As San Franciscans wade into our second week of lockdown, like many of you I’ve been doing my best to stay as active and useful as possible. And being locally geared, I’ve been trying to support our small businesses here in North Beach in any way that I can. 

Of course, a lot of places are still open, and scrambling to get whatever business they can. As I wrote earlier this week, those places need our patronage more than ever, whether it’s for takeout, delivery or other essentials. But with the blanket shutdown of bars and dine-in restaurant service, our servers and bartenders are suddenly without work. They are getting clobbered.

Pastel skies above Coit Tower and Washington Square Park. | Photo: Joe Bonadio

Let’s face it: for many North Beachers, the bars and restaurants of this neighborhood are no less than a second home. The ‘tenders and servers who take care of us every day are our friends and our neighbors, the people we drink our coffee with. We all have our favorites—and this is your opportunity to do something for them when they most need it.

Following the lead of their colleagues in DC, Portland and elsewhere, the folks over at Tony’s Pizza Napoletana created a virtual tip jar for local workers in the service industry, where you can easily tip your favorite server or bartender with Venmo, PayPal or Cash App. The funds go directly into their account on the spot. And this benefits all essential staff: hosts, dishwashers, cooks, you name it.

An unusually quiet evening on North Beach’s Columbus Avenue. | Photo: Joe Bonadio

Do your part to help the people who keep our fantastic bars and restaurants running, and make our daily lives so much easier and better. It’s just one more way to keep our money in the neighborhood––and tend to the needs of North Beach. The link is below:

NorthBeachVirtualTip Jar.Com

I’ll be back with more news and info soon. Given the circumstances I’m likely to be posting more often, so make sure to check in. Take good care in the meanwhile.

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