HI NRG built its weekend lines on Inner Clement Street. On Sept. 16 it opened quietly at 5801 Geary Boulevard, on the corner of 22nd Avenue. That puts it 16 blocks west of the Clement Street pop-up that made it famous, on a much quieter sidewalk.
Almost everything about the new space is built to reward the people who make the trip, starting with the furniture.
Trading Clement's foot traffic for a quieter corner
For close to two years, HI NRG ran as a coffee residency inside High Treason, the wine bar at 443 Clement Street near Sixth Avenue. Some of the proceeds went to High Treason's owner, and the weekends drew long lines. Co-owner Luis Gonzalez called that partnership "incredible," but he told Mission Local that popping up has its limits, down to hauling heavy machinery in and out.
He also had hopes for that quieter sidewalk. In the same May interview, Gonzalez said he hoped a location this far from Clement's heavy foot traffic would shrink the lines and bring in a more "intentional" and curious customer. He also hoped it would put off people who "just want to grab their (cafe) de olla, take a photo of it for Instagram and then leave."
That's an unusual choice for a small business. On Clement, the lines showed demand, and walk-in traffic was the thing a new landlord would usually be paying for. HI NRG left it behind anyway. In the San Francisco Chronicle, the owners said their priority was the 20 to 30 people, mostly locals, who came to the Clement pop-up every day.
The move also puts them a few blocks from where the coffee side of the business started. The Coffee Movement on Balboa Street near 19th Avenue is where Gonzalez and co-owner Nathan Kruse first learned the trade.
A 700-square-foot room built to make you stay
The corner used to be AyDea, a Tatar café. It's about 700 square feet and seats roughly 25 inside, with a few tables outdoors. The owners kept a long bench that runs around the edge of the room. They added a green-and-white checkerboard floor, red velvet curtains and a disco ball, and they left out Wi-Fi and outlets. They told the Chronicle the goal was for customers to talk to each other and to the staff.
There are bins under the seats. On opening day, Gonzalez explained them to Mission Local with a question.
"You ever walk into a place with nowhere to put your jacket?"
Nobody needs a place for their jacket during a two-minute pickup. The bins only make sense in a room where people sit down and stay a while, which is the customer Gonzalez said he hoped the Geary location would draw.
The menu points the same way. In May, Gonzalez described the plan as "more of a wine bar that just happens to serve the best coffees in the world." Wine and beer are new here. The owners told the Chronicle they added them so industry workers in the Central Richmond would have somewhere affordable to drink.
- Coffee: Kruse and Gonzalez still run the program. It sticks with light-roasted beans from roasters like Amsterdam's Dak, plus coffees made with experimental methods such as co-fermentation. The café de olla made the move, and the affogato is served after 5 p.m.
- Beer and wine: Beer includes rotating local craft brews like Original Pattern Brewing's hazy IPAs from Oakland, plus a $4 Modelo and Lucky Buddha. The wine list changes often and has no fixed regional focus.
- Food: Co-owner Clara Liang bakes as Vinegary Personality. Her lineup includes cheddar-chive biscuits in the morning and a red bean sesame cookie inspired by the sesame balls at Wing Lee Bakery. There's also a lemon olive oil cake, a sesame ice cream sundae, a vegetarian sandwich on a baguette from Day Moon in the Outer Sunset, and butter-and-jam toast made with Full Belly Farm jam.
Liang described the food to the Chronicle as "food you want to get after swimming at China Beach." Gonzalez and other Bay Area DJs play records from a booth to the left of the bar, both during the day and at night.
The hours run long past Balboa's coffee day
The room is set up for long visits, and the hours make that possible. HI NRG's website lists Wednesday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Last call for espresso and wine is 10 p.m., and the kitchen closes a little earlier. It's closed Monday and Tuesday, so check the day before you walk over.
Compare that with the coffee spot nearby. The Coffee Movement at 1737 Balboa Street is open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends. That leaves HI NRG serving coffee for six to eight hours after the other shop has closed, and those are the hours when the affogato and the wine list come out.
| Place | Address | Open, per its own site |
|---|---|---|
| HI NRG | 5801 Geary Blvd. at 22nd Ave. | Wed–Sun, 8 a.m.–10 p.m. |
| The Coffee Movement | 1737 Balboa St. | Weekdays 7 a.m.–2 p.m.; weekends 7 a.m.–4 p.m. |
| 4 Star Theater | 2200 Clement St. | Event times vary; free 10 a.m. family screenings Saturdays and Sundays |
Who else is betting on the 5800 block
HI NRG isn't the only new arrival at this intersection. In August, Mission Local reported that two gyms were coming to the north side of the 5800 block of Geary, between 22nd and 23rd avenues.
Ad Astra, a boxing and strength-training gym at 5820 Geary, was open by early September, according to Mission Local, and held a grand-opening party Sept. 26. Next door is Punch King Fitness, which runs 47-minute, beginner-friendly boxing and kickboxing workouts. Roar, a women's strength-training gym, was announced for 5844 Geary, a few doors down. Its studio page still lists only its Noe Valley and Ocean Avenue locations, so it isn't open on Geary yet.
Mission Local described the gyms as part of "a greater trend of gyms opening within a few-block radius." The same column joked that whichever workout you choose, you'll get your natural wine and Ethiopian coffee across the street.
One Saturday on the corner: November 7
The 4 Star Theater sits at 2200 Clement Street at 23rd Avenue, a block north of HI NRG. Its early-November calendar fits around the café's hours almost exactly:
- 8 a.m. HI NRG opens. Get a biscuit before the morning crowd.
- 10 a.m. The 4 Star's free Popcorn Palace screening is "Wolfwalkers." These weekend family screenings stay free through 2026, and seats are first come, first served once the box office opens 30 minutes before the show.
- 2 p.m. The Studio 8 Film Festival shows "Personal Visions," a juried program of experimental and personal documentary shorts, followed by a conversation with filmmakers in attendance.
- 5 p.m. on. Walk back to Geary for the affogato, which starts at 5.
- 8 p.m. IDAHO, the slowcore band led by Jeff Martin, plays the 4 Star with Reed. Doors open at 7.
If you'd rather go Friday, the festival's Juror Night starts at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 6. It screens short films by jurors Ed Jones, Michael LaRocco and Jacalyn White, followed by a conversation moderated by V. Vale of RE/Search. That leaves time for a glass of wine on Geary first, since HI NRG pours until 10.
Liang, who was born in the Richmond, told the Chronicle, "Transcendence can be found in the Richmond District." She and her partners now run their café a block south of the 4 Star and across Geary from the gym storefronts on the 5800 block.
Following which storefronts turn over on Geary, and who takes them, is the kind of local knowledge Aimee Labagh Tenente brings to every conversation about the Richmond. If Geary and 22nd is already your corner, or you want to know what's opening next near yours, find your San Francisco: contact Aimee.
