{"id":92528,"date":"2025-12-12T23:39:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T23:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/92528\/"},"modified":"2025-12-12T23:39:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T23:39:09","slug":"tenderloin-buzz-tree-lighting-microcinema-new-eateries-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/92528\/","title":{"rendered":"Tenderloin Buzz: Tree lighting, microcinema, new eateries, and more"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cTenderloin Buzz\u201d will be a recurring update on changes, tidbits and other news from the Tenderloin. Got news? Send us tips at tips@missionlocal.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"AThe Christmas tree at the Tom and Jerry House in December 2016. Photo by Eleni Balakrishnan.<\/p>\n

Come out for the Tenderloin\u2019s eighth annual Christmas tree lighting tonight at Boeddeker Park. Santa and his elves are rumored to be in attendance, and there will be music and dance performances from 5 to 6 p.m. <\/p>\n

And what\u2019s Christmas without some speeches from local politicians? Catch District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, Assemblymember Matt Haney and State Senator Scott Wiener from 6 to 6:30 p.m. before the tree is lit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ABlackMaria Microcinema will open a second location at 570 Larkin St. Photo by Eleni Balakrishnan.<\/p>\n

BlackMaria Microcinema is a new tiny movie theatre coming to the Tenderloin and expected to open in January at 570 Larkin St. The space will host independent film screenings and offer classes in acting, screenwriting, fundraising. <\/p>\n

Owner Maria Judice already runs the original BlackMaria Microcinema in the Mission District, and wanted to expand to a new, slightly larger \u2014 still micro at only 45-50 seats \u2014 location in the Tenderloin.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cA microcinema has always traditionally been a community space,\u201d said Judice, who wants the theatre to be accessible and bring in a diverse audience. \u201cEven though it\u2019s focused on screenings and films and filmmakers, the idea is that it\u2019s a place that rotates like the community needs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Judice got a grant for the cinema through the city\u2019s Downtown ENRG program<\/a>, but she also got separate funding through the Tenderloin vacancy filling grant program with the Office of Economic and Workforce Development to open a tea shop just a stone\u2019s throw from the cinema. She originally envisioned a joint cafe microcinema, but when Judice found two locations just a few steps apart, she jumped on them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"StorefrontLibreTe will open at 585-587 Eddy St. Photo by Eleni Balakrishnan.<\/p>\n

Her new tea shop, LibreTe, will also open in January just around the corner from the cinema, at 587 Eddy St. LibreTe\u2019s main event will be the Xoffee, Judice\u2019s specialty brand of non-caffeinated, but energizing, coffee alternative that she\u2019s been selling for years at pop-ups. It\u2019s tea, in that it\u2019s a blend of herbs and spices like dandelion and cardamom and mushrooms, but Judice said it also tastes like coffee, with chicory that is an homage to her family\u2019s long-ago New Orleans roots.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur idea is a tea shop in the day and tea bar at night,\u201d Judice said, \u201cgiving the Tenderloin a non-alcoholic alternative [for] just hanging out at night and having nice fun drinks.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

OEWD tells us that three other entrepreneurs have also found new storefronts in the Tenderloin and got $50,000 to get started after signing a lease \u2014\u00a0one is the bookstore, Niebla Librer\u00eda<\/a>, coming soon that we reported in the last Tenderloin Buzz. The Tenderloin is a focus, says the OEWD\u2019s Kate Patterson, as the department seeks to build wealth in communities facing systemic barriers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"StorefrontFalafelland opened earlier this week on Golden Gate Avenue in the Tenderloin. Photo by Eleni Balakrishnan. <\/p>\n

Another grantee is Falafelland, a Yemeni restaurant that opened on Tuesday at 265 Golden Gate Ave. The restaurant is only the latest venture for owner Billy Alabsi, who also operated the extremely successful Falafelland<\/a> that once sat on Sixth Street in SoMa and closed in 2019. <\/p>\n

\u201cEverything was destiny,\u201d Alabsi said, reflecting on the past few years. \u201cI was destined to go to this place.\u201d<\/p>\n

As you might guess, they\u2019ll serve Alabsi\u2019s unique avocado-blend falafel, but will also have other Yemeni and Mediterranean fusion dishes. If the 4.8 stars on Yelp for the restaurant\u2019s last iteration is any indication, it\u2019s going to be good.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AA Middle Eastern clothing and gift shop will open soon at 318 Turk St. Photo by Eleni Balakrishnan.<\/p>\n

And at 318 Turk St., Alabsi\u2019s brother Jalal is opening Sheba, a Middle Eastern store that will sell Arabic clothing, gifts, and packaged Arabic treats like baklava, coffee, and tea.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AnRisa Fairbanks Pedzewick rubbed her fingers into red pastels, blending an image of paper lanterns in the window of Mini Mart gallery on Aug. 7, 2025. Photo by Jessica Blough. <\/p>\n

Finally, this week kicked off the first of the Tenderloin\u2019s \u201cSecond Wednesdays\u201d event<\/a>, a spinoff from the First Thursdays Art Walk. While there\u2019s still art at some of the same locations on the art walk, the new Wednesday event will host \u201cintimate\u201d pop-up shops, workshops and performances \u2014\u00a0this month had a piano cabaret performance and a porcelain ceramics workshop. Stay tuned for what to expect next month.\u00a0<\/p>\n