Crime in San Francisco is, no surprise thanks to its soft-on-crime policies, raging out of control and turning life in the city into an absolute mess for many of its residents. Car thefts, break-ins, muggings, open-air drug dens, rampant homelessness, public defecation, all of it has made the city almost unliveable. Now, with things at their worst, one of the city’s celebrity chef is trying to fight back in a creative way.
That is Food Network host Tyler Florence, who is opening two cafes in San Fransisco’s Union Square to try to bring some measure of life back to the area. His goal is to bring normal, law-abiding people back to the area, thus driving out the criminal elements that are taking over many parts of the city.
Describing his plan in an interview with CBS News Bay Area, Mr. Florence said. “I think people need to just look in the mirror every day and realize that we can’t live like this any longer, with the crime, car vandalizing, theft and robbery. I think on the other side of the coin is the positivity in the city.”
Continuing as reported in the story, he argued that people need to be working on proactive ways to push back on the current state of things, saying, “We want this to be a cultural impact, make a big difference in the city of San Francisco, and really even from a citizen’s standpoint, lean in. We can’t complain about it, we can’t point fingers. I think it’s everyone’s collective responsibility — pick a neighborhood.”
Florence added, “I want San Francisco to be the place I fell in love with when I moved here back in 2007. We’re going to make it happen, we will make the city proud, I promise you. And this will be a spectacular location that the world will pay attention to.”
CBS News, describing the planned restaurants, said, “Playing off Florence’s steakhouse at the Chase Center’s Thrive City, the artisanal cafes will be called Miller & Lux Provisions.” The report continued, “The Stockton Street side of the plaza will feature an eatery that offers savory dishes like organic rotisserie chicken and all-day brunch options. The space has been vacant since 2020.”
Marisa Rodriguez, CEO of the Union Square Alliance, put out a press release on his plans, saying, “Tyler Florence’s remarkable additions to the iconic Union Square Plaza will attract a fresh wave of food enthusiasts, further spotlighting the district’s diverse array of dining and drinking spots.”
“This is San Francisco. We’ve solved a lot of the world’s problems and created one of the largest economic powerhouses in the world. We can’t fix homelessness in San Francisco, we can’t fix this problem? I think we can. So this is my opportunity to make a big statement,” the statement added.
It remains to be seen if Florence’s take on broken-windows policing, filling areas back up with businesses, will work. One expects the city will have to turn law enforcement loose to protect the area and keep out the criminals, which could happen but would be a sea-change for the city.
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