Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

The story of Gus' Discount Tackle begins with skiing in the Alps.

In this podcast, Stephanie Scott, the current owner, shares with us the story of her life. Her dad, Gus, escaped his home in Austria when the Nazis began persecuting Jews. He arrived in New York but went west for a restaurant bussing job in San Francisco.

Gus met his wife (Stephanie's mom) in The City. She was a Sorbonne-educated lab doctor who immigrated here from Russia.

Gus opened a general merchandise shop on Clement Street, but the predatory landlord there kept raising Gus' rent. Through a handshake-type agreement, he got the funding to buy his own place—the spot on Balboa where the shop still exists today, around 60 years later.

Stephanie grew up on 17th Avenue on the northern side of the Richmond in the 1950s and '60s. She shares impressions of what San Francisco was like back then—a busy time with Beats, hippies, free-love advocates, and LSD, none of which the more square Stephanie took part in.

She met her husband when they were both at SF State. After post-graduate opportunities fizzled out, Stephanie started working in her dad's store. The rest, as she says, is history. She's been there 45 years.

Stephanie ends the podcast reflecting on the people she's watched grow up around Gus's, the changes that the store has seen, including transitioning from general merchandise to fishing supplies, and her hopes for the next phase of the only place she's ever lived—San Francisco.

We recorded this podcast at Gus' Discount Tackle in the Outer Richmond in June 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

Blue Bear Executive Director Steven Savage starts this one off telling us all about Tennessee Mowrey's step-mom.

It's a story that involves three siblings (Bonnie Hayes and two of her brothers) who showed up at the fledgling music school in 1971 when it was located on Ocean Ave. Susie, Tennessee's step-mom, knew Bonnie from both of their touring gigs (possibly a Billy Idol tour), and Bonnie brought Susie to Blue Bear.

Tennessee joins in to give a little more context to his step-mom's story. Then Steve rewinds a bit to share the story of Blue Bear's opening.

Originally started as a way to make money while the band aimed for stardom, the school saw success in the first few years, with something like 60 students enrolled. But it started to founder a bit, and Steve had left. He got a phone call asking him to come back and save the operation, and he did.

There was a sizable debt to pay off. But in 1977, they made the decision to move to Fort Mason. And with that, the school started to grow. We talk about how they went about recruiting students back then, a common practice in those days that might surprise some of you.

These days, it's mostly word-of-mouth, and to a somewhat sobering effect: 40,000 students have enrolled at Blue Bear in its 50 years. We talk about how the school has evolved its teaching philosophy, especially with the advent of completely new genres of music. And then we hear about a few standout success stories coming out of Blue Bear.

We end this podcast with Steven and Tennessee talking about what it means for Blue Bear School of Music to still be here after 50 years.

If you missed Part 1, please go back and check that out. And here's the Jack Black video that Steven mentions in the recording:

We recorded this podcast at Blue Bear School of Music in Fort Mason Center for the Arts and Culture in June 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

Steven Savage came of age in Southern California in the 1960s.

In this podcast, the executive director of Blue Bear School of Music shares his life story with us. His first instrument to play was banjo, inspired by his love of folk music. But then he discovered rock 'n' roll, and soon after that, he picked up the drums.

​He went to college in Ohio, where he met people and starting playing in bands. He came back to California and made his way up to Santa Cruz, playing in various bands along the way. Next was Palo Alto, where Steven lived in a garage and continued playing music.

And then a band here in The City needed a drummer and Steven got the call. Those folks he joined up here had already decided to start a music school while they played and worked toward stardom. That school ended up being Blue Bear School of Music. It was June 1971.

Then we hear from Tennessee Mowrey, Blue Bear's current Little Bears director. Born and raised in San Francisco, Tennessee traces his story back to his parents' meeting. Raised in a musical family, he took to playing from a very young. But he didn't like lessons.

His dad and step mom enrolled Tennessee in Blue Bear. Once in these rock band classes, he started playing several different instruments, and eventually began student teaching.

Please join us Thursday for Part 2.

We recorded this podcast at Blue Bear School of Music in Fort Mason Center in June 2021.

L–R: Phoenix, Isis, Zahara, Kiki, Mama C. (Nola), Papa C. (Maestro), Nile
Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

In this podcast, Mama C. (Nola Curtis) picks up where she left off in Part 1, talking about finding confidence and a sense of self-worth through music and family.

Papa C. (Maestro Curtis) jumps in to express his admiration for his wife. Then we throw it over to the kids.

First, introductions. Zahara (16), Nile (15), Isis (14), Kiki (13), and Phoenix (11 as of Tuesday). Nile talks about how the band evolved over time. The kids had their own band (The C-Notes) and mom and dad had a separate band. Zahara got started in music during her time at Everett Middle School. But as that faded out, she picked up instruments lying around the house and asked her siblings to join her. The C-Notes were born.

When it came time for mom and dad to join forces with the kids, Papa C. tells us that they didn't want the spotlight to ever be on just one member, stressing the importance of family and the group dynamic.

At this point in the podcast, Erin Lim (Part 1 / Part 2) of Bitch Talk Podcast takes over hosting. We start off talking about the kids' fascination with physics. They each take a turn explaining how they got interested and what application of science pertains to their individual interests.

Then Erin asks the family to talk about the judges and host of America's Got Talent, the show on which the family is currently competing.

We end the episode by talking about the family's "special sauce."

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Uncle Damien (Part 1 / Part 2)

We recorded this podcast in collaboration with Bitch Talk Podcast at the Jones United Methodist Church in the Fillmore in June 2021.

The Curtis Family C-Notes.
Top row, L–R: Maestro Curtis (Papa C.), Nola Curtis (Mama C.), Nile Curtis, Zahara Curtis
Bottom row, L–R: Phoenix Curtis, Isis Curtis, Kiki Curtis
Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

The Curtis Family C-Notes' star is on the rise, y'all.

In this episode, the San Francisco family shares their story with us. We dive into Papa C.'s past in Louisiana and San Francisco. Then we learn a little about Mama C.'s time growing up on the Peninsula.

Papa C. (Maestro Curtis) can't remember when he started playing musical instruments. He was asked to perform for family members from a very young age. He owes his lifelong work ethic to his growing up, as well. He spent time between Louisiana and San Francisco, but it was out here that he got involved in martial arts and positive social change.

After getting into some trouble in his high school years, Papa C. took a scholarship to Grambling State University in Louisiana. Then he spent seven years in the Army.

Mama C. (Nola Curtis) grew up a competitive ice skater. She's Tongan and grew up in San Mateo surrounded, essentially, by so many famous professional skaters. Looking back, she enjoyed performing, but not so much competing. Her father passed away when she was 14 and one of the effects of her grief was that she stopped skating.

She turned to books, especially reading stuff that wasn't assigned at school. To help her graduate on time, she took a history of jazz course at a community college, and that's where she first heard Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, and Billie Holiday. That class and those performers inspired her to start singing. Soon, she was asked to start a band with some folks, but she decided lessons were the first step.

Nola met her future husband in this context.

Be sure to check back Thursday for Part 2.

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Lavay Smith and Chris Siebert (Part 1 / Part 2)

​We recorded this podcast in collaboration with Bitch Talk Podcast at Jones Memorial United Methodist Church in the Fillmore in June 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

Pam Benjamin has lived in California her entire life.

In this podcast, the Mutiny Radio DJ and comedian shares the story of her life. She was born in Livermore and raised in Danville, not fully knowing that her family was well-off because there were always richer kids around.

From there, Pam talks about her religious upbringing (a story involving an invisible cat), her eating disorder at a young age, and being a varsity cheerleader ("reverse-stalking"). Pam shares early memories of SF (somehow, a nunnery and her dad's work downtown factor in here).

She left Danville for UC San Diego, where she did lots of acid but got good grades, as she attests. Pam lived in Davis after college and taught special ed there. She and her then-husband moved back to San Diego, where Pam started a theater company. Her ex-mother-in-law convinced her to get a corporate job, which she did. But  she stopped taking birth control and wrote a novel in six weeks.

Pam got a DUI, quit her corporate job, and then had people at Burning Man telling her to move to The City, which she did in 2007. Now in San Francisco and going to SF State grad school, she started doing poetry readings all over SF, and  then tried comedy in 2011.

At Pirate Cat Radio in 2008, she started reading stories after Common Thread with Diamond Dave Whitaker. In 2011, after the station's manager embezzled from them and the FTC started snooping around, they changed from Pirate Cat to Mutiny. A few years later, the board that ran Mutiny Radio bailed on her, but Pam stayed on and took over.

During the pandemic (or, as she refers to it, the "PAMdemic"), she started doing comedy shows in parklets and at Mutiny in the Mission. Pam plans to bring Mutiny's comedy festival back this October 10–16.

We end the podcast with Pam's thoughts on where San Francisco goes from here.

We recorded this podcast at Mutiny Radio in June 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

In this podcast, Joey picks up where he left off in Part 1. After high school, knowing that he wanted to continue learning how to make movies, he went to SF State. And then he entered a Justin Lin video contest, and, to his surprise, was one of the finalists.

Joey tells us about a career detour that came after that: He learned about a sleep-technology course, and got a job in that industry that required tough hours (7 p.m. to 7 a.m.). In 2014, a friend told him about a video-editing job at Kink.com that he ended up getting. He was there a couple years before moving over to CBS Interactive to work on gameplay videos.

From there, we pivot to when and how Joey figured out that he loves his hometown—San Francisco.

He ends the podcast talking about making movies about the Richmond District and how he got the "​Uncle Fuz" nickname.

To see Joey's photo and video love letters to San Francisco, following him on Instagram and Twitter.

We recorded this podcast at Sutro Heights Park in May 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

So many San Francisco born-and-raised folks' stories go way, way back. That's certainly the case for Joey Yee.

Joey begins this episode telling us about his maternal grandfather, who was from Isleton and was a pilot in World War II. After he came back from war, he met Joey's grandma, who was born and raised in SF. He charmed his future wife by giving her the biggest tomatoes she'd ever seen. Joey's grandfather wanted to put roots down, and so he bought a building in San Francisco.

His dad's dad immigrated to the US from China. Joey's parents met ice skating and dated for eight years before getting married. After living in Daly City a short time, they moved back to the family house, the one his grandfather bought on Nob Hill. Joey was born during this time.

When he was 12, the family moved to the Richmond District. Joey regrets that he didn't explore Nob Hill when they lived there, but he goes on to share his early Giants memories and describes games at Candlestick.

He tells us about the public schools he went to, eventually ending up at Washington High in the Richmond. It was there that Joey started dabbling in video classes. That's when his love of video, film, and editing began.
​
Join us for Part 2 on Thursday, when Joey will share stories from life after high school.

​We recorded this podcast at Sutro Heights Park in May 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

In this podcast, Tara picks up where she left off in Part 1, talking about how to be in the world. The thoughts are related to her time in La Cañada, California, where she finished high school and took some college courses before deciding to move back to her hometown—San Francisco.

From there, Tara discusses sentimentality and having more diverse perspectives in life and art.

Tara picks up the story of her move back to The City, which involves handing over exact change—all she had left—to the toll-taker at the Bay Bridge. She talks about jobs she had, including at Tower Records.

Then we get into her history with singing. It started back when she lived in Maine (see Part 1). She played Eva Peron in Evita in Texas when she was 12. She reflects on art, passion, limitations, and collaboration. She talks about singing in Europe before coming back to San Francisco and singing mostly jazz and American Standards.

Tara ends the podcast with her vision of what San Francisco can be as we emerge from the pandemic.

Visit Tara's website, tarademoulin.com, and follow her on Instagram @tarademoulin.

We recorded this podcast at Vesuvio Cafe in June 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

Tara DeMoulin grew up collecting eucalyptus buttons in the Panhandle with her mom.

In this podcast, the singer/songwriter, activist, and filmmaker shares the story of her life. It starts in San Francisco in the late-1980s, travels east to Maine and New York City (where she discovered and became obsessed with Broadway), starts to circle back west with a stop in Texas before scooting over to Southern California.

In the early 2000s, after some college, Tara decided to come back to her native home in San Francisco, which we'll get more into in Part 2.

The rest of this episode includes some of Tara's thoughts on living in such wildly different places in the U.S. Check back Thursday for Part 2 and the conclusion of Tara's life story.

We recorded this podcast at Vesuvio in June 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

In this podcast, Jaime picks up where he left off in Part 1, describing his evolution as an artist. Like a lot of kids his age, Saturday morning cartoons were a big influence. Comics in the newspaper also played their part.

We shift back to his return to SF after high school. He worked as a screen-printer at The Color Machine and Winterland. The music venue was closed, but Jaime shares stories of playing and seeing shows at The Mab back in the day.

Jaime dives into the street art scene in The City in the '80s, which he dabbled in. He also talks about his first publishing experiences. He took a brief break from his art and left San Francisco to raise a kid and go back to college. But his friend Harvey Pekar got him back into drawing about five years later.

He shares the story of starting Corn Tortilla Press (check out their About page for all the stuff in Jaime's life we didn't have time to talk about here).

Jaime ends the podcast reflecting on what's become of the city he used to call home and what's possible for the future of San Francisco.

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We recorded this podcast at Jaime's home in Alameda in May 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

Jaime Crespo's first drawings were made on the blank pages in a Bible.

In this podcast, the cartoonist traces his lineage back to his mom, who was born in northern Mexico and is Yaqui/Yoeme. She came to LA with her brother in the early 20th century. When their mom got deported back to Mexico, she moved up to run a cafe in Sacrament, where she ended up meeting Jaime's dad.

But his mom took Jaime to San Francisco when her husband became abusive. The kid was 4.

They made their way back to Sacramento to live with Jaime's widowed step-grandad and his new wife, a Black couple from Louisiana. He finished school up there and shortly after that, moved back to The City instead of New York, which he and his friends had dreamed about.

In the podcast, Jaime reflects on both stints in San Francisco—when he was 4 and then again when he was around 20. He reminisces about seeing hippies on Muni, his first Giants game and seeing Willie Mays, BBQ joints and bars that are long gone, and how he was moving away from sports like baseball and football, and more toward punk rock music and art.

He shares how he got started drawing at a young age with a story that's either charming or blasphemous, depending on how you look at it.

Check back Thursday for Part 2, when Jaime will continue the story of his life.

Meanwhile, check out more of his art at his website: corntortillapress.com. And follow Jaime on Instagram @the_real_comixvato.
​
We recorded this podcast at Jaime's home in Alameda in May 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

In this episode, H.P. picks up where he left off in Part 1. He had moved with his mom to Daly City and starts off telling a story about the Colma Target. It involves a kid he met while hanging out at Radio Shack and Walden Soft at Serramonte Mall across the freeway.

From there, we go on to talk about H.P.'s first feature-length movie, Colma: The Musical. He shares how he went about writing the story that became the movie.

Next, we discuss H.P.’s time at College of San Mateo, where he went to study film. Following up on the success of Colma, H.P.'s directorial debut came with the movie Fruit Fly.

He pivots from there to address the hate and violence that Asian folks have experienced in recent years.

Then we talk about H.P.'s music and artists he's often compared to as well as younger musicians who've told him that he influences them.

H.P. wraps things up reflecting on what his hometown, San Francisco, means to him in 2021. He ends with his personal thoughts on our theme this season: "We're still here."

We recorded this episode at Casements Bar in May 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

So, we're doing something a little different here.

Way, way back in Season 1, on Episode 14 (Part 1 / Part 2), we had friend of the show H.P. Mendoza on. Back then, we were all about stories, not necessarily people's stories, like we are today. And so, we asked H.P. to come back on and share his personal history with you.

He starts off with his birth (St. Luke's in the Mission) and his childhood (on La Grande Avenue in the Excelsior). Then he backs up to go into some depth about his paternal grandmother, who taught English and adored H.P., her first grandchild born in the U.S. She had a piano and that's how H.P. learned to play.

A tangent leads to H.P. talking about his love of movies from an early age. He credits his brother Joe with that, as well as H.P.'s continued interest in storytelling, video games, cartoons, and more.

H.P. shares stories from his school days. Being the first U.S.-born kid in his family, there were higher expectations placed on him. His early curiosity about kids who were different from him and his family led to some pretty funny mischief. His parents pulled him out of public school and sent him to Epiphany Catholic School.

After skipping second grade, H.P. experienced ostracism from kids older than him and kids his age. Because of this, he added one year to his age well into his twenties.

He ends Part 1 rattling off different obscure, adult-ish movies he was into as a kid.

Join us for Part 2 on Thursday, when we'll hear the rest of H.P.'s story.

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We recorded this podcast at Casements Bar in the Mission in May 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

In this podcast, Wanika picks up where she left off in Part 1. After high school, her band Mystic Youth became more of a full-time gig, writing music, playing shows, recording. She shares the mischievous story of how she got started playing bass. Self-taught at first, she eventually took lessons, and that made her think that music school at City College was a good idea. She came to think of herself as a songwriter around this time.

Wanika talks about the influence that Father "Blue Water" Haven had on her relationship with music, as well as others she didn't know personally who affected her.

From there, Wanika talks about the history of "Uplift," a show on KPOO that she took over and was the DJ on for two decades. And then she tells us how her parents founded the St. John Coltrane African Orthodox Church.

It all started with jazz "listening clinics" in the Bayview. The small but growing group began to investigate Coltrane and the message in his music. The church was born and became part of the AOC in 1982. And Wanika decided she wanted to be active in this new church—she became a deacon.

Wanika was the Uplift DJ for 19 years. She handed the show over to her nephew as Wanika sets out to launch her own show on Coltrane Consciousness Radio (Live 365) later this summer.

She wraps up this podcast with her thoughts and wishes for the future of San Francisco.

Shout out to Rev. Arnold Townsend (Part 1 / Part 2) for introducing us to Wanika.

We recorded this podcast at St. John Coltrane AOC in May 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

Wanika King-Stephens' life is full of music and church.

In this episode, Wanika traces her life back to her parents' move to San Francisco from Los Angeles in the 1960s with their four-month-old daughter. Her dad's dad was an evangelist in the Pentecostal Church. It was a strict upbringing where, if her father as a young man wanted to listen to so-called music of the world, country music was the only acceptable genre.

Despite that, he grew up loving jazz and, especially, John Coltrane. And he raised his own children in that light.

Wanika's little sister sings, and the two were in a band when they were younger called Mystic Youth. Wanika played bass in the group and was the band leader. They wrote their own music but were too young to play clubs at first.

Her mother sang jazz and, along with Wanika's dad, joined with Alice Coltrane to help found the Vedantic Center, which was originally in San Francisco.  Around this time, the family had moved to Visitacion Valley, a diverse, lively neighborhood that Wanika describes for us. From there, she shares stories of trips around town she took as a young girl.

Wanika wraps up Part 1 talking about her high school days in The City. And after that, as she puts it, she "was jammin' pretty hard with Mystic Youth."

Join us Thursday for Part 2 and the continuation of Wanika's life story.

We recorded this podcast at St. John Coltrane African Orthodox Church in May 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

In this podcast, we pick up where we left off in Part 1. After college out east, Modesto's Tomas Moreno moved to the Bay Area. His mom is a recently retired high school teacher who taught kids with disabilities, and Tomas feels that her work instilled in him a drive to serve others. That eventually led him to Maitri.

Tomas is joined by Maitri Executive Director, Rev. Fr. Rusty Smith, to share with us the history of the nonprofit, which was founded by Issan Dorsey in the Castro in 1987. Rusty tells us how he came to work at Maitri, explaining how a big part of its mission is to serve those with HIV/AIDS who also suffer from poverty.

Rusty and Tomas talk about how Maitri has fared over the past year of the pandemic. Stories include non-volunteers like these two stepping up to facilitate and play bingo with the residents.

We end this episode with Rusty and Tomas's hopes for San Francisco as it emerges from the pandemic.

We recorded this podcast at Maitri Compassionate Care in April 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

In this podcast, Maitri Compassionate Care's Executive Director, Reverend Father Rusty Smith, shares stories of his youth. His very New Mexican mom was a powerful figure in his early life, shaping the liberal world view Rusty espouses to this day. Rusty traces his military family upbringing all over the country and the world. The family eventually settled in Texas for his high school years.

After that, Rusty became a priest in the Anglican Church, given that the church allowed openly gay priests. He began his adult life in his mother's home state, doing charitable work in Albuquerque.

While living in New Mexico, Rusty and his husband noticed that San Francisco had become a second home for them. When the opening at Maitri happened, they made the move.

Then we meet Maitri's Development Director, Tomas Moreno. Tomas shares his story of growing up in the Central Valley and making his way to San Francisco.

Check back for Part 2 on Thursday, when we'll hear more of Tomas's story as well as his and Rusty's discussion of what Maitri is and what it does for the community.

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We recorded this podcast at Maitri Compassionate Care in April 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

​
Ed. note: As with Part 1 of Larry's episode, a reminder that we recorded under the BART tracks, so we took pauses when trains passed by overhead. We left that audio in the final edit and we hope you enjoy.

In this podcast, Larry picks up where he left off in Part 1. He talks about going to Lowell High School in The City and then Academy of Art University, where he first got to know people very unlike himself.

In his high school days, Larry had started to question things he was into as well as stereotypes of Black young men such as himself. He took some acting and movies courses at AAU and then went on to actual theater school. But Larry didn't wanna be an actor.

A chance ride one day turned out to be fortuitous. He got an in at The Punchline.

As he was coming up in comedy, as he puts it, he "disappeared from the world" to hone his craft. It was around this time that he also got an internship at KMEL.

Larry traces his activism to his time at City College. He worked with Black Lives Matter, various Black student unions around The City, fed houseless folks. He makes light of his activist work, but ties it back to his comedy. He shares stories of some of his first times on the comedy stage.

He lets us know about his 101-year plan. 2020 being 2020 threw things off a little, but thanks to his week-by-week plan, Larry was able to pivot. And he ends the podcast sharing his hopes for San Francisco to get its soul back through culture and youth and how he wants to focus on reparations.

Follow Larry on social media @larrydorseyjr.

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We recorded this podcast at Cayuga Park under the BART tracks in April 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

Ed. note: This one is special for a couple reasons. First, Larry blew us away with his kindness, energy, and knowledge. Also, we recorded under the BART tracks, so we took pauses when trains passed by overhead. We decided to leave that audio in the final edit because, well, it was part of the experience that day. We hope you enjoy.
​
Larry Dorsey, Jr.'s parents came to the Bay Area from the South and South America.

In this podcast, the SF born-and-raised comedian and radio personality shares the story of his parents' migration to San Francisco. His dad played football in the NFL before his move west; Larry's mom, a lawyer, left her home country of Columbia because of political reasons.

They arrived in Oakland separately and met at SF State. Larry is their first-born, one of two sons. Larry has vague memories of his first years on Earth, which he shares with us. One is a pretty hilarious (and hilariously cute) playground-type story.

Larry tells us what it was like to go to a "hippy" elementary, and then contrasts that with his time at Aptos Junior High. But he also spent many school lunchtimes in the library. His curiosity and pursuit of knowledge was just getting started. He ended up at Lowell, during a time when he started getting into "a lot of trouble."

Larry wraps up Part 1 sharing the first time he got in trouble with a cop.

Join us Thursday for Part 2 and the continuation of Larry Dorsey, Jr.'s story.

Related Podcast
Arthur Gaus, Part 1 and Part 2

We recorded this podcast at Cayuga Park in April 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

​Marcia Gagliardi could've ended up in LA. In fact, if it weren't for the 1994 Northridge earthquake, there might be no Tablehopper.

In this podcast, Marcia picks up where she left off in Part 1. She came back to the Bay Area and found a place in the Western Addition (where she still lives today!). She chronicles various jobs at design firms before the 2000 "dotbomb." Not long after that, she started Tablehopper.

We asked Marcia to name three of her favorite San Francisco bars or restaurants in 2006 when she launched her newsletter.

Then Marcia tells us how she got started in 2018 doing My Milligram, a media brand featuring reviews of low-dose and high-quality cannabis products made in California.

She ends the podcast with her outlook on San Francisco in the near future.

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We recorded this podcast at an apartment in the Western Addition in April 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

Marcia Gagliardi's family used to own a pizzeria and Italian deli in the Sierra foothills.

In this podcast, the Tablehopper creator and author goes a couple generations back to trace her family's story and how they ended up in Northern California. Her Italian grandparents went back to their homeland shortly before Marcia was born, but we'll get back to that.

Marcia grew up on the Peninsula, one of two daughters for the Gagliardis. She recounts what that experience was like for her, and shares the story of the time she spent in Italy during college. It was at a Christmas dinner there that she discovered just how diligently her dad had kept up their Italian customs in California.

She talks about her family's move to the foothills and back and shares how she and a friend would drive up to The City and arrange deals for their high school classmates, long before the internet. Marcia ends Part 1 with the story of her year in Venice and her return home to finish college at UCLA.

​Please check back Thursday for Part 2, when Marcia will tell us how she got started doing Tablehopper, and later, MyMilligram.

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We recorded this podcast at an apartment in the Western Addition in April 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

In this podcast, Matt picks up where he left off in Part 1, with his involuntary foray into placing temp workers. Turns out, he loved the job.

He moved around from job to job over the next few years, but returned to thank the person who pushed him into this new career.

A trip to Paris led, in a very roundabout way, to Matt starting his own French recruiting firm. With that, he moved to Europe and lived there for the next 11 years, while keeping his place (and job) here in the Bay Area.

Jumping back a bit, Matt describes meeting Sister Roma shortly after he moved up to San Francisco. Then we fast-forward to Matt's return from Paris to Glendale to help care for his ailing father. After his dad passed away and his marriage broke up, Matt moved back to The City.

After trying unsuccessfully to buy an Italian restaurant in the Castro, he and his chef partner went in search of a new place of their own. Matt closed escrow on the spot where Roma's is on March 16, 2020.* He describes how, in light of the quarantine order, he shifted his business approach—he added an Italian market to the restaurant he had already established.

Matt is quick to point out what a communal effort it was to get the place off the ground. Please visit their website for more info, including their "Roma's Drag Deliveries" on Wednesdays.

He ends this podcast looking into the future, both for his business and for San Francisco.

* the date that San Francisco's shelter-in-place order went into effect.

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We recorded this podcast at Roma's Ristorante Italiano in South of Market in April 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

Matt Leum has more friends from his school days now than he did back then.

Matt grew up in Glendale, a suburb north of LA. His family's swimming pool was the only one on that block.

His dad owned a chain of supermarkets in the greater Los Angeles area. His parents met at the flagship store of that chain back when it was just a corner market. Matt grew up the youngest of six; his younger brother died at 4.

In the podcast, he shares stories of his mom's bad-assery as we dive into her history quite a bit, including her French and Inuit parents.

After college in Santa Barbara, Matt sent an unsolicited letter to a law firm in San Francisco asking about jobs, and got offered work as a response.

Please check back Thursday for Part 2, when Matt will tell us all about opening his restaurant in The City during the pandemic.

We recorded this podcast at Roma's Ristorante Italiano in South of Market in April 2021.

Photography by MIchelle Kilfeather

In this episode, Morris picks up where he left off in Part 1, sharing some of the pot edibles he was making with a friend. This was back when California had legalized medicinal marijuana, but not yet recreational. And the US government, as they still do to this day, more than frowned upon even this limited use.

Morris walks us through the evolution of his business, from a medicinal marijuana cultivation and delivery company known as "San Francisco Roots" through to what SF Roots is today—an equity cannabis company based right here in The City. He tells us about San Francisco's Cannabis Equity Program, whose stated goal is to "lower barriers to cannabis licensing to those hit hardest by the War on Drugs."

We chat about how COVID has impacted the business. And then Morris ends the episode with his take on the future of San Francisco.

Related Podcasts
Uncle Damien, Part 1 and Part 2

We recorded this podcast at SF Roots HQ in April 2021.