Save the Ruby - Aurora Parklet

Hi Ruby and Aurora fans,

We’re asking for your help to keep the parklet! We’ve heard from countless of you that the parklet our friend Cole designed and built is among your favorite in San Francisco, and we couldn’t agree more. We feel exceptionally fortunate that we were able to work with him and that he created a parklet for us that provides not only a functional space but a beautiful one, one that feels good to be in and facilitates organic human interactions.

Ruby and Aurora Alimentari equally shared the cost of building the parklet, and we did so at a time in the depths of the pandemic lockdown when we (and every other independent business) faced unprecedented uncertainty about whether we’d be able to keep the lights on. A cost that to some in our fair city might seem paltry, but to a couple small business who try to keep their prices fair, it was a significant expense.

Unfortunately, since 2020 when we got our design approved and built the city has changed the design regulations more than once and our parklet, while at one time perfectly within the bounds of the guidelines, is no longer up to code. We have already made some modifications to keep up with the changes but it has become unavoidable that we will need to significantly rebuild the parklet in order to keep it. It was our intent from the beginning that this space be one that benefits the neighborhood and the community at large and we set it up to be a public parklet, unlike most in the city there is no obligation to be a patron of either business to use the space freely, and we intend to keep it that way.

One might hope that there would be some leeway from city government for small businesses who fought to stay open and serve you through thick and thin during the turmoil of the pandemic years, but our experience has been one mostly of antagonism and red tape. We have applied for and been denied multiple times grants that are meant to offset small portions of the cost of updates, and are now faced with the reality that keeping the parklet will actually cost more than it cost the build it in the first place, and that this burden will not be mitigated by any municipal aid.

So we are asking you, friends and family of our shops, if you can help us out even a little bit, to continue this vibrant gathering place that this parklet has become for so many. Everything helps, and any funds you are able to donate will go towards all the costs associated with this project, from ones you might expect such as labor, design, and permitting, to ones you might not, such as the cost of removing two parking meters which have never collected money (they were installed right before we began construction, there were no parking meters on our street pre-pandemic) to the tune of about $900 each for example. We immensely appreciate all of you that have stuck with us and been a part of our community and we hope for nothing more that to be able to continue the work we do of keeping you well fed and hydrated.

Cheers,

Aurora and Ruby