Commission Approves 12 Legacy Businesses as Budget Cuts Loom Over Small Business Programs

San Francisco's Small Business Commission moved to protect a dozen culturally significant businesses — from a 170-year-old Chinatown cured-meats shop to the city's longest-running cannabis dispensary — even as commissioners learned that the very grant programs sustaining those businesses face steep cuts. The June 22 meeting also surfaced sharp concerns about a parental leave expansion's impact on small employers and a zoning action that one commissioner called a de facto ban on immigrant-owned corner stores.

• 12 legacy business designations approved unanimously, spanning restaurants, bars, a florist, a laundromat, and a historic cannabis retailer
• Paid parental leave eligibility cut from 180 to 90 days endorsed with caveats, as commissioners flagged onboarding costs for small employers
• $10 million in OEWD budget cuts threaten grant programs including First Year Free permit waivers and vandalism relief
• Corner store zoning moratorium in Districts 5 and 6 draws fire as an effective ban on immigrant-owned businesses — without commission referral
• Mission corridor neglect contrasted with neighboring Valencia Street, raising equity concerns within the same supervisorial district

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12 Legacy Businesses Win Protection — Including Cannabis Pioneer and 170-Year-Old Chinatown Institution

Why it matters: Legacy Business Registry status gives long-standing establishments access to rent stabilization grants and landlord incentives for longer leases — a critical tool against displacement as post-COVID recovery remains uneven across San Francisco neighborhoods.

Where things stand: Michelle Reynolds, Office of Small Business staff, presented 12 applications, all previously endorsed by the Historic Preservation Commission. The roster spans nearly every corner of the city: Bay Company (Fisherman's Wharf gift store, est. 1983), Balboa Green Garden Florist (Outer Richmond, est. 1979), Green Cross (cannabis dispensary, est. 2004), Sully's Marina Lounge (Marina bar, operating since 1936), Larkin Street Laundromat (Russian Hill, est. 1996), Mao Li Co. (Chinatown cured meats since 1856), Irma's Pampanga Restaurant (Filipino cuisine, est. 1990), Oxford Street (menswear on Market Street, est. 1995), Parkside Farmers Market (inner Parkside grocery, 30+ years), Hotalling Co. (spirits importer, est. 1993), The Royale (Lower Nob Hill jazz bar, est. 1998), and Imperial Garden (Portola District Cantonese restaurant, est. 1995).

Business owners turned the hearing into a vivid showcase of what legacy status is designed to protect. A representative of Imperial Garden spoke emotionally about multi-generational customer relationships, describing how families celebrate life milestones — including celebrations of life — at the restaurant, the only large Chinese banquet hall in southeast San Francisco. Irma, founder of Irma's Pampanga Restaurant, shared her story of surviving domestic violence and winning a small business competition for survivors to open her restaurant more than 30 years ago.

The Green Cross drew notable support. Jesse Stout, Green Cross representative, described the dispensary as San Francisco's last nonprofit cannabis retailer, which made the city's first legal adult-use sale in 2018 and now faces significant displacement risk from high operating costs and regulatory burden. The business is not yet 30 years old but qualified based on its significant contribution to San Francisco's cannabis history. David Goldman, board member of California Normal and the Green Cross, praised it as the best-managed dispensary in the city, with professionally trained staff who take exams on inventory knowledge.

Will, owner of The Royale, noted the timing was particularly meaningful: "We are in the middle of negotiating a new lease," he said, adding that legacy status would greatly help secure it.

Vice Chair Miriam Zouzounis highlighted the diversity of the cohort, noting Palestinian, Middle Eastern, Filipino-owned, and cannabis businesses among the applicants.

President Cynthia Huie offered broader encouragement: "I think it takes a very special person to decide that they want to open a small business. It's not a thing that you kind of do by yourself. It's something that you're inherently doing with others and doing for others."

Decision: Approved 4-0 (For: Huie, Cornet, Zouzounis, McPherson; Absent: Benitez, Ortiz-Cartagena, and one additional commissioner).

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Parental Leave Expansion Gets Commission Nod, but Small-Business Concerns Linger

The basics: Board of Supervisors File 260451 would amend San Francisco's Paid Parental Leave Ordinance to reduce the employee tenure requirement from 180 days to 90 days. The PPLO, enacted in 2017, requires employers with 20 or more employees to supplement California Paid Family Leave benefits so workers receive 100% of normal wages during up to eight weeks of bonding leave with a new child.

Why it matters: The change would let new employees access full wage replacement during parental leave months earlier — but commissioners warned that the 90-day window overlaps with the critical onboarding evaluation period, when small businesses invest heavily in training and assess whether a hire is the right fit.

Where things stand: Tita Bell, chief of staff to District 3 Supervisor Danny Sauter, presented the legislation as part of Sauter's "Stroller Act" package to make San Francisco more family-friendly. She cited research showing clear benefits for low-wage earners and fathers taking leave. "One thing I wanted to understand was the business impact, whether businesses are reporting a detriment to their operations and retention. And there have not been the negative impacts," Bell said.

The amendment includes a staggered implementation timeline: employers with 50 or more employees must comply by Jan. 1, 2027; 35-49 employees by July 1, 2027; and 20-34 employees by Jan. 1, 2028.

The other side: President Huie pushed back substantively, drawing on her experience in dentistry. "That initial three-month period that you have an employee, my experience has always been kind of like this period of time when you're trying to figure out whether you're a good fit for one another," she said, questioning whether 90 days provides enough time for both employer and employee to assess fit.

Commissioner Dimitri Thierry Cornet proposed a graduated approach: "I think maybe we should consider only offering about 50%. And then when we get up to 180 days, 100%. So it kind of incentivizes the employee to pretty much stick around and stay put."

Vice Chair Zouzounis pressed on stakeholder engagement, noting that "a lot of small business workforce are not union workers" and their voices were missing from the consultation process. Bell disclosed that the Golden Gate Restaurant Association had suggested safe harbor provisions for employers already offering more generous leave and potentially extending the timeline for mid-tier businesses.

Decision: Approved 4-0 with a general recommendation for extended implementation timelines for smaller employers. The commission declined to include Cornet's graduated-benefit proposal in the formal motion. (For: Huie, Cornet, Zouzounis, McPherson; Absent: Benitez, Ortiz-Cartagena, and one additional commissioner.)

What's next: The legislation heads to Board of Supervisors committee on July 16.

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Commissioner Sounds Alarm: Corner Store Zoning Controls Amount to "Effective Ban" on Immigrant-Owned Sector

Why it matters: Corner stores are primary SNAP access points in low-income neighborhoods. The combined zoning moratorium and federal licensing restrictions could devastate food access in equity communities while blocking business entry for immigrant entrepreneurs — and the legislation was never referred to the Small Business Commission.

Where things stand: During Commissioner Discussion, Vice Chair Zouzounis raised sharp concerns about interim zoning controls voted on at the Board of Supervisors' Public Safety Committee requiring conditional use authorization for new retail corner stores in Districts 5 and 6. Conditional use authorization is a lengthy, expensive permitting process that requires a hearing before the Planning Commission — effectively making it prohibitively difficult to open a new store.

"This is an effective ban on an entire sector of business in our city, one that is predominantly immigrant and African American, Asian, Arab, South Asian owned," Zouzounis said.

She noted the timing is compounded by federal government restrictions on SNAP food stamp licenses, for which corner stores are primary providers in low-income communities. The zoning action also followed a curfew and business-closure pilot targeting the same sector.

Director Tang attempted to clarify that the discussion may have originated from earlier commission comments about requiring conditional use for new businesses to ensure awareness of hours-of-operation restrictions, though Zouzounis disputed that characterization and asked staff to verify meeting notes. Supervisor Dorsey's office drafted a mitigation measure — a business registration fee refund — awaiting mayoral approval, which Zouzounis described as minimal.

What's next: The commission has not been formally referred the legislation. Zouzounis signaled she intends to continue pressing the issue.

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Mission Corridor Merchants Face Crumbling Infrastructure While Valencia Street Thrives

Commissioner Cornet gave an impassioned account of conditions along the Mission Street corridor — pothole-ridden sidewalks, exposed water valve covers, inconsistent police presence limited to two or three days per week, and merchants left to clean storefronts themselves and call 311 for help.

"You go one corridor over under the same district, and Valencia is clean and nice, and has all that support," Cornet said. "I still struggle to understand why the Mission corridor is just so severely underserved when it comes to infrastructure and cleanliness and safety."

He noted that farther south on Mission Street, string lights and beautification investments are visible, but the upper section receives nothing beyond occasional flag banners. He raised the idea of comparing sales tax revenue between corridors as leverage for investment.

Commissioner Fernay McPherson shared that police ambassador programs had been restored on the Fillmore corridor after her request, noting it was supposed to roll out citywide. Director Tang said OEWD was tasked with a 90-day effort focused on 16th and 24th and Mission, convening SFPD, DPH, and DPW to address safety and cleanliness, which had started a couple of weeks prior.

Cornet also announced the closing of Suggies, a local business, due to rising costs.

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Minor Items

• April 27, 2026, meeting minutes approved 4-0.
• $10 million in OEWD budget cuts reported by Director Tang: two Office of Small Business positions eliminated — including the Legacy Business Program manager, who was reassigned within OEWD so the program continues. Grant funding for legacy businesses may be partially preserved through unspent prior-year funds for fiscal year 2026-27; rent stabilization and business stabilization grant amounts are still being calculated. The future of the First Year Free program (waiving permit fees for new or expanding businesses) and the vandalism relief grant program remain uncertain pending final budget numbers. "We'll have to see whether we can continue programs also like First Year Free, which has waived the permit fees for all new or expanding businesses. So there's still a few things to be sorted out," Director Tang said. Downtown activation funding is no longer in OEWD's budget and is being handled by private philanthropy.
• Special events permitting legislation took effect June 19, eliminating the ISCOT interagency hearing requirement for smaller street closures (three blocks or shorter, no intersection closures, no Muni route impacts).
• Two entertainment zone proposals introduced for Lower Haight and Chestnut Street.
• Vice Chair Zouzounis announced the opening of Mendi House, a banquet hall and restaurant on Valencia Street, calling it "a big deal for the Arab business community in San Francisco."
• New Commissioner Fernay McPherson introduced herself: "I am chef owner of Minnie Bell's Soul Movement in the Fillmore. I am a San Francisco native and also a native of the Fillmore. I have been in business for 15 years."