Outer Sunset locals bring well-known stores to lower Taraval street from their original locations 10 blocks away.

In 2015, a fire destroyed the Great Highway Market and half of Riptide, a bar on 44th and Taraval. It left the block with Bashful Bull Too and Brothers Pizza as the only options for food and drink.  Now, the area is being re-energized with up-and-coming local businesses from nearby Judah and Lawton streets.

Cole Cassidy, SF State history major who moved to lower Taraval street last year, said he’s excited the shuttered storefronts are opening with cafes, stores, and bars owned by local residents.

“I think it’s really cool because it’s definitely bringing that area to life, with a bunch of locals doing it,” said Cassidy.

The sign for the Great Highway Market is all that’s left of the charred grocery store. Behind parchment paper and painter’s tape, Outerlands owners Lana Porcello and Dave Mueller are busy getting the restaurant’s second location ready to open.

“The project will highlight and expand our bread program and in keeping with the style and ethos of Outerlands: cozy, sustainably sourced, rooted to the Outer Sunset and everything we love about being here,” said Mueller in an interview for Hoodline.

SF State child and adolescent development major, Charlotte Reider, is a Taraval street resident.  Reider likes the energy the new businesses are bringing to lower Taraval street, but wishes the neighborhood was getting a local grocer like Noriega Produce.

“I moved there after the Great Highway Market burnt down, but I’ve heard it had fresh local produce and affordable prices,” Reider said. “The new places opening are great for students who need part-time jobs.”

Contemporary coffee roaster Andytown opened recently on 3629 Taraval, just nine blocks away from their original Lawton street location.

They are not the newest espresso house on the block. Streamline Coffee opened recently, also serving artisanal coffee and pastries as well as more savory breakfast options. Carly Cabral, a SF State environmental studies major, lives on Taraval and recently noticed the new coffee shops. She likes that there are now more places to hang out on Taraval, but also mentioned the limited grocery supply.

“I usually go to Judah or Other Avenues to buy organic food, and even then it’s expensive, so I buy what I think is reasonable and do the rest of my grocery shopping elsewhere,” said Cabral.

Vinyl fans have a new place to browse LPs at the new Tunnel Records + Beach Goods. According to the company’s website, Tunnel Records is owned by husband and wife, Andrea de Francisco and Ben Wintroub.

The store boasts a small but beautiful selection of Album Surfboards shaped by Matt Parker. Wintroub, a Bay Area native and an experienced big wave surfer, has hand-chosen each design for the waves at Ocean Beach.

“This one is for when it gets serious out there,” Wintroub said, holding up an 8-foot surfboard with a reflective gloss finish. The surfboard is built to handle waves up to 20 feet.

“ I’ve got one just like it,” said Wintroub.

While there isn’t a finish date as of yet for the new Outerlands location, Eater reports that the owners are in the process of acquiring the Great Highway Market’s liquor license, possibly indicating a retail location instead of a second restaurant.