is the ability to volunteer and give back to the community that we have lived in and own a business in. it has been a real privilege to partner up with the passage of benefit community district. i would like to thank the executive director. this is a wonderful partnership that the city has created to crit these public spaces. any small business owner who ever has the opportunity to join with the city to volunteer and give back to the community, this is a real interesting and a wonderful learning experience to do that. thank you very much and we appreciate it. [applause]

>> colleagues, as we know and as we often paraphrase, small businesses really are the economic engine of san francisco. before i recognize the small business for district 5, i would like to say thank you to the small business commission. i think this process has grown tremendously over the past few years. last week, i was actually at an event sponsored by "the bay

guardian," that does a great job of recognizing the small businesses. i think that san francisco is growing to a point of finally recognizing what an economic engine is part about -- is all about. in every neighborhood, there is a great cafe with a purpose. this really deaadds to san francisco. i get to recognize the -- cafe of japan town. [applause] this is an institution in japan town. but this is a tight community.

we have the oldest japan town in the united states. there are only three that remain in the u.s.. that puts a lot pressure on a community that is struggling to preserve their economic vitality and their cultural identity. i am honored to be the representative of this area. -- comes from a community of small business owners. shebaa look in the footsteps of her mother by opening up a floral shop and then her cafe. this has been there since the early 1990's. this is like the cafes that we know in the city and county of san francisco. these become the meeting place for revolutionaries and those

that want to take care of city and neighborhood businesses are just those that want to relax. this is the meeting place, that gathering place as many of us know that it is more than that, and also as that level of anchor to a community like in japan town that is going through some transition right now so that it hopes to continue to be here for another hundred years after just recently celebrating its centennial and we are relying on the stability and the know-how of proprietors like carol here. not only does she have the cafe in japan town, she is a concession air of the japanese tea garden making it very competitive process and one rising to the standard of vacation that makes me extremely proud by the fact that she has conceived -- confirmed that.

they really work together on so many issues. japan town emotionally tested our own community here so the community rapidly deployed together and doing everything possible to find a race anywhere they possibly could in the most traded way to be able to show their grassroots know how and sending the support back to japan. thank you for the great leadership of carol and we would like to recognize her for district 5 small business. thank you. [applause] >> good afternoon, supervisors.

thank you very much for your kind words. i have been in japan town a long time now and i really made a home here. i am at the teagarden but japan town is actually where my roots are. i hope through the support of this commission that you can help japan town still live. thank you. [applause] [applause] >> congratulations.

the next accommodation will be provided by supervisor mar. >> it is really a pleasure to acknowledge one of the incredible businesses in the richmond district and like others it was a very difficult decision before i acknowledge the business, i wanted to thank regina and her staff, i think that chris was here a little bit earlier. there has been tremendous work. there are a number of activities on saturday, especially, with efforts that are going on to shop local but it should be every day that we have that spirit of shopping local and supporting the backbones of our neighborhood. first i see jetta and all of the small business commissioners. thank you for the hard work. i'm looking at the website.

-- has run the place for 17 years. i could smell the bakery from my house. throughout the day as well, they have helped to revitalize the small in richmond area as well.

keeping the neighborhood beautiful with what they have done, with st. escaping and other things around the business. mike currently runs the bakery and -- as well since their parents retired. about a year ago, they thought that the business needed new energy and a renovated it. this is a tremendous relegation that helps our whole neighborhood with benches that curves around the trunks of trees and this is a place where kids and families become too because this is a beautiful place to be. they have added a great outdoor seating areas and expanded the seating areas. my understanding is that you are serving a much larger area now than just our neighborhood. they're baked goods are incredible.

this support other small businesses. you might want to try other things on their menu. the cookies are what my office loves as well. i wanted to say that they're baked goods are incredible and their menu is a traditional eastern european recipes like wheat and rye bread, pastries, croissant's. they partner with other local businesses. cinderella is a prime example of the richmond district businesses and it enriches the diverse character of the neighborhood. they bring a tradition of international cuisine to our whole city and it shows what a strengthening character it is to have cinderella in our

neighborhood and in our cities. [applause] >> thank you for nominating gas and a special thanks to supervisor eric mar. we look forward to serving the community and working with other businesses in the city. we really enjoy being part of the richmond neighborhood and thank you once again. [applause] >> as has been mentioned, we all

know the importance of small business to the city of san francisco. not only do they provide the majority of jobs in san francisco. nationally, 60% come from small businesses. particularly in times of economic downfall. people often resort to terror entrepreneurship -- people often resort to entrepreneurship. i have the honor today to highlight two small businesses. we honor these businesses both to see how they are important to the vibrant and development of the building of our neighbors but also to highlight the challenges that our businesses

face here in san francisco. i represent some of the older parts of the city of san francisco but we have some very young developing neighborhoods despite that in the south of market, tenderloin, treasure island. the two businesses are passion campaign and -- fashion cafe and -- passion cafe. it opened in 2010. this is on 63 behind market and mission. this meant over $2 million renovating a 100 year-old building that used to have a liquor store so you can imagine how they changed the face of six street. they have hired over 20 people in the neighborhood to work their and continue to let

nonprofit use their space for community meetings. they've also supported the asian film festival. they have also posted committee meetings for public safety, and the list goes on. like many of the businesses that took a chance on six street include other businesses such as miss saigon, split the seduction, and -- they served tasty quizzing. they have something very unique which is a rooftop and dining area which is a beautiful place to eat on a warm day. steve it is and public --

champion. he really took that on to more than just an advocacy level when he walked into the restaurant at 7:00 a.m. and a robbery was taking place. many flat screen tvs and other items were still in the store. as one of the burglars come up the stairs actually hit him with a bottle of wine and with blood gushing down his face, he did not stay down but actually ran after the offender down the street. he was 62 years old. he took down someone in their 20s and he refused to get off until the police officers came to arrest him. [applause]

you are a role model and we appreciate you taking the time to invest in our neighborhoods and believing and are never as -- in our neighborhoods. we assisted with urban solutions and much of the other support that we have in district 6. this is located on folsom st. between sixth and seventh avenue. this is a very delicious ethiopian restaurant and was supported by the economic revitalization program. this is -- is the mother of three daughters and is an immigrant ethiopia. she wanted to share a distinctly ethiopian approach to food, one

that emphasizes the communal sharing of meals that eating with your hands is the way for people to come together. our office after the f first board meeting went to -- to celebrate. she spent over a year working on the space to open in 2010. her daughter how i met a year prior, i believe, at a public service award. she is a lincoln high school senior and will be graduating in two weeks. [applause] we are honoring her for her public service leadership at lincoln high school and her

older sister is a graduate. she said that all the hard work has been worth it. work has been worth it. i want to show my three girls that they believe in it, anything is possible. this is what i have learned for myself and have taught my children. a couple of weeks ago, my office was in folsom because of fire had taken place, at the hotel with 48 units. this occupied the ground floor space. the building has been declared uninhabitable. i really want to highlight the importance of supporting the new business that comes to help revitalize the community, and also stylets of the challenges. and i know that you will talk about these as you speak to the board of supervisors. thank you so much for being here

today. this means so much in terms of small business. this is the highest commendation and -- the highest commendation for what you have done. thank you. >> hello, everyone. we are honored -- all of us are humbled by this recognition from the great mayor, and the supervisor who has accomplished more than district 6 has seen in the past. and to the supervisors, we thank you. four years ago, my business partner -- my business partner and i had a vision or we could make a difference. in 2007 we purchased the most

blighted building in sixth street. we took the plants from 1910, and reproduced these into the new fashion cafe. you truly feel as if you passed through a time warp going into the cafe. i always knew that if one great project took off, the rest would follow. i did not imagine that with the help of the board of supervisors, we could accomplish so much. the sixth street revival began in earnest, as this up in the face of diversity, we met a statement that the neighborhood was ready for change.

we had the courage to bring this to sixth street. we put our lives on the line to say that the great interest of san francisco -- this would not lead to a ghetto. we were all inspired by the new supervisor, and with the aid of the president of the board of supervisors, we have begun to make this difference, and with a few tweaks in enforcing the laws, a party on the books we are on the cusp of having a great neighborhood. this has brought up a new stability that as long sought. we cannot dictate the peaceful people who are living out their

lives on our neighborhood. this is a neighborhood of disenfranchise residence, with many other outstanding residence -- residents and some are floundering. we at passions cafe , we give people with problem passed a second chance. i will continue to be on the board, in conjunction with urban solutions. we will have a longtime commitment to advancing these causes. i want to thank you for the honor that you have given us. thank you.

>> thank you. we appreciate this very much. thank you for recognizing us today. this is the right time for us to come. we really appreciate this. we have this one year ago and this was on fire. everything was destroyed. we were very sad, and this is a new beginning for us. we will look at this soon, and here -- >> we thank you, supervisor, for coming to support us.

you have only been in office such a short time. and i have had some of the interactions with you. this fire is not going to stop us and we will open again. my mom is so strong. and we are thankful. [applause]

[applause] >> the next presentation is by our colleague from district no. 2. >> before i do this, i would like to mention the members of the small business commission. today, i have a great honor of recognizing one of my favorite restaurants in the second district. here are the owners. if they are still here? he is no longer with us?

he had to take off. that is the way that things go here. this came up to san francisco -- and this has operations in a number of different districts. and one of my favorite locations, the one on fillmore street. i think a few things that make them stand out and really this is the fundamental commitment to give back to the community. they pay above the minimum wage, providing health care and other benefits to the employees. their business has made a pledge to contribute to the community, and every week, all year long, the host the committee fund- raiser and donate a percentage of sales to organizations focus on children's health and welfare.

-- health and welfare. they have given $30,000 to the organizations dedicated to education and will give over $130,000 in 2001. and besides being a business that gives back to the community, they are extremely successful. and also, they are a fun place to go, not just for people after softball games, but also for families. and having movie night with the kids. we have done this number of times and we're honored to have you today. thank you for everything you do for the community. thank you. >> i would like to say thank you, this is truly an honor to be here and be appreciated. and i want to thank all the other small businesses in san francisco that paved the way.

if it was not for the small businesses, nobody would be here. this is an amazing city and we are privileged to be able to do business. >> the next presentation is by supervisor elsbernd. >> last but not least, let me just say to my colleagues, a few of you show some places i would have loved to have selected.

thank you. i was just saying, a lot of you chose some places i absolutely loved. my choice to date is a very special place, in district 7. today is a good day for ocean avenue. my selection is also on ocean avenue. i would like to thank him and ask him to come up. >> let me tell you a little bit about this. they have been there -- and when you think small business, this is small business. pretty much, this is cheesecake. you are not goingth