supervisors dto help the small businesses. thank you. [applause] president chiu: thank you, supervisor mar. i want to take a moment, i know it is a crowded chamber, we have an appeal that will happen at the end of this particular ceremony. it will last another 40 minutes or so. there is an overflow room in 263. i want to welcome all of you here to the celebration. i am pleased to be part of the third annual ceremony to recognize our cities small- business this. -- businesses.

i have worked with many of the small business leaders to recognize those businesses that are an integral part of our city. this is a ceremony that serves as recognition for the businesses here today and for the 85,000 other small start up businesses in san francisco. i want to join my colleagues and the mayor to recognize those businesses that standout in our district. i would like to invite the vice- president at the small business commission. to say a few words on behalf of the office of small business and a small business commission. -- the small business commission. >> thank you, president chiu. vice president of the small business commission. perhaps not quite on cue, but better late than never. small business is the lifeblood of the city's economy. i would like to share important facts with you.

did you know that small business employs 50% of all employees in san francisco? small business contributes approximately 52% of total sales taxes paid by businesses and san francisco. 99% of registered businesses in san francisco are small businesses,-nonprofits, the government, insurance companies, banks, and other financial institutions. small-businesses contribute to the vitality and of the backbone of our commercial corridors. although there are only 13 small businesses recognized today, this ceremony celebrate every small business in the city. i would like to share a couple of words with you regarding the small business assistance

center. the small-business assistance center provides direct services to clients do one-on-one assistance, navigation to city, state, permitting requirements, referrals to various small business resources including loans, workshops, training, technical assistance. the small business assistance center served over 2418 clients in the year 2011. including pre-start-ups, start- ups, existing, expanding, relocating, and business acquisitions. the office of each supervisor continues to refer clients to our office and staff. a little worried about the small business commission. -- a little word about the small business commission. the commission made recommendations to use the board

of supervisors. the commission also heard 30 policy matters in 2011. the commission would like to thank the board of supervisors for taking the commission's comments under advisement and in many cases, accepting the recommendations. our commission works hard to consider the impact of legislation will have on small businesses and we think this board for collaborating with us. -- thank this board for collaborating with us. the commission would also like to thank the various departments for their collaboration. we are improving the business climate and reputation for doing business with the city. it takes the entire city family to make this happen. thank you to a wonderful group of honor raised and congratulations to all that are

being recognized -- honorees and congratulations to all those been recognized today. president chiu: i want to take k moment to thank the office of small business for your -- take a moment to thank the office of small business. why don't we go to our next supervisor from district to? supervisor farrell: let me echo your comments. small business is the heart and soul of the neighborhood. i am honored to recognize a small business that has been operating in my district for over 25 years. it is the most widely known small-business in district 2. the marina times.

with us today is the owner of the marina times. i believe the publisher is here. a number of directors as well. i would ask all of you -- a number of the writers as well. i would ask all of you to come up to the microphone. colleagues, members of the public, "the marina times" has been a community newspaper for over 26 years. it has a 40 riders on staff, circulates about 30,000 -- writers on staff, a circular to about 30,000, reaches people through a robust website. it really has in the

investigative and public event journal of the marina for a number of years. it has evolved into a beloved, informative newspaper it has chronicled the san francisco news for decades. we have the honor and has been for a number of -- owner and has been for a number of years. she has been the editor in chief since 2006. she worked in creative services at apple. really takes the time to get to note the stories she writes about, the restaurant she writes about, including many chronicles of our beloved dog. we also have the publisher of "the marina times."

i see so many other writers. my wife is also a wroter. -- writer. susan and to all the writers, i want to say, on behalf of the board of supervisors, and on behalf of myself personally, thank you for being such a great small business and san francisco. the role in your place in district 2 cannot be understated. -- a role that you play in district 2 cannot be understated. thank you for your hard work. i want to congratulate you on this honor. thank you for all that you do

for our district. [applause] >> i want to thank you, supervisor farrell. you are good for the neighborhood. thank you for recognizing a neighborhood newspaper. we are a dying breed. with a social media craze and everything being on the web, bloggers, it is nice to celebrate people that actually try to get everything right and study it and do investigative journalism. we celebrate the businesses in district 2. we are supporting them. we will be heading up that ada is to soon. i want to say thank you for celebrating neighborhood newspapers and journalism. it is important that it keeps driving. thank you.

-- that it keeps thriving. thank you. [applause] president chiu: it is my honor to make the next presentation. this list is a wonderful cross-

section of the small businesses. it is a bit of a reflection on what my colleagues and i enjoy doing in our spare time, whether be spending time in bookstores, reading neighborhood newspapers, or eating pizza, ice cream, or chinese food. i have to admit that i have been partial to be oysters in my district. is tommy here? i did not see before. if you are not, i will pass for a moment and go to supervisor chu. supervisor chu: thank you. is eric wu here? come on up. today i have the great honor of commanding a great business in district 4. it is an ice cream shop. with us today is eric wu.

pollyann's is a local shop in the sunset district. he is the owner. it has been with the district for a very long time in. the family has been in the business and the owners since 1984. on any given day, you'll see a line of people going out the door. something you should know, when his father first took over, it offered about 250 flavors. now they have a collection of 500 flavors. all made by staff. about 50 flavors are offered at any given time. but of the most exotic flavors, -- it is a fritz that you either love or hate, but it is very good -- it is a fruit that you either love or hate, but it is very good, try it.

it is a tradition in our community. you will see a lot of kids who have fond memories going to that ice cream shop. if you are unclear about what flavor, you can spend the wheel and arrive at a random flavor. if you are walking your dog, you can go there and gets a free ice cream cone is good for your pet. i want to thank you for that. today, i want to thank you during much for being part of the sunset district family. being such a vibrant merchants. a lot of families have grown up with fond memories and we hope you have every success going out and the future. for anybody who is out on a sunny day, and we do have them out there, stop by for an ice cream. they truly are a unique local san francisco tradition. would you like to say a few

words? >> thank you, board of supervisors. we do not have many sunny days out there, but they do exist. we want to thank the board of supervisors for this recognition, and the city of san francisco. we have been serving for over 50 years. we hope to continue and other 50. thank you. [applause] president chiu: our next

commendation bowl be provided by -- will be provided by supervisor olague. supervisor olague: i am a supervisor of district 5. i had a hard time deciding who to honor. the booksmith . as we approach the did anniversary of the summer of love, i began to reflect on -- although that. it has been reflected or dismissed as a drug infested tree and come up for me, it represented a time of alternative values that include community, sharing, and compassion. it is these values are represented by both of these businesses. during a very painful divisive campaign, and he drafted an

essay that summarized the issues confronting the ha. the booksmith has been the focal for almost 40 years. the events are legendary. since taking over the store in 2007, they have sets the goals for themselves to create an independent bookstore for the 21st century. they want it to be a true community space. they increase the number of all other events from 70 per year to over 200 per year. the host community forums where people have civil dialogue. they recently hosted a series of forums on youth homelessness.

it is my honor, my pleasure to honor the booksmith today. we are honoring shoebiz. they have given back to the city. he opened his business in 79 and has since expanded to the mission. in addition to being a popular store, they are a community benefactor. they have already given $6,000 this year and a plan to raise $60,000 mark by the end of the year. these moneys come from both fund-raisers. he was -- he has inspired his son to continue the tradition of community giving. sean will make a significant contribution to the fundraising

effort also. they are building a hospital and supporting 150 orphans in haiti. i am pleased to also honor their store today. i want to encourage everyone to visit the neighborhood commercial districts in san francisco. in district 5, we have the inner sunset, the fillmore, the japan town. resist buying online this month for a change and walk around and appreciate the businesses and restaurants in these wonderful communities. i would welcome you all to say a few words.

>> i would like to thank supervisor olague. the booksmith has been in the haight asbury for 40 years. one of the things i did been most proud of is being involved in the newly formed eight as. merchants association. we have been working with -- eight asbury merchants association.

to make physical changes to our neighborhood. we really enjoyed working with her and appreciate her assistance. [applause] >> thank you, board members. we have been in the upper haight area since 1979. we have a plan to reach out to our community and provide funding looks through our businesses. through education and approach, as families -- approach to homeless families. my son started an organization called youth against poverty.

he has been working with orphans since he was 12 years. we approached our supervisor and she was kind enough to take this on with us. we have raised $6,000. i ask everyone to please participate. looked into this organization. we are planning to raise $60,000 for families that are homeless, they have children, and there are 2012 of them in san francisco. if you could join us, we are going to raise close to $100,000 by the middle of next year. in addition we are building a hospital in haiti and we already have built a dental office in tanzania. thank you, again, supervisor, for the opportunity. [applause]

president chiu: supervisor kim. supervisor kim: thank you. for many of my friends, they no, no -- they know how much i love to eat. they know how particular i am about the food i eat. i'm a liberal to honor one of those places -- i am really proud to honor one of those places. if i only had 24 hours left in san francisco, where would i go? this restaurant was the first restaurant that came to my mind. i will ask the family to come up. many of you note turtle power because it is close to city hall. it is one -- is the best pho i have ever had. i have doodles everywhere i go. it is one of life -- i have noodle's everywhere i go.

they have three restaurants, one in little saigon, and other south of market. it is a family-run business. employees 40 residents debate -- its employees and 40 residents. -- it employs 40 residents. their family lives in the city. we have had the president -- we have had the privilege to work with the family since been in office. they have contributed to the economic vitality of the little saigon and six street neighborhood. the daughter here today, the general manager, has done in your time and services translating language for other small-business owners said they can also apply for small- business loans and gain access to city incentives.

we appreciate this type of leadership and in custody. this is a small-business owner who wants to see his restaurant thrive, but the entire community as well. we're very excited when they opened their sixth street location last year. it does not just showcase pho, but other types of vietnamese cuisine. turtle power was founded -- the name is a translation of the historical landmark in the center of hanoi. the landmark was officially named in 1886. the family wanted to extend awareness of the popular historical spot and legendary beauty. he also wanted to remind people of the heroic, charming, and romantic aspects of the city of hanoi.

the family is from hanoi and emigrated here in 1991. i know what it's like to grow up in the back of a shop. running a small family business is challenging. they truly loving together and sharing the traditions of their home country. they pride themselves on their strong work ethic. in when i asked him a couple of weeks ago what his favorite -- he said he loved everything on his menu. each dish is amazing. i usually gets the number 4, but i've tried the others. the artist as amazing as well. -- they are just as amazing as well. i wanted to bring up the owners. [applause]

>> thank you to supervise a kim for the opportunity to come up here to -- so i have nothing more to say, thank you. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, everybody, for the recognition. we will continue to do well and grow and want to participate more in the community to make our district prosper. thank you. [applause]

president chiu: thank you, supervisor kim. supervisor elsbernd: thank you, mr. president. i gets the opportunity of getting a two-for-one. jeff, if you would like to come forward. he is the owner and proprietor of two fantastic small

businesses on the 700 block, just a block up from tower market. sometimes it is frowned upon, a formula of retail, roundtable. said. the other one is a genuine small business. pop sandwich. i selected just because of this year, jeff has celebrated 20 years of roundtable pizza. in many cases, they are franchises. they are operated by an individual. they do not have the big support -- jeff is celebrating 20 years of operating round table pizza. 4.5 years ago, he opened up pops

damage right next door. to those who have not had -- pop sandwich right next door. it is hands down one of the best salmon which -- best sandwiches in the neighborhood. you brought it back to life. thank you very much. the final reason i chose to is -- shows you, as a resident, what you have done for that neighborhood in having your business there and all the work that you do -- and i know as a resident, how much it means to you. we thank you for what you have done. the last reason, i know through personal experience with my personal experience with my father, and i'm willing to bet