is an art, We are famous for razor cut shags, effortless French bobs, and of course, bangs. In the salon, we showcase textures and unique art on the walls from local makers and artists that we feel align with the EDO aesthetic.

EDO is always a style leader and we’re famous for our unique culture of organic hair cutting, beautiful & creative organic color and seamless balayage highlighting.

Our stylists are chosen with love and trained in-house to refine their eye and create the cool textures we are known for. We are experts at reading your head shape, hair growth patterns and texture, as well as matching your cut and color to your personal style.

EDO haircuts naturally accentuate your best features — your lips, cheekbones or eyes. Our aim is to curate a unique cut for you that enhances your natural texture and allows for effortless styling that lasts for months.

We offer very low toxic hair color services. We have carefully selected the very best of the eco-friendly color lines to be able to achieve full gray coverage, rich and lasting tones, and the best blondes. Whatever tone would best compliment your skin or whatever creative change you were wanting to make we can do with the eco-friendly color.

We are excited to work with you! Thank you for choosing us.

San Francisco’s year round costume and custom lqqks design studio. Come support one of San Francisco’s queer-owned-and-operated Shops! 🌈

MAKE-UP
Professional Quality Make-up for a
Gorey Zombie and Space Princess

CUSTOM WIGS
Tons of Different Styles and Colors – Try Out a Whole New Look

MASQUERADE MASKS
50 Shades of Rad, Phantom of the Night

GLASSES GALORE
Elvis, Elton, Lennon Eyewear for THAT Look

Full service bicycle and repair shop

Gamescape is a friendly local game store (FLGS) located in San Francisco’s Western Addition neighborhood.

Gamescape strives to provide the latest that the world of tabletop gaming has to offer by continually updating a vast inventory of games to purchase and play, while also hosting a weekly schedule of game nights for patrons to participate in.

Cafe International has been an establishment of the Lower Haight, San Francisco neighborhood for over 30 years. The stunning mural in the back was created by artist Kemit Amenophis of Oakland. Owner Zahra Saleh is a San Francisco resident who you will often find behind the counter, making connections within the community.

To inspire and provide high quality, sustainably made, allergy friendly products that everyone can enjoy while servicing our environment, the small working farmer and ecological habitats. Our products aren’t just good for you, they’re good for the planet.

Paulas cafe was inspired by our family head, a Salvadoran woman who is passionate about food and its good taste, in the middle of a civil war with 6 children to take care of and the lack of work and opportunities to grow because of the war, Paula took the ingenious idea of ​​starting her own business from home, she prepared the food and went out to sell it, and just like that is how the passion and love for cooking was created, its unique and delicious flavor was passed from generation to generation, always using the best and most organic products that not only help to taste good, but also help to maintain a healthy body, which is our priority. Today one of his daughter with the support of her son (paula’s grandson), Chef Erick Zelaya, graduated from the culinary school, “Le cordon bleu” and with more than 8 years of professional experience in the kitchens of large hotels in the Bay Area, and a lifetime of love and passion for food, are working hard to keep the dream and vision that was born in Paula in the 1980s. Proudly Erick and Magdalena continue to carry on the tradition of providing delicious, healthy food with The unique and incomparable taste from Grandma Paula.

Whether you are looking for a relaxing class, a challenging workout or a way to advance your practice, the Garden delivers the highest caliber instruction.

Yoga classes at Yoga Garden SF are a uniquely San Francisco experience. Housed in an old Victorian home in one of San Francisco’s hippest neighborhoods–you know you’ve arrived as you walk down our garden path and leave the hectic urban bustle behind. Inside, a welcoming smile directs you to one of three studios, where one of San Francisco’s best yoga teachers will guide you through your practice. Afterward, connect with fellow yoga students and practitioners–regulars in your class–and enjoy the many cafes, restaurants, and shops in our neighborhood.

Don’t forget your camera: historic Alamo Square offers quintessential scenes of the City, including the famous “Painted Ladies” of Postcard Row. This photogenic hilltop has appeared in numerous TV and film productions, such as the sitcom “Full House.”

Fame aside, the abundant lawns, flowerbeds and willows have made this park a well-loved play space for generations. Youngsters flock to the dual-level playground, while the off-leash area is popular with dogs (and dog parents). Look for the unusual Shoe Garden, where castoff high heels and ski boots are re purposed as landscape art. Full tennis court, walking trails and picnic area.

We help people with chronic pain, stress and anxiety get to the root cause of their problems so they can get back to living the way they want to, with full energy, mood, sleep and quality of life.

Chiropractic care allows your body’s innate healing abilities to function better by releasing critical stress on the spine and nervous system. Together, we can find and resolve the root causes of your health imbalances, which is how your nervous system has responded to the impact of day-to-day stresses.

We practice a unique approach to chiropractic, called Bio Geometric Integration. Our adjustments help your body to correction on its own, by tapping into the stored potential energy in the spine and nerve system. We have found this is the most effective way to get long term change and results that last. Many of these adjustments require only a light and gentle touch to allow your nerve system to unwind.

With greater clarity, flexibility and ease in the communication pathways of the body, you can recover from injuries more quickly, decrease stress in your spinal system, and learn new strategies to avoid tension building up again. Your body’s self-corrective healing abilities are enhanced, and this results in a greater quality of life, as well.

Sightglass is an independent, sibling-owned coffee company in San Francisco.

This neighborhood coffee bar is housed within a beautiful corner Victorian on Divisadero and Page Street. Originally built in 1903, this space is a community hub; a place for enjoying delicious coffees, meeting friends, or taking a quiet moment during a busy day. Our espresso bar, pour-over selection and cold drinks on tap all highlight outstanding coffees sourced, roasted and brewed with the utmost care and commitment.

The Life Shop is a sanctuary in the bustling Lower Haight neighborhood of San Francisco.

The vibe is magical, mystical.

Specializing in oils, our fine fragrance and pure essential oils are safe to use on skin and can be customized as your personal fragrance, for bath and body products, or as home fragrance in an oil diffuser.

Renowned for its extensive collection of perfumes, candles and incense and the place to come for an unique gift, established 1992.

We help people with chronic pain, stress and anxiety get to the root cause of their problems so they can get back to living the way they want to, with full energy, mood, sleep and quality of life.

Chiropractic care allows your body’s innate healing abilities to function better by releasing critical stress on the spine and nervous system. Together, we can find and resolve the root causes of your health imbalances, which is how your nervous system has responded to the impact of day-to-day stresses.

We practice a unique approach to chiropractic, called Bio Geometric Integration. Our adjustments help your body to correction on its own, by tapping into the stored potential energy in the spine and nerve system. We have found this is the most effective way to get long term change and results that last. Many of these adjustments require only a light and gentle touch to allow your nerve system to unwind.

With greater clarity, flexibility and ease in the communication pathways of the body, you can recover from injuries more quickly, decrease stress in your spinal system, and learn new strategies to avoid tension building up again. Your body’s self-corrective healing abilities are enhanced, and this results in a greater quality of life, as well.