Yo Yo’s in FiDi saved from closure thanks to news report and community

A beloved, reasonably priced cafe in San Francisco’s Fiscal District that was struggling with a sudden rise in hire along with back again lease payments appears to have been saved by faithful patrons, a information story aired by KPIX, and a modify of heart from its landlord. Yo Yo’s at 318 Pacific Avenue, near the intersection with Battery Street ,was recognised for very long lunch traces complete of place of work employees who waited to get their palms on its mouth watering and affordable Japanese noodle soup, sushi, and rooster teriyaki. 

KPIX, which has many employees who repeated Yo Yo’s given that the KPIX newsroom is found around the corner from the restaurant, aired a tale final 7 days that let viewers know the well-liked mom-and-pop cafe was in hazard of closing. Just times after the report aired, owners Lydia and Joseph Lee claimed their enterprise jumped by 40% which gave them the money essential to survive the lease hike. A person example of the neighborhood stepping up was the John Yehall Chin Elementary Faculty on Broadway which despatched Yo Yo’s a $200 purchase for food items for their students.

It didn’t stop there. “One time, a customer arrived in and he only requested the udon and he gave us $100 and explained, ‘You men really don’t shut, Alright?’ He comes like two, often three, situations a week,” Joseph Lee informed SFGate which studies that Yo Yo’s rent was lifted 6%. The landlord experienced also been requesting rent payments from last 12 months that the proprietors couldn’t pay back thanks to closures pressured by the pandemic. The Lees explained to SFGate that the landlord has dropped that ask for. It is unclear exactly what spurred the landlord’s modify of heart but you simply cannot help but think it was from the KPIX experiences and the outpouring of help.

“There are a great deal of superior individuals in this globe nonetheless,” Joseph Lee advised SFGate. Yo Yo’s has been serving prospects in the Economic District due to the fact 1988. Lydia, who was a single of the unique personnel, ended up getting the restaurant in 1997. The cafe has not observed a drastic increase in rates in a long time with its rooster teriyaki costing $6, its udon costing $4.50, and the soba managing you $5.25.