Weekend nights on Mission Street just got a little longer. The San Francisco Entertainment Commission voted unanimously today to approve Bissap Baobab’s request to stay open until 4 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.
The commission’s discussion of the matter took all of five minutes. Shortly before 6 p.m. on Tuesday, after commissioners noted that there was no documented opposition to the late night permit, the five of them voted to give the go-ahead.
Marco Senghor, the eatery’s owner, said he feels excited to be able to offer his signature Senegalese hospitality just a little later on weekend nights. At the hearing, a representative of the restaurant said weekend parties would offer flamenco, Afrobeats, salsa, and more.
The late night hours won’t necessarily mean late night drinking, however: By state law, alcohol must stop being served at 2 a.m. Senghor, for his part, said the restaurant would give people a place to sober up after a night out.
Located at 2243 Mission St. between 18th and 19th streets, Bissap Baobab has for decades been a local favorite for African cuisine, Afrobeats tunes, live music, and late night dance. The space, which in 2022 moved around the corner from 19th Street, seeks to replicate “Teranga,” or hospitality as it’s known in Senegal’s native Wolof language, said Senghor.
For Senghor, the extended hours offer an opportunity in an environment he said is “difficult” for small business owners.
“I’m trying to give as much license as possible to my space because during this economy it’s very hard,” said Senghor. “The Mission is already going through very strong difficulties right now, so I feel like why not stay open longer and try to get some of the late night business.”
Senghor said a lot of business came his way from young African engineers who came to work in San Francisco. In the last few years, however, he said he has seen a decline in that community.
And that decline has affected his bottom line.
“As an international space it’s very difficult right now in San Francisco. We don’t see too many international people and that used to be the core of Baobab.”
Senghor added that in recent months he has noticed something he had never seen before: Empty and quiet Mission streets at around 10 p.m. on a weekend night.
“I feel like I’m on an island on Saturday night,” said Senghor. “I stop and look around. I look right and left and I see not even a car driving by and it’s only 9:45 at night. It’s crazy.”
Senghor attributes the lack of foot traffic to a sense of insecurity for people from outside the neighborhood.
Baobab also faced difficulties early on after moving to its current location when a group of neighbors filed noise complaints that delayed the venue’s beer-and-wine license by nearly a year. The venue got a liquor license in August 2023, and Senghor said at the time he planned to distill his own rum.
Kaitlyn Azevedo, the deputy director of San Francisco’s entertainment commission, confirmed to Mission Local before tonight’s vote that the commission did not receive any complaints ahead of the meeting.
Still, Senghor said the venue will turn down the music as a courtesy to its neighbors.
So far, there are six extended hours permits in the neighborhood, most of them for late-night eateries such as El Farolito at Mission and 24th streets and Los Panchos at Valencia and Mission streets. The other two are for two music venues: Rocapulco and Public Works.
“I fully support what they do. The Mission deserves and needs a place like Baobab,” said Mission Merchants Association’s president, Ryen Motzek. “We need our businesses to thrive and survive.”
Moving forward, Senghor would like to see more support for small businesses coming from City Hall.
“I love the Mission. This is where I’ve been here for 30 years,” said Senghor ahead of the hearing. “I can do only what I can with my square footage and I do whatever I can outside to make the place beautiful for people, but the city needs to do some work.”
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