Butter & Crumble owner Sophie Smith ended the lease for her planned North Beach cake shop at 301 Union St. She said permit, fire-safety and zoning hurdles could make opening cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and take years; she is seeking another site.
Smith said the space covered two lots with separate addresses, and two-thirds had a residential-use designation. She wrote that the Department of Building Inspection later found a 2017 permit showing a wall between the lots, with no record of its removal. In her account, commercial use would require new rollup doors, separate evacuation routes and fire sprinklers on both sides.
After weeks of working with SF Planning, the Department of Building Inspection and the Office of Small Business, Smith said they could not find a solution and she left the lease amicably. She said she did not blame the city. She is considering renting shared space to begin cake production and give employees an opportunity to advance. Office of Small Business director Katy Tang said the office would continue to support the team and offers entrepreneurs leasing services at no cost.
