The Glen Park rumor mill shifted into overdrive this past Sunday when it appeared that Destination Bakery had abruptly gone out of business and just as quickly became a Mexican restaurant, Mamacita’s.
Owner Joe Schuver got several texts as did as Deb Lunsford, the counter person who’s known to everyone. The Glen Park Association and the Glen Park Merchants Association also received anxious inquiries.
People were upset that the bakery, which opened Labor Day 2000, was no longer a beloved, friendly “destination,” where pies, tarts, cinnamon rolls and croissants satisfied the most discerning sweet tooth.
The storefront has been a bakery going back at least to the 1980’s, when it was Sticky Buns and then Creighton’s.
Turns out Destinations was being used Sunday and Monday, when the bakery is closed, as the location of a film shoot by City College of San Francisco film students. The crew of seven transformed the place by replacing the bakery sign and hanging Mexican-themed posters indoors, among other details. There are four students in the cast.
Molly Cargas is the student writer-director who dispelled the word on the street. “So many people were very concerned that the bakery’s gone.” She pointed out that the Mamacita’s sign was just paper and that the transformation of the space wasn’t complete yet.
The choice of Destination Bakery as the location for the film came about because Molly is a regular customer who lives in the West Portal neighborhood. “I love this bakery and I love the look–it’s got such a neighborhood feel to it. I love to come and sit in the window. They sell out everyday.”
Molly told Joe that she’d like to film the movie there and, as it happens he is a huge movie lover, so Molly showed him the script and they worked through the logistics.
The short film is a 17-minute drama called The Lesson Plan, about a young man, Javi, who confronts his former teacher who molested him when he was 12. Spoiler alert! Javi gets revenge.
Molly hopes to get the film accepted into local festivals such as The Bernal Heights Film Festival in 2024.
Joe was surprised at the level of concern that the bakery had closed. “I didn’t mean to scare the whole neighborhood. We’re still here,” he says.
