Plus: New art is coming to SF’s upcoming Ocean Beach park and the National Park Service is in crisis.
San Francisco’s network of neighborhoods evokes community. As the city recovered from lockdowns, while the very real threat of COVID still loomed and lingered, outside events experienced a renaissance.
Among one of the city’s most sought-after, popular, viral al fresco happenings were the pop-up pancake parties held by Curtis Kimball.
Dozens, sometimes hundreds, of people lined up for blocks around stacks of made-to-order pancakes flipped by Curtis Kimball during his events. But even before those pancake parties, Kimball gained by hyperlocal not air as the “crème brûlée guy,” whose cart would pop up across San Francisco, ready to serve hungry passersby.
Over the weekend, Kimball suddenly died from an emergency cardiac surgery; the news was announced on social media by his family.
“With heavy hearts, we share the devastating loss of Curtis Kimball the legendary “crème brûlée guy” who (along with his brother Brian Kimball) took San Francisco by storm in 2009 through the guerrilla street food movement they started,” reads the first in a series of posts on X about his passing. “ Curtis was fueled by his love for SF and his joy in adding quirky fun to the city through something that he personally loved. Food aside, what truly resonated for loyal customers was Curtis’ unique wit and hilarious meme-worthy branding. He was definitely “packing heat” with the sweets.”
National outlets like The New York Times highlighted Kimball’s do-gooding and community building outside his Bernal Heights home.
Kimball leaves behind two daughters and his wife, who is currently pregnant with their third child. To help with metal costs and offer some financial respite for the family, an official GoFundMe campaign was launched. As of publishing, over $60,000 has been raised.
What else transpired over the weekend? Let’s take a look.
- Conservation of the Farallon Islands will be episodic now. Because of budgetary and staffing cuts. for the first time in over 170 years, there will only be seasonal human presence on the island,rather than having year-round staff. More info.
- An American flag hung upside down over El Capitan in protest. Yosemite National Park workers hung a distress flag from El Capitan Saturday on the Firefall site; the “distress call” was a searing symbol for the state of National Parks amid budget cuts. More info.
- Ocean Beach’s upcoming ocean-side park gets an artistic update. With a spring debut still expected, park goers can expect to ogle at a new 60-foot-long mural by Emily Fromm. More info.
