$4 toast is the last straw - motivates group to protest affordability issues in SF

[Liberal_in_LA]

$4 toast prompts housing petition

Everybody has their own "Holy cow, I can't believe life in San Francisco is so expensive!" tale of woe. For Eddie Kurtz, it was reading about a $4 piece of toast.

Venture Beat recently published a blog post titled "$4 toast: Why the tech industry is ruining San Francisco," citing a $4 piece of toast at the Mill on Divisadero. Kurtz, political director for the Courage Campaign, cited it as an example of an increasingly unaffordable San Francisco that motivated his group to launch a petition calling on Mayor Ed Lee to do something.

Of course, the petition is really about pushing the mayor to fight for affordable housing, not affordable toast, but it's all linked in the realm of this city is crazy expensive.

"It feels like there's a widening sense that this is out of control," Kurtz said. "It feels like there's just a widening gap, and regular people who often don't think about these things are having sticker shock about trying to find an apartment and pay the bills."

The petition reads, in part, "Sign on and tell Mayor Lee: San Francisco became one of the greatest cities in the world because it valued the working class. Unless you change course, our vibrant, diverse city will become a memory."

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/4-toast-prompts-housing-petition-4962002.php

[maxsolomon]

1. cream cheese, almond butter, and maple syrup aren't toast

they're expensive toppings that make up a significant portion of the cost.

[trumad]

2. Not 4 bucks worth.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

6. I'm sure someone thinks it's worth it. And I'm sure P. T. Barnum agrees with me.

[JaneyVee]

56. How many slices of toast are we talking? I would pay $3.50 for 2 slices of that

Sounds pretty hearty and filling for 2 slices, could be breakfast with a banana. But one slice is a no no. Wouldn't fill me up and is absurd considering an entire loaf of bread $4.

[Art_from_Ark]

47. I can make the cream cheese toast at home

for about 45 cents-- although maybe the rye bread won't be "dark mountain" rye.

Maple syrup-- about 2 or 3 tablespoons -- probably 25-35 cents worth (regular Vermont or Canadian maple syrup)

Homemade almond butter-- 40 or 50 cents worth ought to be enough to cover a slice of bread.

[Capt. Obvious]

63. Yeah! Why are these babies complaining?

Make your own toast commies.

[RedCappedBandit]

49. ROFL. Are you serious??????

[maxsolomon]

58. yep. as a heart attack.

fancy bread, fancy protein on top. there's a post below that says toast with butter at denny's is $2.20. this is $1.55 more, and it comes with protein on top. if it was a pb & j sandwich, would $4 be too much?

i see similar prices in seattle, portland, vancouver, eugene, etc. the west coast is EXPENSIVE, son.

tell me, how much should toast with almond butter cost? $3? $2? $1? what if it was $3.95? would that make it seem affordable?

[Throd]

3. I'll have #3.

[geek tragedy]

4. That's what happens when a place becomes attractive to rich people.

They . . . move there.

[SheilaT]

5. And what would be so hard about making toast at home?

said the lady who just made pizza for her lunch. I made the dough myself, and have leftovers for about four more meals. I'd say the entire thing cost around $5.00.

[REP]

10. I make my own bread. It takes 4.5 hours. Long time to wait.

I've got the time, but if I were still working, a $4 quick breakfast I don't have to make might seem reasonable (and I do live in the SF Bay). I personally dislike most breakfast foods, and these offerings actually look tasty.

And even though I do bake all our bread, I only bake one type a week (there's only two of us). So a slice or two of another type of non-factory bread can be appealing

[madville]

11. They might not own a toaster or oven?

The only option in their toast desert is over-priced convenience toast.

Just kidding around of course. I cook/prepare in bulk at home and make enough to last many meals. It's cheap, saves times and is very easy.

I can imagine San Francisco is ridiculous though, I lived near there from 1999-2000 with work. When incomes go way up prices tend to follow, that place wouldn't be open if someone wasn't paying that.

I would definitely rather have some of that delicious sounding $3-4 toast though instead of a $4 fast-food breakfast meal.

[Bluenorthwest]

21. SF's latest apartments are 200 sq feet and cost 1900 dollars a month.

I bet your kitchen is larger than that.

[Warren DeMontague]

33. ...what neighborhood?

Maybe you're looking in the wrong place.

[SheilaT]

55. Sadly, my kitchen isn't larger than that.

I do have about 900 square feet, two bedrooms, two baths. My kitchen is small, small enough that I cannot even consider buying a toaster oven -- I do have a toaster -- or any kind of food processor. I chop, slice, and grate by hand. But even if SF's latest apartments are 200 sq feet, most people don't live in that tiny a place.

Anyway, I do know that some people, like me, love to cook and make things from scratch, and others don't. The down side of living alone as I do, is that there are some things that aren't very practical to make for one, or that I often have leftovers I don't get around to finishing up.

[Starry Messenger]

7. Geeze, you can buy a loaf for that.

[REP]

13. You can bake at least 4 for that

I buy yeast by the pound, and you'd think I'd know how many cups of flour are in a bag by now but I don't ...

Still, it takes at least 4 hours. And the toast is there, with all the stuff. As I said above, if I were working, fully loaded bakery toast might seem like a decent quick breakfast option before hitting the office.

[Starry Messenger]

15. I would never pay $3.75 for a piece of toast in SF and I'm from San Mateo

Fully loaded convenience toast for that should come with coffee. If it doesn't, people working the tech industry up there are not paying enough taxes.

Buying a loaf and toasting every morning at home doesn't take 4 hours.

[REP]

16. Baking a loaf takes 4 hours ...

Okay, baking takes 33 minutes. First rise takes 1.5 - 2 hours; second rise takes another 1.5 - 2 hours.

I don't know about your commute but my old 8-mile commute on 235 took 40-60 minutes. Didn't really have time to run to the store, go back home, toast it and then start driving. I now have to take 17 just to get to the damn store.

Santa Clara Co taxes are high enough, thankyouverymuch! No idea what they are in SFCo but I'm sure they're not cheap.

[Starry Messenger]

18. Most people I know keep food in the house instead of shopping for one item before each meal.

I have no idea what baking has to do in this context. Most people who are poor are going to look at a piece of $4 toast and correlate it with the price of an entire loaf, which is also quite high at $4.

A gallon of gas is the same price and many people can't pay that to go to jobs that underpay.

[REP]

35. You said buy 1 loaf for $4; I said could bake 4 loaves for $4

I believe my initial response says that right in the header.

Most people who are poor aren't going to being going out for breakfast anywhere no matter how cheap the toast is.

[Starry Messenger]

36. I believe my initial response was to the OP.

Most people who are protesting for affordable housing are seeing the signs for $4 toast and comparing it to their grocery bills and living expenses.

If you have time to be a hobby baker, than you aren't the demographic who is protesting for affordable housing.

[REP]

38. I thought I was responding to a reasonable discussion. My mistake!

I hope your day gets a lot better, real soon

[Starry Messenger]

39. It's great, since it didn't involve $4 toast.

[REP]

40. That's fantastic!

I'm glad to hear it. Hope it just gets even better

[displacedtexan]

8. My favorite yelp review

The boyfriend and I came in for some afternoon coffee, after stuffing our faces at Green Chile Kitchen. Upon ordering, my boyfriend's eyes immediately shift to the cookies in the pastry case under the glass counter. He orders a chocolate-chocolate chip cookie, being the choco-holic he is.

When the girl behind the counter lifts up one cookie to place in a bag, all of a sudden the cookies are moving. As I take a closer look, they're FLIES. About 20 of them, swarming around the cookies, looking for place to land and settle again after being rousted from their gooey resting spots.

I pointed out to both the girl behind the counter AND my boyfriend that the cookies were covered in flies. By this time, the cookie was already in its bag and in my boyfriend's hands.

Girl behind counter: "Do you still want it?"

Seriously?! She didn't remove the uncovered plate of infested cookies from the pastry case, leaving the flies to their own devices, should they decide to move to the also-uncovered regular chocolate chip cookies next door. Nor did she say anything to her manager.

After reading that review, I won't be trying their toast! The Mill is hardly alone in its pretentious, overpriced crap for sale here in SF. There's a German Beer Garden type deal in the hayes valley neighborhood that's actually a couple of shipping containers on a vacant parking lot surrounded by a chainlink fence, with some picnic tables and benches. The beer is good, but $70 on two 1 liter beers, one cider and one order of sausage and potatoes and tip?

I don't think so.

[jberryhill]

9. You left out an important fact.....

[JVS]

12. Toast is always a ripoff. I went to IHOP with my mom a few weeks ago and we split an order of toast

She had ordered a breakfast combo off of the 55+ menu and some coffee.

When I got the check the coffee was $2.20 (all you can drink, but still unless you really want a lot of coffee it's expensive) and the toast was $1.80. I pointed out to her that you could easily spend 5 bucks after tip by coming in and getting toast and coffee.

[TwilightGardener]

14. I'll bet toast is cheaper in Sioux Falls, or Cleveland, or Lincoln, NE.

Why complain about it? Just move.

[REP]

17. ... or don't get toast there

[Bluenorthwest]

23. It's an indicative and outrageous price being mocked as part of a push for affordable housing

Because 'just move' is not really what you say to people who are being priced out of their own hometowns.

[Throd]

26. Maybe the price is high so they can pay employees to live there.

[beachbum bob]

19. go live somewhere else...

pretty simple solution.

[seveneyes]

20. CaliFrisco Toast adds three dollars for the privilege of just being there

Pay to play.

[Throd]

22. Smugness isn't free you know.

[Puzzledtraveller]

59. It's a built in cost.

and way too many pigeons will pay for that extra smugness.

[Warren DeMontague]

32. "Califrisco"?

What the fuck is a Califrisco?

[seveneyes]

41. A cool abbreviation for San Fransisco, California

Best presented by someone that has only visited there.

[Warren DeMontague]

42. cool?

Sure.

[displacedtexan]

64. Those of us who live in SF react a certain way to the tourist-use of "Frisco"

Lots of eye-rolling behind your back.

[seveneyes]

65. As expected

Smugness is a two-way street. You have to visit a city to find a one-way street.

[cali]

37. I can get a full breakfast (with homemade toast) for 4 bucks at my local diner

in my tiny town of 3,000

Hell, I can go here for dinner

http://clairesvt.com/

and have crispy braised pork belly with cabot clothbound cheddar grits, kimchi, bulgolgi sauce and poached egg for 13 bucks- and it's all local, organic ingredients

and for 4 bucks more I can have the world's best beer (according to ratebeer.com) it's local too.

or I can go here where this is also a focus on local foods and beer, and the prices are even cheaper

http://www.positivepie.com/hardwick/menu.php

[Starry Messenger]

43. This is not usual.

It's a response to an overheated market of tech workers who are inflating prices and driving out the working class folks who used to be able to afford to live in SF.

Anyone who pays that much for toast is a niche market. Once this bubble collapses (like the last time) this stuff will recede.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

24. All they have to say is it's some organic, mutation free, gluten free, specially picked berries....

....butter churned during the winter solstice by 5 virgins, vegan, foo foo, blah blah and people will pay ten dollars for it.

Face it, there are some naive people out there.

[Bluenorthwest]

25. Like NYC, SF is not really a city anymore but a litter box for the droppings of the rich

NYC has much more cushion in terms of impact, SF will soon be nothing more than heavily curated and highly inflated experiences on demand with no community, civic life or culture that along with the pretty views made the City desirable in the first place.

[geek tragedy]

31. "Like NYC, SF is not really a city anymore"

LMAO.

Reminds me of the Yogi Berra claim that "nobody goes there because it's too crowded."

Perhaps next time you visit NYC you should venture past Times Square and Rockefeller Center. There are even these places known as "outer boroughs" where 80% of us New Yorkers live.

[bettyellen]

34. the millions of us who live work and love it in NY and SF are laughing at this ignornace.

no community, civic life or culture? sounds like the boonies to me, where you see no one else all day unless you drive your gas guzzler for miles. doesn't describe city life at all.

[seveneyes]

44. The boonies are wonderful

And the wildlife are free.

[bettyellen]

45. Oh sure. But they aren't inherantly better, LOL. They can be a lonely place, and not so easy to

find people who share your values there- unless you go up to New England. Using a car for everything is also very unattracive to me.
Me, I couldn't keep my mouth shut to "get along"in a place with so many socially and politically conservative people. I would be a pariah. Great place to visit, but no thank you beyond that.

[frazzled]

27. Looks like $3.50 - $3.75 toast to me

and it's not just toast; it's toast with stuff. Maybe it's homemade bread. Maybe all the ingredients are organic.

Where's the $4 toast?

This is the sort of inverse of the old "welfare queen" stories the Republicans used to tell. Find a single individual and elevate her to some sort of sociological norm status for a particular demographic. Same here: I'm sure there are places in San Francisco to get $1.50 toast. But we have a picture of an upscale brunch place where toast dishes (that is, toast + stuff) costs $3.50 to $3.75. The earth is shattered!

[AnotherMcIntosh]

30. Unless I'm mistaken, the "$4 toast" was taken from another story. You're right, the graphic

doesn't support this particular story.

[Niceguy1]

52. at $3.75

With those yummy toppings I would buy it.

[Blue Owl]

28. Now that is some sour-d'oh toast

[AnotherMcIntosh]

29. I wonder what it goes for in Carmel.

Of course, if toast is expensive enough, you only need to sell one.

[Yo_Mama]

46. Well, the minimum wage has some bearing on the matter

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/02/san-francisco-minimum-wage_n_2397920.html

[jmowreader]

48. Toast for entitled rich people is not indicative of prices overall

I will wager that you can find $4 toast in any city in the US, if you do a little footwork.

[WestSeattle2]

50. Compare rental car rates between San Jose and

John Wayne/Orange County airports. Same car, same dates. I've noticed a consistent difference of about $250. Why? Silicon Valleyites fly into San Jose. They're able and willing to pay the exorbitant rates.

[RedCappedBandit]

51. Folks defending this because it has friggin cream cheese on it are a reel hoot. nt

[Bobbie Jo]

53. Folks arguing over the price of friggin toast are a real hoot....too. nt

[pa28]

57. Looks like a real bargain.

Toast with butter and maple syrup at a nice sit down place in San Francisco for less than four dollars seems very reasonable.

However, when the average rent for a one bedroom in SF is $2800 I'm guessing quite a few people have nothing left for anything else. Housing costs would seem to be the real problem.

[Cal Carpenter]

54. Let them eat cake!

[Bobbie Jo]

60. Yeah Toast!

[Iggo]

61. Drug buyer says, "That's twenty bucks worth?"

Drug dealer says, "It is if you pay twenty bucks for it."

[FreeJoe]

62. So what do you do?

If a city has become so desirable that it's limited resources are heavily used, what do you do to keep it from becoming an expensive place to be?