For the past six months United to Save the Mission (USM) and Manny’s have been discussing ways to ensure that this establishment is accessible and welcoming to all, especially our low-income and Latinx communities.
Given the purpose of the space, it has been important to both Manny’s and USM that all aspects of the space -- from its physical attributes and environment, to its hiring and training of staff, to its specific event programming -- prioritize and support our most vulnerable community members in the Mission and assure their equitable access to the space. Since before Manny’s opening, USM has been working closely with Manny’s to articulate a plan to achieve those goals.
More recently, demonstrations have begun in front of Manny’s, not involving USM. We hope and intend that many of their concerns are reflected and addressed in this agreement between USM and Manny’s.
We are pleased to announce that USM and Manny’s have in place a mutually agreed upon memorandum of understanding (MOU), with more than a dozen programming and operational goals reflecting this shared mission of greater equity and community stabilization. We are confident that, with the continued implementation of these programs and goals, Manny’s has taken meaningful steps to address issues of gentrification and will be the healthy addition to the Mission community that it aims to be.
Some of the key ways that Manny’s will continue to advance and expand upon our shared equity goals:
Hire, train, and maintain a bilingual (Spanish-English) workforce and provide promotion opportunities.
Offer food/beverage options and event programming that are affordable and accessible, including free and pay-as-you-can events.
Host programming that amplifies the struggles of the oppressed, colonized, persecuted, and unjustly treated.
Offer free event space use to community-serving groups for public events.
Ensure Spanish language is equally represented in menus, events, and general signage.
Support and feature local Mission artists within the walls of the space.
Focus fundraising programming on local, Mission-serving organizations.
Ensure strong Mission representation on the Manny’s advisory board.
Utilize local suppliers as food vendors.
Honor the right to rest for our unhoused Mission neighbors and host “good neighbor” programming with homeless advocacy groups.
Manny’s will also launch a trial Pay-It-Forward free coffee program.
USM and its member organizations are confident that, with this mutual understanding in place and properly implemented, Manny’s will strengthen the cultural stability, economic opportunity, and civic engagement of the neighborhood. We look forward to working together to achieve these goals and supporting the ongoing success of Manny’s.
-United to Save the Mission and Manny’s
United to Save the Mission is a coalition of community groups and individual activists seeking to protect and enhance the Mission neighborhood: the lives of our low-to moderate income residents, our historical Latinx culture, our artists and arts spaces, our community-serving businesses, our nonprofits, and our blue-collar jobs and their industry spaces. USM believes in creating equity outcomes that serve the neighborhood in the face of an unprecedented crisis and ensure that the Mission remains a welcoming space for community-serving businesses, cultural institutions, and the Latinx community.
Our Mission NO Eviction
San Francisco Latino Democratic Club
Homies Organizing the Mission to Empower Youth (HOMEY)
Trabajo Cultural Caminante
Save Capp Street
Mission Neighborhood Centers
Cultural Action Network
San Francisco Impact Hub
Calle 24 Latino Cultural District
San Francisco Tenants Union
factory 1 design
Mission Economic Development Agency
Redstone Labor Temple Association
Media Alliance
Manny’s is a people powered and community focused meeting and learning place in the heart of San Francisco that combines a restaurant, political bookshop, and civic events space. The goal of Manny’s is to create a central and affordable place to become a better informed and more involved citizen. We do this by offering our events space to nonprofits, activists, and civic organizations to spread their message and do their work as well as hosting our own civic and art related programming. Our kitchen is run by the non-profit, Farming Hope, which hires formerly homeless and formerly incarcerated individuals and trains them in the food skills needed to work in the restaurant industry.