The last chapter of the saga which could just as easily be titled “San Francisco is arguing for what now?” started last summer when Bradley closed his famous cafe, the Creamery, after 12 years in the South Market.

Declining revenues due to the pandemic and uncertainty surrounding a planned development of 960 units at the site prompted Bradley not to renew the lease of the cafe which was famous in tech circles for its venture capital confabs and the apparent birth of Airbnb.

When Bradley, a likeable Irishman with sparkling eyes who spices up his conversation with phrases like ‘a little bit’, set out in search of a new home for his coffee, he landed on a vacant space in the 14th and 12th arrondissements. Mission Street.

And that’s when the scrutiny began.

“Who knew scones could be so controversial?” Bradley, 50, reflects as we stand outside the space he has paid $ 4,500 a month for since September, but still has no key to open.

The Sunset District resident and father of two thought moving a popular business to a vacant storefront a mile and a half away that no one else wants to rent would be much easier than that. Mainly because his plan respects zoning rules and many of his employees live at the Mission. In addition, he has agreed to hire locally for any positions that his former staff does not fill.

Between the rent, which will rise to $ 6,000 per month if he can finally open, an architect, equipment storage and other costs, he has invested over $ 60,000 in the project.

“It definitely makes you stop and think about the process and the hurdles you need to overcome if you want to make a significant investment in a neighborhood,” Bradley said. “It’s a challenge to move forward knowing that the city is not supporting you.

So what happened? San Francisco has arrived.

The city allows any neighbor of a proposed new business to oppose its plans, and so the Cultural Action Network did on January 14. It’s a community organization that, according to its Facebook page, “is taking direct action to protect the city’s artists. , diversity, cultural organizations and their spaces.

He called for a ban on technical offices in the mission, opposed state legislation to facilitate the construction of apartment buildings near public transport and opposes red lanes to make get off the buses faster in busy streets.

Its makeup is unclear, but its chairman is Rick Hall, who is also the chairman of Livable California, an anti-development group ridiculed as NIMBY by people who think the state should build enough housing for everyone. those who need it. Hall answered a call to the phone number associated with the Cultural Action Network and said someone else would get back to me for this column. No one did.

The other person whose name is attached to calls from the Cafe’s Cultural Action Network is Ben Terrall, a freelance writer. Terrall, who lives 4 miles from 14th and Mission, also did not respond to requests for comment.

At a Planning Commission hearing on March 25, a dozen people spoke, almost all opposed to Bradley’s coffee. They had legitimate concerns – like that, they preferred to see a retail store run by a Latino immigrant in space. But such a proposal does not exist. So far, it’s the cafe or another vacant space in a neighborhood already dotted with them.

Bradley agreed to make the changes requested by the neighbors. It will publish its menu in Spanish and English, hang Latin American and Native American art on the walls, and keep its prices low. A planned bilingual menu features pastries priced at $ 2.50 and the most expensive item, salads, priced at $ 11.

He pointed out that his clientele was not just tech workers; on his previous site, he gave free food to seniors living on a fixed income, let charities use the space for free for their events, and donated to local schools.

“They don’t know me,” Bradley said of naysayers. “I’m not the big type of business they claim to be. I’m just a small business man with a good concept.

The Planning Commission unanimously approved Bradley’s shop, but that didn’t end the weird twists and turns. Far from there.

Terrell, with support from Hall, then filed a lawsuit under the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, a 1970 law that requires government agencies to disclose the environmental impacts of projects. While important and well-intentioned, the law has become a weapon of choice for NIMBYs to block projects they don’t like, even if their arguments have nothing to do with preserving the environment.

And incredibly, the supervisory board gives them a lot of time and credit. A recent proposal from Mayor London Breed and Supervisor Matt Haney to require CEQA appellants to collect 50 signatures in certain restricted cases was tabled by Supervisors Aaron Peskin and Dean Preston in committee.

Terrall cited no evidence in his appeal that the coffee would harm the environment, but just said it would gentrify the neighborhood.

Supervisor Hillary Ronen, who represents the Mission, said she would be surprised if the audience got real justification for stopping the coffee.

“I understand the appellants’ fears that a cafe with a high-end clientele will be the start of the Valencia-fication of Mission Street,” she said, referring to the high-end businesses that dot the area. neighboring commercial corridor. “I just don’t know CEQA is a viable tool to keep a business out of an empty store. “

She said she supports the change proposed by Breed and Haney and worries that the misuse of CEQA by activists could threaten her future. Ronen added that she doesn’t know the people behind the Cultural Action Network and that her office tried to negotiate a deal between them and Bradley, but “he was basically just a non-starter.”

Sharky Laguana, chairman of the city’s small business committee, said CEQA’s call was “clearly anti-small business.”

“How can anyone look at the current environment and say, ‘What is needed now is to slow down business,’” he said. “We need to take a more holistic view of the economy and not prioritize grumpalumps, horseflies, and the people who hate everything.”

Bradley thinks he has a 50-50 chance of surviving Tuesday. But he already has a plan B. In April, he spent a week in Denver studying the small business market. He’s found cheaper rents, happy families, and a city that doesn’t see a new cafe as a matter of serious and dramatic importance.

He certainly wouldn’t be the first parent and small business owner to say goodbye to San Francisco, its bureaucracy and grumpalumps.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight appears on Sundays and Wednesdays. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @hknightsf