North Beach

Heart of the City
North Beach

Meet some of the people working hard to maintain the culture and character of North Beach, one of San Francisco’s oldest neighborhoods.

Most people are stunned when they learn that San Francisco is a city of less than a million people, squeezed onto a tiny 49-square-mile grid at the tip of a narrow peninsula. How could a place that lives so large in the public imagination and that has had such a powerful influence on our culture, our politics, and the technology that shapes our lives be so…small?

The same could be said of North Beach, one of the San Francisco neighborhoods that many consider to be the heart of the city. How could such a tiny neighborhood become and remain a beacon for writers, artists, and filmmakers who would shake the world with their creations?

To the people who live and work here, the answer is simple: a respect for tradition, a curiosity for what’s new, and a belief that your neighbors are part of your family.

Heart of the City

North Beach

Server at Cafe Zoetrope

Where People Come to Create

Artist Jeremy Fish moved to San Francisco 30 years ago, and has lived in North Beach for most of that time. His decision to put down roots here had as much to do with finding a once-in-a-lifetime apartment listing as it did with the artistic history of the neighborhood.

“This was the hub for jazz music, for writers, for poets,” he says. “Ferlinghetti, Kerouac, Ginsberg—all of those sort of characters made it happen in this neighborhood."

Artist Jeremy Fish in North Beach

The Beatnik scene inspired and attracted the next generation of disruptors. In 1972, film director Francis Ford Coppola purchased the Sentinel Building, an iconic North Beach structure at the intersection of Columbus Avenue and Jackson and Kearney streets. Some of his most memorable films were brought to life in this neighborhood; he worked on the screenplay for The Godfather at Caffe Trieste and edited Apocalypse Now in the Sentinel basement.

Lidia Valledor has managed Cafe Zoetrope, which occupies the ground floor of the Sentinel Building, for the past 16 years and knows its history well. “Francis came from Los Angeles looking to create a new space to work,” she explains. “He created American Zoetrope, his production company. He put his office here. He moved his family here. For Francis, North Beach is a very special place.”

Lidia Valledor at work in North Beach's Cafe Zoetrope

As part of the generation that came after Coppola, Jeremy believes that this creative spirit still animates North Beach. “There’s been this resurgence of creative business in the area,” he says. “This neighborhood has a long-standing tradition of really caring about the arts.”

“There’s a sense that if you’re going to create, create here.”

A Neighborhood Family

Lidia was born and raised in Argentina. The diversity and hospitality of North Beach is what has compelled her to stay. “You have this very European atmosphere, with this blend of cultures,” she says. “I think everybody feels welcome in this neighborhood.”

Fellow transplant Jeremy agrees. “I moved 3,000 miles to go to art school out here. I have zero family on the West Coast. This neighborhood has become my family.”

It should come as no surprise that North Beach, one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, is full of family-owned businesses. Among them is Firenze by Night, a classic Italian restaurant now run by the fourth generation of the Giusti family.

Nadia Giusti, owner of Firenze by Night

“Firenze by Night was opened in 1987 by my father, Sergio, and my mom, Marcia, with the help of my grandfather,” says current owner Nadia Giusti. “My father does all the cooking. He learned all of his recipes from his mother in Italy.”

Nadia and her brother Paolo spent their childhood in the restaurant, but their involvement as adults wasn’t always a guarantee. “I worked in fashion and loved it,” recalls Nadia, “But then came to help the family a little bit. A little bit turned into a lot. Now I can’t go even a block without running into 15 people I know.”

Yet Nadia has no regrets. She speaks with pride about how the restaurant has become a part of people’s lives, including one family for whom Firenze by Night is a Mother’s Day tradition. “They’ve been coming for 30 years, and they used to be a family of seven: grandparents, the parents, the young kids. Now, those kids have kids, and now they’re a party of, like, 37.”

“It gives me joy every day. We get to see…families building and growing.”

North Beach

Where to Eat in North Beach

Firenze by Night is just one of the many neighborhood choices available for authentic, traditional Italian dining.

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The Heart of the City

For Lidia, the unhurried nature of North Beach is part of its appeal. “People can come here and relax,” she says. “You can come here with a book, sit, have a glass of wine…and nobody is going to be rushing you out.”

“North Beach is going to be more and more special with time. So, I think it’s our job to preserve that.”

For Jeremy, the way that North Beach has withstood multiple waves of change is what sets the neighborhood apart. When you’re sitting in Caffe Trieste, for instance, “you have no idea if it’s 1950, 1980, or 2010. It just has a very timeless quality to it.”

 

Inside Firenze by Night in San Francisco's North Beach

However, change can be good—if it’s done right. Nadia says that she and Paolo regularly meet to ask each other, “What needs to change…so that we can become better in the community?”

That attitude about the future ensures that the North Beach of tomorrow will still look like the North Beach of today. “There’s so much to see here,” says Nadia. “There’s so much art on the walls. There’s murals. There’s beautiful parks, beautiful churches. There’s great restaurants, great shops. Wine bars, regular bars, dive bars—just a lot to see!”

“I grew up in North Beach, and I honestly believe it’s the best neighborhood in San Francisco".

Performers on stage at Club Fugazi in "Dear San Francisco"

See "Dear San Francisco" at Club Fugazi

The legendary North Beach theater is now home to an awe-inspiring, acrobatic love letter to San Francisco that promises to thrill audiences of all ages.

Buy Tickets
A crowd enjoys food and drink along San Francisco's Valencia Street
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Tyler Cohn headshot
Tyler Cohn

Tyler is the Sr. Manager of Global Content & Communications at San Francisco Travel. He has lived in San Francisco since 2015 and has been part of the San Francisco Travel team for just as long. He enjoys splashy production numbers and outdoor sporting events equally, which means you can usually find him at one of San Francisco’s many great theaters or at Oracle Park, cheering on the Giants. 

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