Pelosi’s $1.25B Legacy Looms Over SF Race as Oasis Grill Closes

Tuesday's congressional election between San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan and state Sen. Anthony Wiener to succeed retiring Rep. Nancy Pelosi will hand the winner one of the most lucrative fundraising seats in American politics, according to an analysis by Marc Sandalow in the San Francisco Examiner. Meanwhile in downtown San Francisco, 27-year-old Mediterranean restaurant Oasis Grill closed its flagship storefront at 100 1st St. across from Salesforce Tower at the end of October after landlord Kilroy Realty declined to renew its lease, Tony Ng reported in Hoodline.

California’s 11th District Combines $152,000 Median Income With Deep Democratic Margins

As Sandalow noted, California's 11th Congressional District — covering all of San Francisco except a few southeastern neighborhoods — pairs a deep donor base with safe general-election margins:

• 7th-Wealthiest District in the Nation: According to the U.S. Census, the district ranks 7th-wealthiest nationwide with a median annual household income of $152,000 — 75% higher than the national average — alongside the world's highest concentration of billionaires.
• No. 6 in Partisan Lean & Pelosi’s $1.25 Billion Legacy: San Francisco has not elected a Republican mayor or backed a Republican presidential nominee since the mid-1950s, and the Cook Political Report ranks the 11th District No. 6 in Democratic partisanship nationwide (behind a Philadelphia district and the East Bay seat held by Rep. Lateefah Simon). Over 39 years in Congress since her first election in 1987, Pelosi won more than 70% of the vote in all but 1 election (exceeding 80% multiple times) while generating an estimated $1.25 billion for fellow Democrats. With House incumbents winning reelection roughly 95% of the time, whoever prevails between Chan and Wiener will gain immediate influence by sharing surplus campaign funds with colleagues in swing districts.

Oasis Grill Closes 100 1st St. Storefront While Maintaining 3 San Francisco Locations

Across from Salesforce Tower at 100 1st St., Oasis Grill co-owners Muna Azzghayer and Mohammad Zughaiyir — who have operated Oasis Grill for nearly 30 years since 1999 — shut down their counter-service restaurant at the end of October after landlord Kilroy Realty declined to offer a lease renewal and leased the space to a competing restaurant, as first reported by The San Francisco Standard.

Azzghayer and Zughaiyir spent 1 year and approximately $2 million renovating the 100 1st St. space in 2015, including installing new gas lines. While the 1st Street location has closed — following other recent Bay Area lease exits such as Grande Crêperie at the Ferry Building, Lord Stanley (after a 10-year lease), and Ragazza (after Friday sales trailed pre-pandemic levels by $2,000) — Oasis Grill continues to operate 3 other San Francisco locations at 47 Drumm St., 200 4th St., and 711 Market St.