Restaurant health quality in a restaurant is determined by the environmental health inspectors that check the restaurants’ food handling quality and procedure, possibilities of cross-contamination and other sources of contamination. Local law regulations are enforced to ensure proper food and ingredients come from safe sources, kept at appropriate temperatures and storage, cooked properly as well as handled properly and overall food safety. Restaurant inspections are conducted often to ensure that any changes are known to the community. To keep the community aware, the inspection scores are posted publicly and visibly on the food vendors’ and restaurants’ store front as well as on restaurant review sites such as Yelp, OpenTable as well as Zomato and Google.
According to Yelp data, there has been an increase in higher quality restaurants in specific neighborhoods in San Francisco. Neighborhoods such as Financial District and and Marina/Cow Hollow have higher restaurant inspection scores that other neighborhoods such as Bayview Hunters Point and Chinatown. But there are also recent changes and improvements to inspection scores in areas such as the Mission.
With the beautification and improvements on buildings, these neighborhoods are subject to gentrification and increased land values. Many apartments, urban single family homes, cultural neighborhoods have been destroyed to build denser and higher apartment buildings in areas such as the Mission, Castro, and Financial District areas to accommodate the influx of people. With increasing land and rent values, many low to middle-class people are displaced and forced out of their single family or affordable housing homes in San Francisco.
With an increase of millennials and large technological employers moving into the San Francisco, much of the cuisines, food cultures and food quality has changed. The demand of quality food from affluent individuals leads to an increased supply of high end and quality foods and a decrease of mom-and-pop shops as well as “hole in the walls” that have lower inspection rates. In recent years, the higher quality restaurants are correlated with the higher income and higher housing priced neighborhoods. It is common that high-end restaurants will have higher scores due to their representation and image they keep to support their upscale and valuable foods.
Above: The current state of San Francisco wealth: those Marina and FiDi are relatively wealthy, whereas those in Bayview Hunters Point are more in need.
Bayviews Hunters Point
After the Japanese-Americans were relocated in internment camps, many African Americans moved into Bayview Hunters Point due to the new employment opportunities. After World War II ended, African Americans were targeted and redlined due to their income and background causing them to have the highest rate of unemployment and poverty. Redlining is the refusal of a loan to someone who had a certain background, financial issues or history. Many of the African Americans that were unable to afford rent either had to live in segregated housing or moved to Hunters Point where housing was cheaper instead of other affluent parts of San Francisco. Since then, there’s been a consistent trend of African Americans residing in certain neighborhoods in San Francisco.
According to American Community Survey in 2005, San Francisco County had 719, 077 people with more than half as White individuals adding up to 382,220 while there were only 46,779 African Americans and 238,133 Asians. In 2008, there were 808, 976 people with 442,704 whites, 49,868 African Americans and 252,218 Asians. In 2013, San Francisco County had 837,442 people with 406,041 whites, 47,985 Blacks and 280, 667 Asians. More recently, in 2017, there are 884,363 people with only 45,815 African Americans, 306,459 Asians and 402,967 Whites.
San Francisco had approximately 5.9% of African Americans between 2009 and 2013 but there was 33.6% of African Americans residing in Hunters Point (American Community Survey). The survey calculated Hunters Point residents’ median household income as only $58,033 a year which is substantially low compared to San Francisco’s median income of $75,604. In addition, Hunter’s Point has the highest rate of poverty level in San Francisco, totaling at 22% of individuals below the poverty level. Due to redlining, many African Americans were on contract sales to buying homes. This meant that a single missed mortgage payment would result in eviction. In addition, Wells Fargo targeted African Americans for subprime loans where they lent money to people with lower credit scores and income value but they had to pay a higher interest rate.
Food insecurity is the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, and nutritious food. A food desert is an urban area in which it is difficult to buy affordable or quality food. Most of the food deserts are located where people live more than 1 mile from the nearest grocery store. Because of the limited amount of food and grocery stores available, many stores increase their prices to profit from the demand. As a result of limited grocery stores and high quality restaurants with healthy choices, many Bayview Hunters Point residents result to buying junk food at local liquor stores. Commonly, those in a food desert end up endup eating junk food such as chips and sodas from the liquor stores. Cheap and processed foods without the balance of healthy foods such as vegetables and fruits leads to obesity or diabetes.
The restaurants in Bayview Hunters Point has a maximum of 800 reviews. The restaurant with the most reviews is The Old Clam House which has a price range of $$ ($11-$30) with a health score of 82 out of 100. As the most recent review states, “The amount of food/quality your getting for the price is horrible.” Another example in BVHP includes Frisco Fried, a Soul Food restaurant, that is also a $$ rating restaurant with a health inspection score of 81 out of 100. This portrays BVHP’s available of fine dining as well as the quality of the restaurant and their inspection scores. As many people in Bayview are either low income and/or both living in poverty, there are not many restaurants beyond the $$ price range. As a result, many restaurants do not spend money to upkeep the overall restaurant health thus the lower health ratings.
Poverty is the state of being poor usually indicated by lack of local foods, lack of access of education and lack of health care. The median household income about $25,100 for a family of 4 indicates how much a family needs to survive. As many Bayview households are low income and do not make enough to survive, many find cheap alternatives for food. Concentrated poverty is the percent of poor who live in high poverty areas and looking at how poverty is concentrated in some neighborhoods. These neighborhoods are indicated by poor health services and decreased availability of high quality foods.
With the high poverty levels in Bayview Hunters Point, most of the residents in BVHP cannot afford to eat high quality food hence the amount of low inspection scores in this census tract and the amount of cheaper foods. Many restaurants in this neighborhood are selling cheap food, there is no need to worry about their image or representation of their food thus the lower inspection rating.
FiDi
The Financial District is known to be the most expensive neighborhoods in San Francisco. Financial District is in the 94111 zip code. Median household income in 2011 was $92,446 while the family median income was $127,596. In 2013, the median household income was $89,722 but the family household income was $129,000. The median income continues to increase with a estimate of $91,503 and $138,214 in 2015. In 2017, the median household income was $99,464 while the family median income was $143,167.
The most reviewed restaurant in 94111 is Hog Island Oyster Co. was 5600+ reviews as of May 2019 with a price range rating of $$. Being in the famous Ferry Building in the Embarcadero and on the Pier, this restaurant has a Health Score of 100 out of 100. Another restaurant in 94111 includes Waterfront Restaurant located on the Pier 7 with a $$$ price rating for their seafood. This restaurant has a health score of 89 out of 100. This indicates that there a lot of people in the area that continue to enjoy these fine restaurants that cost a lot as well as receive high inspection scores.
Mission and Marina
The Mission has been Latino population dominated since the 1900’s. With housing prices increasing in San Francisco Mission district, there has been a steep decline in Latino population of 47%. According to the San Francisco Office of the Controller and the American Communities Survey, in the 1980’s, 53% of households in the Mission had less than $50,000 in annual income which indicates that majority of them are low income residents but in 2000, only 40% had less than $50,000 in household income and only 37% between 2008-2012. While there was a decrease in low income people, there was a reciprocating distribution of income. In 1980’s, there was 13% of households making more than $150,000+ annually, and 28% of households between 2008-2012. This shows that affluent families are moving into the Mission and removing the low income class.
The Marina District/Cow Hollow neighborhood is in the zip code 94123. In 2011, the median household income was estimated at $104, 485 while the median family income was estimated at $167, 861. In 2013, the median household income was estimated at $112, 650 and the median family income was estimated at $170, 388. In 2015, the median household income was estimated at $124, 231 while the family income was estimated at $170, 179. In 2017, the median household income in this zip code was estimated to be $134, 809 while median incomes for families increased to $211, 304. This shows that median income in Cow Hollow increased drastically each year.
Gentrification is common as improvements and renovations of buildings and neighborhoods drives housing and rental prices up aggregating the housing crisis thus lowering the chance of survival of low income people in those areas. New establishments and improvements lead to increases in housing and neighborhood values that are well beyond low income families’ budgets. Gentrification is particularly common in San Francisco because of the new and upcoming financial and technology hub in not only San Francisco but the surrounding areas such as San Jose and Cupertino. Common companies such as Twitter is located in San Francisco, Apple in Cupertino, AirBnB in San Francisco, and Facebook in San Mateo. An increase of large technological companies cause an increase of affluent renters and buyers. To make space for more people and to alleviate the housing crisis, developers are suggesting increased heights to apartment buildings.
While more affluent people are moving into San Francisco’s transportation and cultural dense neighborhoods such as the Mission, more people are willing to spend more on food and fine dining in San Francisco. With fine and high quality foods are more in demand, many of the restaurants have to change menus or cuisines to meet these demands. Many people in the Mission line up for hours or spend months waiting for restaurants that have high ratings on Yelp as well as high inspection scores. Such restaurants in the Mission include Foreign Cinema which is a breakfast and brunch spot that has over 4600 Yelp reviews but also a popular Mediterranean dinner location with a three-dollar-sign ($$$) rating. A $$$ rating indicates that each plate is averaged between $31 to $60. Their Health Score is 88 out of 100 based on their Yelp page. Another popular restaurant in the Mission is Delfina, an Italian restaurant and bar, that also has a price range of $$$ but a health score of 96 of 100.
Restaurants in the Marina/Cow Hollow include House of Prime Rib and Gary Danko that receive $$$$ range each indicating $61+ per person. Gary Danko received a 92 out of 100 on their health inspection while House of Prime Rib received 96 out of 100 on their health inspection. Each with more than 5000 reviews on their Yelp page. This indicates that there a lot of people in the area that continue to enjoy these fine restaurants that cost a lot as well as receive high inspection scores.
For restaurants with such price ranges to survive in the market of so many different restaurants in San Francisco, they must have things that stand out and continue attracting customers. With higher inspection scores and reviews on service and cleanliness, many customers are willing to return for the higher quality of food. In addition, to enjoy such foods, many people will need the proper funds and income to enjoy high end foods often. With the increase in these restaurants, it is apparent that there are more affluent people moving into the Mission district of San Francisco.
While there are a influx of expensive cuisines and restaurants in the Mission, there are many landlords and homeowners that also want to make a profit. As landlords notices the demand for living space in addition to the increase of wealthy people, they do not hesitate but to evict long term tenants for new high paying tenants. As a result, many low income households are displaced because they can no longer afford to live or compete in these areas.
Chinatown
The most common neighborhoods in San Francisco that are affected by gentrification and has the highest displacement rates include Chinatown and the Mission District. Gentrification is portrayed in San Francisco through the upscaling and redevelopment of San Francisco’s historical Chinatown, one of the oldest and authentic Chinatown’s in the world. Many restaurants and shops were around since the Gold Rush in 1848. As tourist has substantially increased in the last decade, many restaurants and surrounding businesses had to cater to these tourists. In addition, the financial hub just a few blocks away from this Chinatown has grown exponentially. To cater to the tourist and the needs of affluent employees in financial district (FiDi), many restaurants will cater to the millenials instead of the locals.
In 2011, the estimated median household income in 94108, San Francisco’s Chinatown, was estimated at $33,191 while the family median income was $34, 337. In 2013, the median household income increased to $35, 427 while the family income increased to $36, 100. In 2015, the median household income continues to showing trends of increased median income. Household median income was $40, 435 in 2015 while the family median income was $38, 447. In 2017, the household median income dramatically increased to $55, 341 while the family income increased to $45, 177. In comparison to the median household income in Cow Hollow and the Marina district, the income in Chinatown is less than one-third of the Cow Hollow median incomes each year.
Restaurants in Chinatown are commonly mom-and-pop shops and barely any restaurant chains until recent years. Currently, the most reviewed restaurant in Chinatown is R&G Lounge with has over 4000 reviews but a $$ price range rating. Despite being the most reviewed resturant in Chinatown, they only receive a 74 out of 100 on their health inspection. Another popular location in Chinatown, Good Mong Kok Bakery, has a rating of $ for meals under $10 per person but they have a health score of 75 out of 100. Sam Wo Restaurant also located in the heart of Chinatown has a 75 out of 100 on their health inspection score as well. These restaurant health scores support the idea that lower household median income in San Francisco neighborhoods are correlated with lower restaurant health scores.