Episode 32: Firefly Restaurant

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Jay, Haley, Brad, Firefly Staff and wonderful Firefly Restaurant Fare

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“We're in an existential threat of losing everything that makes this place great”

In this episode, our featured voices are Brad Levy the owner, Haley Sausner the Chef, and Jay Beaman the Manager of Firefly restaurant. Firefly restaurant is another one of our local neighborhood gems known to serve up its beloved fried chicken along with some of the best vegetarian fare in San Francisco. Firefly like all of our restaurants and bars is being devastated by the combination of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the latest City and State requirements to shut down all in-person dining. Thus, forcing restaurant owners like Firefly to try and stay alive by Take Out pick up and delivery alone will probably be the financial death nail to our restaurants.

Firefly Restaurant

Conception

In 1993 Brad Levy and Veva Edelson were working at San Francisco’s groundbreaking American brasserie, Embarko Restaurant. Brad was a frustrated chef, and Veva was an artist and frustrated line cook. Both shared the dream of a restaurant where the food was great, the service attentive, and the atmosphere magical; a place where the employees were interesting and kind people who were encouraged to be themselves and offer a genuinely great dining experience. They dreamed of a restaurant where the customers felt like they were at a friend’s house for dinner, and that friend just happened to be a great cook. Brad and Veva were indeed dreamers, but more importantly, they were inexperienced and naïve enough to believe they could actually pull it off.

Birth

They began searching for a place with a stove and room for some tables and chairs. What else could you need? They already had a name. After weeks of constant brainstorming and countless bad restaurant names, Brad called Veva one night and said "Firefly?" and both immediately knew that it was perfect. They walked into the restaurant known as La Roca, which in its prime was a bustling, immensely popular Latin seafood restaurant. But under different ownership, it was nearly empty every night. Both Brad and Veva really liked the setting, nestled in the blustery far-reaching outskirts, away from what most people perceive as commercial Noe Valley. After looking around for about two minutes, Brad was ready to walk out. This was one ugly restaurant! Veva took out her sketchpad and began making some little scribble drawings. Brad said, "let’s go". Veva said, "it could work". Besides, it was the only place they had seen that they could afford to buy.

With a few dollars left over and a couple of talented friends, they began the work of creating a dream out of a nightmare. With Veva’s resourceful vision, the dining room became a land of comfort and whimsy. With Brad’s dogged determination, the layers of caked on grease were stripped off and the ancient cooking equipment was resuscitated.

To read the full story of Firefly Restaurant please visit their website https://www.fireflysf.com

Support a Local Restaurant

Support Firefly Restaurant through ordering Take Out / To Go of their famous fried chicken and vegetarian fare along with their unique and authentic cuisine. You can also support Firefly by giving the gift of wonderful local food and beverage by purchasing gift card and you can always show your support by wearing a Firefly T-Shirt

Videos

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“We got a PPP loan and I think if it wouldn’t have been for that, we wouldn’t even be here now. So, we’re able to survive right now, but when we start having to pay full payroll and , we start having to pay full rent, we start having to pay for utilities. Our model now does not necessarily cover that. ”

— Brad Levy, Owner, Firefly Restaurant

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