Catch the Hello Kitty Cafe Truck Cruising Around the Bay Area This Summer

Sanrio’s bright pink Hello Kitty Cafe truck is cruising around the Bay Area as part of its summer 2024 tour, the Mercury News reports. Macarons, madeleines, and giant Hello Kitty sugar cookies are the main feature of this menu, but the truck is also selling 50th anniversary merch like keychains, patch sets, enamel pins, shirts, tote bags, and throw blankets, while supplies last. The Hello Kitty Cafe truck swung through Walnut Creek on Saturday, June 22 — next, catch it in San Francisco at Stonestown Galleria on June 29; San Jose on July 13 at Santana Row; and Pleasanton on July 20 at Stoneridge Shopping Center.

New data challenges Valencia corridor struggles

A new report from San Francisco’s Controller’s Office suggests that Valencia Street’s controversial bike lanes have not, in fact, caused the street’s commercial struggles, as some business owners have claimed, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The report used sales tax data to illuminate the bike lanes’ effect on Valencia businesses “in the aggregate,” according to the Chron. The Valencia Corridor Merchants Association critiqued the report, saying in a statement that it “presents a limited view by focusing solely on aggregate sales tax data” and doesn’t speak to the bike lanes’ effect on individual businesses.

The Marshall Store expands to Tomales

Famed seafood spot the Marshall Store has opened a second restaurant in Tomales, SFGATE reports. Head chef Mark Malicki, a veteran of Petaluma’s Tea Room Cafe, is serving a takeout menu of ceviche, tacos, campechana, and other breezy dishes at Out the Door. The new spot is geared especially toward beachgoers and Tomales locals: Owner Shannon Gregory told SFGATE he was motivated to open the new restaurant following a number of Tomales restaurant closures.

Chisme launches “chef’s late-night munchies” series

Chef Manuel Bonilla’s Oakland pop-up Chisme is dishing up a “Chef’s Late-Night Munchies” series this summer at Low Bar. As Bonilla wrote on Instagram, the series is an homage to what chefs crave at the end of their workdays — “After a hard service, totally depleted and just wanting something tasty, it’s most likely not healthy, but it’ll put a smile on their faces and let them forget about whatever BS they had to deal with that day.” Bonilla is inviting three chefs into the Low Bar space for the series, which takes place during their late-night happy hour: Anthony Salguero of Popoca from June 24 to 27; Janice Dulce of FOB Kitchen from July 29 to August 1; and Sincere Justice from Tacos Sincero from August 26 to 29.