This year has been a big one for Glen Park’s merchants. In May, the Cheese Boutique was honored as an exceptional business with a ceremony at City Hall. Last month, Dalere’s Beauty Salon, Glen Park’s oldest business at 50 years, was celebrated by Mayor London Breed and other dignitaries at the shop on Chenery Street.

Both of these stories are searchable on this website.

Now we have two more shining stars. Bird and Beckett Bookstore and Glen Park Cleaners were chosen “Best of the Bay” by the Bay Guardian.

That’s a heap of hosannahs for such a small neighborhood.

Best of the Bay!
by Eric Whittington

And… the Best Store Staff Award goes to… OUR STAFF!!

The San Francisco Bay Guardian “Best of the Bay” awards were revealed last week by the 48 Hills blog that hosts the awards — and what do you suppose led off the “Shopping” category, but that picture of Sherman above and their award to Bird & Beckett for Best Store Staff! We’re very, very proud of our staff and thrilled that they were given this award! Please, please, please visit the “Staff” page on our website at this link to get the lowdown on Lorretta, Michael, Jenna, Angie, Jerry & Sherman! And visit the Bay guardian Best of the Bay page to find the award there! The awards are given in four categories.– Look for the “Shopping” category and, voila, there we are!– And check the “Arts & Entertainment” category, where our 1st & 3rd Mondays poetry series is named a runner up for the “Best Literary Night” award! Also, visit the “City Living” category and you’ll see that Glen Park Cleaners got “Best Dry Cleaners!” Yay for Tommy & his crew! Yay, Glen Park! Why we didn’t get Best Bookstore or Best Jazz Club, we’ll never know, but we sure are happy about what we got! We’ll just keep working on the shop and the books and the music and poetry, and one day…Best Volunteer Crew is merited, too! Soon they’ll have their own page “Volunteer Staff” page on the website. Also, how about Best Patrons!? You’re a brilliant lot, buying copious amounts of brilliant books, and you keep plunking your money down to support our programming as well (scroll down for more on that!)Do drop in when you’re in the Village, and congratulate the fine folks who keep the bookshop humming! (psssst, I imagine they like the occasional cookie, but I’m just sayin’. Verbal accolades are plenty!)

Best & Most Generous Patrons!

Dan Lanir put out a call for donations last week… he’s the president of the nonprofit Bird & Beckett Cultural Legacy Project, which runs our programming of live music and poetry events, the literary journal, etc., etc… and folks stepped up hugely!Thanks to all who made donations by cash, check, credit card and PayPal, in amounts from ten dollars to literally thousands!We still need money to roll in through the end of the tax year on December 31st,and we know there are always a lot of folks who donate early in the year so expect the bank account to be really plumped up by the end of January. This is how it’s done!Our donor base helps us pay the rent, maintain the sound system, pay licensing fees, keep the lights on, pay for the insurance we need, pay for accounting and publicity… and crucially, pay the musicians and poets! Donations at the shows are crucial as well, but that just covers a portion of what it really takes.Thanks for understanding, for your generosity and for making it all work, year after year after year!

Best Musicians & Poets!

Cut to the chase and visit the store’s websitefor individual posts on — at this count — 17 events through the end of the month, including an event for neighborhood writer & sheep shearer Stephany Wilkes’ fantastic book… the Cartoon Jazz Band… the New Squatoolas… the Cottontails… John Calloway… Kai Lyons… Wishing & Bone… Geechi Taylor. Check out what you can bring the visiting relatives to on Thanksgiving weekend, or what you might escape to to escape the visiting relatives!Here are the five events through Monday…Friday, 5:30pm, it’s the Kurt Ribak Quartet. A wonderful bass player & composer and his hip & happening sidemen! Saturday, 7:30pm, the Cartoon Jazz Nonet; then, two events on Sunday, at 4:30pm, the Americano Social Club and at 7:30pm, the Seducers; then on Monday at 7:00 pm, a youth jazz jam session hosted by young players from the SF Conservatory of Music’s “Roots, Jazz & American Music” degree program!

BEST DRY CLEANERS — GLEN PARK CLEANERS

Thanks to Eric for pointing this out: Tommy Baik, owner, of the dry cleaners, is far too humble to brag. He’s been in Glen Park for 30 years; he commutes from his home in the East Bay. His long hours and rare vacations make him a near constant presence on the corner of Diamond and Chenery, in the building which is the oldest commercial structure in Glen Park. Everyone who goes by can count on a smile and a wave.

This isn’t the first time Glen Park Cleaners has been recognized for its outstanding service. In 2017 Tommy got a call from ABC’s 7 on Your Side’s Michael Finney. Tommy thought he was in trouble. Turns out, Finney and his team singled out Glen Park Cleaners as among the best in the City. A segment was featured on the local news. View it here.

We’re lucky to have these wonderful merchants to rely upon for our needs of body and soul.