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Eating Empire

By Jaimee Cole Photos by Tala Brandeis Due to the inspiration of people in the neighborhood, Valencia Street is no longer the shabby strip lined with auto-body shops, funeral parlors and empty storefronts that it once was. Nidal Nazzal, a resident of the Mission area for 20 years, thought the local population deserved nicer places to eat and shop nearby. Today, as the proprietor of four successful neighborhood establishments--Val 21, Dolores Park Cafe, Burger Joint and Valencia Whole Foods--Nazzal believes that the domino effect is bringing even more change to Valencia, with him being one of the main forces behind the neighborhood's gentrification. And what currently makes Valencia Street an unusual neighborhood to eat in is the convenience of being able to grab a healthy and reasonably priced meal while in a charmingly seedy hood. "We basically were the first restaurant on Valencia," he says. "I knew there was potential in this neighborhood 15 years ago. I live here, I love living here, and I felt the neighborhood deserved some beauty. I feel that I helped accomplish that, and people really appreciate it." For now, Nazzal is hoping to take it easy and focus most of his attention on his family. But he still plans to build up his empire even more, with possibly a spa next. "I think most of us love burgers, so I got out of the house one day and I thought, 'Boy, I wish I could find a really good burger,' and I thought there really isn't a place to go. So I found a spot on Valencia Street, which is down the street from my house, and I thought, 'We'll open a burger joint!' Basically, it's a really fast-food healthy burger that you can buy reasonable, under $5 with fries. We're serving the best possible meat in the world--that's really important. A lot of people want to make more money, so they sell the cheapest possible thing. I'm not interested in that." Burger Joint, 807 Valencia St., 415/824-3494 "I'm very involved in my work. It's a hands-on situation for me. I'm at different places at different times, so I make sure that everything is running according to the way it should be run. I'm right there, I'm sweeping the floors, I'm mopping the floors, I'm behind the register, I'm making coffees, I'm bartending, cleaning the toilets. Everything is clean and efficient, with a good personality behind it all." Dolores Park Cafe, 501 Dolores St., 415/621-2936 "I think it really comes down to people. It's not like I live out of the city and I come into the Mission. I'm part of the whole neighborhood scene. When you walk down the streets here, you're seeing people from all sections. You're seeing white people, you're seeing Latinos, you're seeing different ethnic groups, and they all blend so beautifully together. I think one basic thing that we're getting in all these businesses is a variety of people. It helps the whole purpose; it feeds, it makes the neighborhood blossom." Val 21, 995 Valencia St., 415/821-6622 [ San Francisco | MetroActive Central | Archives ]