Aquariums, clock repair shops and corner stores: Where to find SF's favorite shop cats - SF Gate

Posted: 10 Dec 2020 04:09 AM PST

When Dorian Clair arrives at his decades-old antique clock repair shop each morning, the first thing he does is look for two rows of foggy marks on the glass of the front windows.

One of them is no higher than one and half feet above the ground, but the other line of cloudy smudges is much higher. They're nose prints, says Clair, and they come from both children and their parents as they peer into the shop at the corner of Sanchez Street, hoping to spot a fluffy black creature curled up in a patch of sunlight, or a glimpse of his sleepy green eyes.

"Mike entices people to do that," Clair told SFGATE with a chuckle.

That's the name of the shop cat living at Dorian Clair's Antique Clock Repair for the past 12 years. A former stray, Mike was occupying a maintenance supply room at Terra Nova High School in Pacifica before one of the staff — a fellow clock collector — brought the cat to Clair's shop in a cardboard box. He's been living with Clair and attracting visitors to his shop ever since.

And though the delicate antiques inside the store might seem rife for a cat's mischief, Mike has only managed to break the glass out of one clock. As far as Clair is concerned, he's here to stay.

"One woman drives all the way from Tiburon just to see him," said Clair. "Since COVID, we've had so much business here. We are absolutely swamped. He's something people look forward to, and he certainly has me trained. I'll be working and overhear kids outside yell, 'There he is!'"

Whatever you might call them — shop cats, corner store cats, bodega cats — these animals are a cornerstone of our neighborhoods and bring a bit of unexpected delight to an otherwise mundane daily routine. They help to control the rodent population, spend most of their time looking cute, and they certainly encourage a local business' cat-loving clientele to keep coming back. Most importantly, they provide a much-needed serotonin boost, which I think we could all use right about now.

I asked SFGATE readers where some of their favorite resident shop cats dwelled, and set out to meet them myself.

Kit Kat lounges on the counter at Randa's Market.
Randa's Market

Kit Kat
Randa's Market (3131 16th St.)

OK, so maybe I'm biased to begin with this one, because I'm already partial to Kit Kat. I used to work in the neighborhood, making Randa's my go-to convenience store. Needless to say, I was overjoyed when a close friend informed me a year or so ago that a tabby had taken up residence there.

As it turns out, so were the staff.

"The atmosphere in the store definitely changed after Kit Kat arrived," said Daniel Zeidan, a former employee who continues to run the shop's Instagram account. (He's also the son of the owner, Majed.) "Not only did customers come in more often but many also brought him gifts, like toys, blankets, beds and even food. Someone recently brought him a blanket so he would stay warm in the winter."

If you live in the Mission District, paying Kit Kat a visit is mandatory. You might find him playing on the sidewalk with some of the neighborhood dogs or waiting in front of Truly Mediterranean, meowing incessantly until the employees throw him a piece of meat. But usually he's hanging out on the counter in a cardboard box labeled with his name.

"We have a very tight-knit community, so I was not surprised to see so much love for Kit Kat, but it was definitely appreciated," said Zeidan. "Our neighbors are like family to us, and they welcomed Kit Kat in immediately."

RELATED: San Francisco's only cat cafe struggles to stay open amid pandemic and kitten season

David Cheung, the owner of 6th Avenue Aquarium, poses for a photo with Rascal.
Amanda Bartlett/SFGATE

Rascal
6th Avenue Aquarium (425 Clement St.)

This sliver of the Inner Richmond is mostly known for its laid-back atmosphere and wealth of incredible restaurants, but every now and again, I like to stop inside 6th Avenue Aquarium to scope out its seemingly endless array of tropical fish or pick up a plant or two.

But many also like to visit its resident cat, Rascal.

"He makes a huge difference," said proprietor David Cheung, cradling the black-and-white cat in his arms. "People seem so much happier because they get to see him – he calms them down. Our fifteen-year old-cat, Sylvester, passed away last year, and we were very sad, so we decided to adopt Rascal."

The 1-year-old rescue from the SF SPCA fit in immediately. He plays with customers and follows them through the shop as they look around, appearing to be just as mesmerized as them. And before you ask: No, Rascal hasn't tried to eat any of the fish.

"He just likes to sit back and watch," said Cheung.

Not pictured: a reporter furiously shaking a treat bag in the name of photojournalism.
Amanda Bartlett/SFGATE

Smokey
Hyde-O'Farrell Market (701 O'Farrell St.)

Smokey is such a fixture of this Tenderloin corner store that he's been immortalized in the form of T-shirts and cloth face masks. When I showed up at the shop on a Monday afternoon hoping to purchase one, both were entirely sold out.

"It's because he's a great cat! Everyone loves him," manager Mike Illy said of the 14-year-old shop cat. "If he really likes you, he might jump on your shoulders."

MORE: This corner store has been the heart of an SF 'hood for 52 years

Spanner hanging out upstairs at Fredericksen Hardware. We couldn't get a photo of all three kitties together, so you'll have to check them out for yourself.
Amanda Bartlett/SFGATE

Pepper, Spanner and Shim
Fredericksen Hardware & Paint (3029 Fillmore St.)

Sam Black has been working for this historic hardware store in Cow Hollow for the past 20 years.

"It's because of them," he says with a grin, gesturing toward three cats: Pepper, Spanner and Shim.

Founded in 1896, Fredericksen Hardware is just as beloved for its well-stocked assortment of tools as it is for its elaborate holiday window displays. But the rescue cats living there have also become neighborhood celebrities in their own right.

"We've raised them all since they were kittens and have spent many off-work hours hanging out with them here," said Black. "People love them. We've had people come from vacationing overseas and the first thing they want to do is come to the shop to visit the cats. Other people have sent them care packages with treats and toys. They have a good life."

Pepper is the sister of Toodles (a longtime shop cat who sadly passed away in 2017 — you can check out her old Instagram account here.) She's a bit evasive, but she'll love you on her own terms. You're more likely to get a chance to pet Spanner or Shim, two friendly lap cats who are frequently spotted roaming throughout the store.

"Having them here … it's stress relief," said office manager Lowe Grudin. "It's like therapy."

Buffy and Jerky greet customers in the window of Optical Eyeworks.
Marcie Patten

Buffy and Jerky
Optical Works Eyewear (2217 Polk St.)

If you're in the market for some retro-inspired frames, this Russian Hill eyewear shop is worth a stop. Bonus: You might also get to see Buffy and Jerky nestled in the fake snow of the storefront.

While owner Marcie Patten says she has to be especially mindful of customers who might have allergies, most people hovering outside the door are just waiting for her to wave them on in and ask if they want to see the cats.

"There's not a day that goes by where people don't notice them and ask to pet them," said Patten. "Some of my longtime clients are actually because of the cats! Never in a million years would I have thought that they could have been so helpful for me."

Patten agreed to foster the orange and black felines when they were just a few days old, but they quickly became a permanent part of her family. She describes Jerky as the alpha: a fierce kitty who isn't afraid to tussle with the dogs outside. Buffy might be a bit more skittish, but he easily warms up to new customers.

"Obviously, times are tough and it's been challenging for me here as well," said Patten. "But I'd like to communicate the fact that if anyone needs a little kitty love, they're more than welcome to come in and say hello."

Have a favorite cat we might have missed? Send a photo to amanda.bartlett@sfgate.com

Behold! A crawfish named Mary plays a part in December miracle - Lincoln Journal Star

Posted: 08 Dec 2020 03:25 PM PST

After being in her tank "alone a long time," a Lincoln store's crawfish was found to be carrying eggs — and, under the watchful eye of an aquatic hobbyist serving as a crawfish doula, at least 60 babies have hatched, with more to come.

Monte Conrad (top right), the owner of Surf and Turf Food Company, talks with regular customers Erik Egeberg (left) and his son, Cael, during a visit in June 2018.

JoAnne Young

Monte Conrad thought he might be seeing a virgin birth in this month of Christmas, so he named his southeast Lincoln shop's pet crawfish Mary.

Most of the crawfish who come to Conrad's Surf & Turf Food Co. in the spring and summer get sold, boiled and gobbled up at graduation parties and other outdoor events.

But usually a few escape that fate, and come to live in the store in a 9-by-12-inch Tupperware-like container with enough water to cover their exoskeleton and a white plastic tube they can hide in from the more aggressive among them.

This year, a year in which strange and complicated things happen, Conrad had several of the crawfish in the container as a conversation piece for customers and entertainment for their kids, as they raised their claws to defend against any attempt to touch them.

Fishmonger resides in landlocked Lincoln and educates seafood-loving customers

As the months went by, one of the crawfish died, and another escaped and was found under a cooler, dried out and gone.

That left Mary, who at the time was called Pinchy.

She was always the calmest and quietest of the three, Conrad said. But even so, within the past couple of months, after the last of her container buddies met their demise, she got even more docile.

Not to anthropomorphize ... well, OK, to anthropomorphize ... Conrad said she began to act lonely.

"It seemed as though to me that she was depressed, as weird as that sounds," he said. "She didn't respond to anything. And I fully thought that she was not going to make it."

Then one day, Conrad picked her up to show her to someone and saw she had a bunch of what looked like caviar under her tail, her swimmerets.

And there were tiny black beads floating in the water around her, which she collected and put back under her tail.

"By the time that we figured out that there were eggs, she'd been alone a long time," he said.

So Pinchy got a new name, Mary.

He decided to wait and watch, not sure if the eggs could even hatch in such a lowly plastic habitat. But eventually they started to change a little, some of them turning red.

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Around Thanksgiving, a customer came to Surf & Turf, at 57th Street and Old Cheney Road, looking for a certain kind of mussel to feed to her nephew's puffer fish. When she saw Mary, she told Conrad she thought her nephew, Dan Head, might be able to help him out. He is a 20-year aquatic hobbyist and could take Mary to his house and put her up in one of his aquariums.

A crawfish doula, so to speak.

Head, whose full-time work is at the Nebraska State Penitentiary, agreed to watch out for Mary during the month of December when Conrad would be busy with the holiday rush.

"I was brought up in my family to help people out when they need help. And it just went from there," Head said.

In her new digs, a 10-gallon fish tank, Mary's eggs thrived and began hatching, teeny red crawfish that looked just like mom, or dad, probably both. There's about 60 Head has been able to count, and she has a bunch hiding under her yet.

Head will donate the tank when Conrad is ready to take his pet and her offspring back at the end of December.

Mary is a Louisiana crawfish, which needs a male to fertilize the eggs, and apparently one of the other crawfish in the plastic container with her did that before meeting his demise.

Head has six years experience in raising crustaceans, he said, with a Mexican dwarf crawfish and cherry, carbon and electric blue shrimp among his successes. He has four freshwater aquariums and two saltwater aquariums, and another being set up but not yet running.

"Over the years, I've been slowly learning new things," he said.

And with the shrimp and crawfish experience, he figured he knew enough to help out Conrad and Mary.

When she got to his house, Mary's shell had a white hue, probably caused by stress. But with a diet of shrimp pellet protein and algae wafer, her shell is now a bright red to dark red.

"It seems like she is a lot happier not being in such a small space," Head said.

Conrad will set up the tank when it returns after Christmas, low enough so kids can see Mary and her army of little red crawfish.

Head said the aquarium will give her a better life. She can live awhile and even have another litter of babies.

And Conrad will keep his crawfish doula's number handy.

PHOTOS OF THE MONTH:

Top Journal Star photos for December

Reach the writer at 402-473-7228 or jyoung@journalstar.com.

On Twitter @LJSLegislature

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