Downtown San Francisco businesses take stock one year after Entertainment Zone launch

Friday marked the one-year anniversary of San Francisco’s inaugural Front Street Entertainment Zone event, Oktoberfest on Front Street.

It was the first of what would become many activations of the area as a part of the city’s strategy of revitalizing the downtown area. That was right around the same time that Embarc Wines opened on Front Street between Clay and Sacramento.

“We first started looking at the space about 18 months ago. At the time, we weren’t quite sure what was going to happen around here in terms of foot traffic,” said co-founder Adam Lovingood.

He and co-founder Richard knew the block of Front Street between California and Sacramento was supposedly going to be ground zero for the city’s strategy to get people downtown, being the first so-called entertainment zone, with a lineup of big neighborhood events and parties.

That certainly couldn’t hurt, but would it help Embarc’s business, a block away? A year in, to both Lovingood’s business and the entertainment zone’s existence, he says it’s a case-by-case basis.

“When we are included in the perimeter of the event, we are finding it beneficial. It just doesn’t happen that often,” he said. “So hopefully more of them in the future will be beneficial for us.”

Lovingood says Bhangra and Beats is an example of a big win, because it included his block of Front Street.

“That was fantastic. That was actually, I believe, our best day,” he said.

But the events that just keep to the block of Front Street between California and Sacramento? A bit of a different story, says Lovingood.

“I’ve gotten a little annoyed on occasion. It seemed like there were so many people over here and no one in here, maybe one or two people,” he said.

The Front Street Entertainment Zone has proven to bring people to the area – around 36,500 across 15 events in its first year, according to the Downtown San Francisco Partnership.

“We are really repositioning how people use and think about downtown San Francisco,” said Melissa Buckminster, of the DSFP.

Buckminster points towards Oktoberfest as one of the premier events that drives spending.

“Schroeders always makes the most on Oktoberfest that they make throughout the year. Last year, specifically, was twice the amount that they had made on Oktoberfest the year before,” she said.

Harrington’s Bar and Grill reported earning 16 times a typical Friday night, per the DSFP.

“When you read these stories about downtown San Francisco being dead, being a place where people don’t want to spend time, don’t want to spend their money – and you look around and there are thousands of people in the street at 7:00 on a Friday night? It just feels really good to prove the naysayers wrong,” Buckminster said.

Doubling down on entertainment zones, activations, and nightlife is a major part of the city’s bet on revitalizing downtown. Mayor Daniel Lurie says this part of the strategy is paying off.

“The first Thursdays, especially those downtown, we see companies coming back five days a week. Some are coming back four days a week. They’ve told me that one of the reasons why is that they actually now have events to point their workers to,” Lurie said.

Lurie recently announced his $40 million ‘Heart of the City’ initiative to accelerate downtown revitalization, which includes the creation of four more entertainment zones on Ellis Street, Maiden Lane, Jackson Square, and Claude Lane.

“The economy is showing us signs of recovery, with the VISA spend numbers up 10.5% from January through June 30th,” Lurie said. “It’s going to take all of these activations to help continue the revival.”

Buckminster says the entertainment zone alone isn’t the answer, but it is a part of the bigger picture that is proving to be successful.

“You know, I don’t think that any one singular party is going to save San Francisco,” she said. “But I do think a steady drumbeat of events, activations, making sure that places are clean and safe – all of these different layers on top of each other – absolutely do make a difference in downtown SF.”

Despite being on the periphery of the events, primarily, Lovingood says it’s been a net positive for his business.

“I think we have seen some good overflow overall,” he said.

He’s hopeful to see more overflow and impact in the future.

“We’ve made it past the first year which of course is a big milestone for any small business,” he said. “We hope to be here for many years to come.”