RIP Franchises of our youths

[Greg]

[thatguy]

My Junior High graduation was there.

--tg

[Greg]

Mine, too. Probably the same one.

[King Bob]

I think Kennedy did graduation there for years. Both my brother's (also Yeti's) and mine were there. I went there numerous times and always liked the Brutalist box seating along the sides of the interior. I always thought it had a slight Cathedral-ish feel to it. The last time I went was in the 90s or early 2000s to see Spalding Gray.

[Drunk Monk]

I think the last time I was there was for some Kung Fu/Wushu demo, perhaps in the last decade or so. 

I dunno. The pandemic screwed up my sense of time. Now it's like BP and AP.

[Drunk Monk]

I've actually never been here but fantasized about having a D00M gathering on some full moon. 

Felton’s Bigfoot Discovery Museum will become a thing of the past 
By Jeanette Bent
November 25, 2024 6:14 PM
Published November 25, 2024  12:48 PM 


FELTON, Calif. (KION-TV) -- Bigfoot Discovery Museum owner Michael Rugg confirmed to KION that the 20-year-old museum is slated to close pending the sale of both the property that the museum sits on, as well as the Bigfoot artifacts within the museum.
"I'm trying to sell the property that the museum is on for $450,000," said Rugg. "The man who was once on a TV show called, 'Finding Bigfoot,' is coming from Oregon to buy my Bigfoot collection for his museum."
Rugg said that he's working with an agent to assess potential property buyers. He also said that when he first opened the museum 20 years ago, it was zoned differently. "The property has been zoned residential, so the next property owner will not be able to have a business here," he said. "That zoning changed a while ago."
The buildings--there are three on the lot--were built in 1949 and house two exhibitions and one shed. In the building behind the main entrance area, sits a large Bigfoot holding a tree in its lap.
"Anywhere from 35 to 40 people up to 70 people come through the museum daily," said Rugg. "On average we see 50 people per day."
Of the around 50 museum visitors daily, Rugg said that they see "quite a few locals. There is a map on the wall where Big Foot has been seen in the Santa Cruz area," he said.
As far as museum supporters go, Rugg said that his step daughter has a restaurant nearby and his brother has a business next door fixing musical instruments. "We have a lot of supporters," he said.
The museum does not yet have a projected closing date, and Rugg says that they plan to stay open during their regular operating days and hours; Friday through Monday from 1 to 5 p.m.

[Drunk Monk]

Stoli’s US Bankruptcy is Just the Latest Sign of Hard Times for Spirits

Stoli Group USA, the maker of the eponymous vodka, had bankruptcy protection to be thankful for during last week’s holiday. 

DECEMBER 2, 2024UPDATED 23 HOURS AGO
Photo by Wattsvia CC BY 2.0
Guest Contributor to The Daily Upside
Stoli Group USA, the maker of the eponymous vodka, had bankruptcy protection to be thankful for during last week’s holiday, filing for Chapter 11 with liabilities between $50 million and $100 million.
But it’s not the only spiritmaker with cause to worry that the market is about to prove harder than its products.
Shaken and On the Rocks
Stoli, a unit of Luxembourg-based SPI Group, has its own unique problems. It was long marketed as a Russian vodka, but has been made in Latvia for several decades. That’s in part because its billionaire founder, Yuri Shefler, is a Russian exile who has feuded with the country’s President Vladimir Putin, condemning the latter’s invasion of Ukraine and anti-LGBT laws. Russian authorities have cracked down on the company at home, branding it an “extremist” organization, demanding it hand over its profits to a state entity, and moving to seize its assets.
Enough to drive one to drink, in other words. But Stoli’s not alone in spiritmakers worrying about geopolitics:

• President-elect Donald Trump has promised blanket tariffs, but he’s also gone after spirits specifically in past trade spats. For example, he hit the Scotch whisky industry with tariffs as part of a trade spat from 2019 to 2021, costing the sector £600 million ($760 million), according to the Scotch Whisky Association. If an agreement isn’t struck by June 2026, they could be brought back.
  
• Blanket tariffs would also go down like contaminated moonshine: Pernod does one third of its trade with America and Diageo does 40%. Campari, Moet Hennessy, and Remy Cointreau also count the US as their biggest market.
  

Hops would get deflated, too: Wells Fargo said last week that the cost of Modelo, a popular beer brand imported from Mexico, could jump 4.5%, while importer Constellation Brands would get smacked with a 16% cost increase.
America First? UBS’s analysts also estimated that 79% of spirits sold in America are imported, so could that actually be a leg up for domestic producers? Maybe. They just have one problem to contend with: Americans. For the first time in almost three decades, the International Wine and Spirits Record last year noted a decline — in this case of 2% — in the volume of spirits sold in America. This year has been even worse, with a 3% decline in the first seven months.

Back in college, I was a big Stoli drinker. That was my brand. this was just before they started doing all the flavored vodkas.

After Worlds Away, I'm kinda into Neft Vodka, but I have yet to invest in any.

[King Bob]

I preferred gin to vodka, but I remember not liking Stoli that much. I thought Svedka was a good cheap vodka, and Tito's was pretty good.

[Drunk Monk]

Gin was always medicinal for me. Still is. 

Honestly, it was years and years since I had any vodka. Then there was Worlds Away where I made up for lost years all in a few after midnight hours.

[thatguy]

I was anti-gin (not antigen) for a long time, then I met up with a friend a bar (formerly Crazy's in Aptos) where he knew the bartender. I said that I didn't like gin and they proceeded to school me. Gins are wildly different. Some very botanical junipery, but others mild like vodka and still others more floral. Venus in Santa Cruz distills a couple different variants. One is almost amber and very flavorful. 

I like it better than vodka now, but you have to find a good one you like and stick with it. 

--tg

---

Speaking of gin, I'm going to try this cocktail out. It sound to me like a gin Manhattan

https://lifehacker.com/the-gin-it-is-the...1840004492

The Gin & It Is the Perfect Cold Weather 'Martini'

To make it, you will need:

• 1 1/2 ounces dry gin
  
• 1 1/2 ounces Italian vermouth
  
• 2 dashes orange bitters
  

Add everything to a stirring glass filled with ice and stir until well chilled. Strain into a chilled coupe and enjoy.

--tg

[Drunk Monk]

Don't get me wrong. I do like gin. A gin & tonic with a twist of lime will cure what ails ya. 

I stopped drinking vodka in the late 80s. It wasn't until that Worlds Away night of Neft that I had some again. That was really good but there was a lot going on that night that amplified the enjoyment of the experience. I don't know when the last time I lost count of my drink was. I have no idea how many cocktails I drank that night. I also did a shot poured directly in my mouth from a hawt bartender standing on stage. Plus there was whiskey beforehand and maybe a private shot afterwards when I stumbled back to camp. 

Still a whiskey man at heart.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

I was anti-gin (not antigen) for a long time, then I met up with a friend a bar (formerly Crazy's in Aptos) where he knew the bartender. I said that I didn't like gin and they proceeded to school me. Gins are wildly different. Some very botanical junipery, but others mild like vodka and still others more floral. Venus in Santa Cruz distills a couple different variants. One is almost amber and very flavorful. 

I like it better than vodka now, but you have to find a good one you like and stick with it. 

--tg

I was thoroughly anti-gin; gin smelled like lighter-fluid, tasted like a medical mistake, and was my alky dad’s booze of choice. I’m still not choosing it as my go-to choice for booze (Scotch of DIE!) but The Divine Dr. J has showed me that gin comes in many varieties and some are quite palatable. She also tutored me on *good*tonic, which gin goes better with lemon or lime, and introduced me to Monkey 47, which is actually pretty damn good.

[Drunk Monk]

Fillmore Safeway to close due to safety concerns after push to keep store open
by: Phil Mayer
Posted: Dec 10, 2024 / 06:12 PM PST

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — An embattled Safeway in San Francisco will close nearly a year after city leaders successfully pushed to keep it open. Safeway told KRON4 on Tuesday that its location in the Fillmore neighborhood will close due to issues with safety and theft.
Safeway had originally planned to close the store at 1335 Webster St. in early 2024, but city leaders such as Mayor London Breed and Supervisor Dean Preston convinced the grocery chain to keep the 40-year-old store open. Eleven months later, the store announced its last day will be on or around Feb. 7.
“We are proud of our 40-year history serving the Fillmore district and are thankful to the residents, customers, and community partners who have supported us over the years,” Safeway said in a statement.
Safeway said it kept the store open to “provide a greater transition period for the community.” After the initial plans to close were announced in January, local residents worried that it would create a food desert.
However, Safeway will move forward with the closure “due to ongoing concerns about associate and customer safety, as well as persistent issues with theft.”
There were several instances of crime at or near the store. Several weeks ago, San Francisco police shot and killed a dog at the store parking lot after attacks on a smaller dog and a pedestrian. The store also closed its self-checkout stations due to shoplifting.
Store employees will be reassigned to one of the other 15 Safeway locations in San Francisco. Safeway workers are available to help transfer pharmacy customers to a location of their choice.
“We are actively working on a transition plan to ensure a smooth and secure closure of the store, while allowing for continued access and traffic flow to neighboring businesses,” Safeway said.
Safeway is working with Align Real Estate to replace the store with a project that plans to include housing and commercial space.
However, Sup. Preston said in a statement Tuesday that he believes the best option to provide a grocery store and affordable housing is for the City of San Francisco to buy the site.

I know this Safeway. I often pass it on the way to the Fillmore or Japantown. Definitely a sketchy 'hood.

[King Bob]

Down there on the flat part of Fillmore is pretty sketchy. I'm not sure I've seen the Safeway though.

[Drunk Monk]

Party City is said to be closing all stores. These are its California locations

In Northern California, Party City store locations include Redding, Woodland, Elk Grove, Sacramento, Folsom, Citrus Heights, Roseville, Modesto and Turlock.

Updated: 1:15 PM PST Dec 20, 2024
Daniel Macht 
Digital Media Manager


SHERWOOD PARK, CANADA - APRIL 3: Party City logo and store, on April 3, 2024, in Sherwood Park, Strathcona County, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images) 
SOURCE: NurPhoto
Is the party truly over for cities across the country? 
Party City, the nation’s largest party supply store, will close down all of its more than 850 stores, CNN reported on Friday. 
If the report is true, that could include about 80 locations in California, according to a map on the chain's website. 
CNN reported that CEO Larry Litwin told corporate employees on Friday about plans to wind down operations. Party City did not comment to CNN or share information about the closures. 
KCRA 3 reached out to Party City for questions about the possible timeline for the closures and how many employees will be affected.
The news comes after Party City exited bankruptcy last year but was still saddled by more than $800 million in debt, according to CNN. The chain reportedly faced competition from temporary Spirit Halloween stores, along with other big retailers Amazon, Walmart and Costco. 
In Northern California, Party City store locations include Redding, Woodland, Elk Grove, Sacramento, Folsom, Citrus Heights, Roseville, Modesto and Turlock. 
These are the areas overall in California where Party City is located, according to its website. 

• Alhambra
  
• Anaheim
  
• Bakersfield
  
• Baldwin Park
  
• Brea
  
• Brentwood
  
• Burbank
  
• Chino
  
• Chula Vista
  
• Citrus Heights
  
• Compton
  
• Corona
  
• Costa Mesa
  
• Culver City
  
• Cupertino
  
• Daly City
  
• Downey
  
• Eastvale
  
• Elk Grove
  
• Escondido
  
• Fairfield
  
• Folsom
  
• Fontana
  
• Fremont
  
• Hanford
  
• Hawthorne
  
• Huntington Beach
  
• Huntington Park
  
• Indio
  
• La Habra
  
• Laguna Niguel
  
• Lancaster
  
• Long Beach
  
• Los Angeles
  
• Menifee
  
• Mission Viejo
  
• Modesto
  
• Orange
  
• Oxnard
  
• Pasadena
  
• Pleasant Hill
  
• Pleasanton
  
• Porter Ranch
  
• Rancho Cucamonga
  
• Redding
  
• Redlands
  
• Redwood City
  
• Reseda
  
• Rialto
  
• Richmond
  
• Riverside
  
• Roseville
  
• Sacramento
  
• Salinas
  
• San Diego
  
• San Dimas
  
• San Jose
  
• San Leandro
  
• San Luis Obispo
  
• San Marcos
  
• San Rafael
  
• Santa Ana
  
• Santa Clarita
  
• Santa Rosa
  
• Santee
  
• Sherman Oaks
  
• Simi Valley
  
• Temecula
  
• Thousand Oaks
  
• Torrance
  
• Turlock
  
• Tustin
  
• Upland
  
• Van Nuys
  
• Victorville
  
• West Covina
  
• West Hills
  
• West Los Angeles
  
• Woodland
  

I went to the Fremont outlet a lot when I worked & lived there. It was at the hub, where I got lunch a lot during the work week. I'd go there for odd items - stickers and toys for festivals and such. It was a barometer of pop culture, and I'm always trying to keep my finger on that pulse because I do a lot of marketing, and my world is so niche, a lot of the time I'm out of touch with what's happening in the world at large.