By Andrea Shorter–
“Legacy Businesses are the soul of the city. Preserving Legacy Businesses is critical to maintaining the unique character of San Francisco.”
—San Francisco Office of Small Business
One can hardly imagine San Francisco-Bay Area LGBTQ history without this historic publication as a steadfast, trusted mainstay, resource, and constant source of community pride—much of what makes the San Francisco Bay Times a cherished and celebrated part of the heart and soulof our city.
As one of the first LGBTQ newspapers in the Bay Area, for over 43 years the San Francisco Bay Times has endured mightily as the trusted chronicler of the vibrancy and life of our community; an avid beat reporter on our local, national, and global movements for liberation and equality; a bold champion and activist for free speech; the place for engaging LGBTQ columnists and ally guest contributors; the go-to for the calendar, reviews, and commentaries on LGBTQ community arts, cultural, and entertaining events; a big time promoter of LGBTQ small businesses; and so much more.
The latest big news for this iconic newspaper: receiving a well-deserved, official honor by being certified as a Legacy Business by the San Francisco Office of Small Business—yes!
Legacy Businesses are described as longstanding, community-serving small businesses that have operated in San Francisco for 30 years or more, and have contributed to San Francisco’s history and identity, are valuable cultural assets of the city, and are the bedrock of local neighborhoods.
Starting in 2015, the Office of Small Business sought to recognize and preserve Legacy Businesses as the “soul of the city,”meaning those amazing small businesses that characteristically make San Francisco, well, San Francisco!
Of course, we’re in great company, too. Along with other major iconic San Francisco attractions such as City Lights Booksellers and Publishers, Boudin Bakery, Golden Gate Fortune Cookies, Anchor Brewing Company, the Great American Music Hall, and the American Conservatory Theater, to be registered along with other LGBTQ institutions such as Cliff’s Variety, the San Francisco Eagle, the Stud, Anchor Oyster Bar, and Moby Dick is also an honor.
This is San Francisco Small Business Week ( https://www.sfsmallbusinessweek.com/ ). Check out the Legacy Businesses Registry to see and support many of these businesses, especially as local, neighborhood businesses work to recover from the year-long impacts presented by the pandemic.
On this occasion, it is also worth noting that the San Francisco Bay Times is now one of the few women and/or lesbian owned and operated Legacy Businesses. Perhaps as more San Francisco-based women-owned businesses started the in the 1990s with greater assistance from local, state, and federal small business initiatives, some of those enterprises will be recognized in future as well.
The San Francisco Bay Times is more than a newspaper that represents our community. Equally important, the San Francisco Bay Times is a creator of community. As a community leader, columnist, reader, and friend, it has always been an honor for me to be any part of the rich history and vibrant community created by the San Francisco Bay Times.
Bravo to the San Francisco Bay Times and its 43 years of reporting on, elevating, engaging, and creating San Francisco-Bay Area LGBTQ community with perseverance, relevancy, fierceness, heart, soul, and care—the best ingredients that make a legend most.
Andrea Shorter is a Commissioner and the former President of the historic San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women. She is a longtime advocate for criminal and juvenile justice reform, voter rights and marriage equality. A Co-Founder of the Bayard Rustin LGBT Coalition, she was a 2009 David Bohnett LGBT Leadership Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
Published on May 6, 2021
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