Day 28 - Closing Time Part Deux

When I was a kid, my brother used to take guitar lessons over on Fillmore and Pine. Sometimes I would take the bus out there with him and my dad, just so I could get a treat at the Boulangerie across the street. The pastries at this little French shop were some of the best that I'd ever had; colorful varieties of macarons de Paris, canelés de Bourdeux, and almost any French treat you could think of.

Years later that boulangerie became so popular that it expanded, and opened up several locations across the city. Like any successful business, it attracted the interest of another much larger business, and was eventually bought out by Starbucks.

Since the buy out, the quality of the food at these boulangeries has gone down slightly. While initially they were likely buying locally sourced, carefully selected ingredients, they now probably have to purchase in bulk from larger vendors.

When I found out that Starbucks decided to close down all of the boulangeries in San Francisco, I was sad, but I understood that it is the cycle of life in the business world.

I visited the Boulange near my work one more time recently. I enjoyed a grilled-cheese sandwich with a side salad, and bought 7 macarons, which came with a free hard-cover cookbook (a going out of business deal). As I flipped through the pages of beautifully photographed French food, I wondered what would take the places of all the soon-to-be vacant locations in the city.