By Noma Faingold
It's a reasonably sunny afternoon at Clement Street's Toy Boat by Jane, the Richmond District kitschy café, which opened in 1982 and still pretty much looks the same, with nostalgic figurines like Fred Flintstone and Mr. Potato Head sharing shelf space with Dick Tracy PEZ dispensers behind the refrigerated ice cream cases.
A steady flow of diverse customers enters the shop. There's a mother with two young boys, one immediately mounting the mechanical pony in the center of the room. She inserts two quarters into the slot to make the ride start. Her other child goes straight to the ice cream counter, peers at the flavors on his tiptoes. A middle-aged man orders his usual cappuccino and sips it on an ultramarine blue bench outside. A family of tourists enjoys their ice cream in a booth. A very pregnant woman taste tests three flavors before deciding a scoop of Golden Gate Swirl will satisfy her craving.
Casually dressed in distressed jeans, charcoal pullover and gray suede combat boots, Amanda Michael, 55, who owns the Jane Group of Bay Area cafes and bakeries, along with catering, e-commerce and wholesale divisions, walks into Toy Boat, which she bought from original owners Jesse Fink and Roberta Mindich-Fink in 2020, when they retired. She looks like she could be a customer and, in fact, she was in high school.
The San Francisco native, who grew up in Russian Hill, used to take the bus with her friends and hang out at Toy Boat.
Amanda Michael owns the Jane Group of Bay Area cafes and bakeries, along with catering, e-commerce and wholesale divisions, including Toy Boat, an Inner Richmond landmark she used to frequent as a high school student. Photo by Noma Faingold.
"There weren't that many welcoming places for kids and teenagers that were open in the evening," Michael said. "Then, when my kids were younger, I would bring them here all the time. It's such as classic San Francisco spot."
It didn't make sense to acquire Toy Boat, especially at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The dessert cafe is almost the antithesis to the brand she began building in 2011 with Jane on Fillmore, a trendy café with high-quality baked goods and upscale breakfast and lunch fare, which Michael describes as having a "punk rock tea house vibe."
Her husband, Michael Harrington, who has his own real estate company, thought she was insane.
"I didn't care if it was a bad idea," Michael said. "This is a business with a lot of personality. It was not going to close on my watch. People in the community wanted it to continue."
Michael didn't want to convert Toy Boat into another Jane outlet. However, aside from featuring ice cream and toys, she saw the similarities.
"Jesse served salads. We do salads. He made sandwiches. We make sandwiches," she said.
She brought in Jane pastries and breads. She continued serving Double Rainbow and Mitchell's ice cream and added flavors from the Sunset District's Hometown Creamery.
"All I cared about was preserving the feel and being part of the community," Michael said.
After Fillmore came Jane on Larkin (2013) and Jane the Bakery on Geary (2016). There are catering, retail and wholesale departments. In 2022, Michael acquired Sweet Things of Tiburon and San Francisco. The company now has 160 employees, two of whom are her adult children, Gus, 26, and Jane, 24. Gus, who has an engineering/computer science degree from George Washington University, runs technical operations, including the point-of-sale systems and e-commerce platforms. Michael's daughter is involved with marketing and social media.
The company's general manager, Tom Hopson, was there at the beginning. He started in a counter position at Jane on Fillmore.
"I was really excited to get that job," he said. "I felt it was really special early on. I was doing everything in the store that I could do."
Hopson, 35, became general manager in about a year. He said he is not surprised by the growth of Jane.
"Amanda is a great leader. She allows people to be themselves," he said. "She makes me feel like I'm a part of it. My opinion is valued."
Catering Manager Emma Benson started out making pastries at the Fillmore location shortly after it opened. She worked alongside Michael, a self-taught chef and baker, who learned almost everything working at restaurants since she was in college. Although she did take a few years off to be a stay-at-home mom, she never stopped baking.
Toy Boat by Jane owner Amanda Michael bought the shop at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. "I didn't care if it was a bad idea," she said. "This is a business with a lot of personality. It was not going to close on my watch." Photo by Noma Faingold.
"The products are Amanda's recipes," Benson said. "They make you feel like you're at home."
Benson, 36, views Michael as much more than a boss or a mentor.
"She's driven but she's gentle," Benson said. "She just cares for people. She's been there for me. I had a string of bad things happen to me, including my house burning down. She offered to have me stay with her. Even if I wasn't working with her, I would still want her to be part of my life."
Michael tries to visit each store almost every day, not to micromanage, but to be inspired by her staff.
"The most fun is working with these younger kids," she said. "Some people bag on the young, but I love the kids I get to work with. It's really satisfying to see someone grow, learn and make progress in their careers and their lives."
Toy Boat by Jane is located at 401 Clement St. Hours: Sunday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Learn more at itsjane.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment