06/13/2020
WHY IT'S CALLED FISHERMAN'S WHARF
written by: NICK HOPPE
Like every neighborhood across America, Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco is struggling. The usual throngs of tourists are nowhere to be seen. Most restaurants are closed, and many of the retail stores are boarded up.
At the moment, only the fishermen remain. And that's what this story is about.
Alessandro Mario Baccari is turning 92 in July. He's not a fisherman, nor a restaurateur nor a retailer, but he has been a proponent of Fisherman's Wharf and the fishing industry all his life. He was the driving force behind the Seaman's Memorial Chapel and is widely known as the Mayor of Fisherman's Wharf.
So when he called me and said I needed to write an article about the beauty of the Wharf and the need to preserve the fishing industry, I readily agreed. When Al calls, you do what you're told.
The Wharf is misunderstood by most San Franciscans. They see the souvenir shops and the Wax Museum and immediately throw their noses six feet in the air, vowing to never set foot in the place. It's for tourists, not for them.
They are wrong. There is so much more to Fisherman's Wharf, and it starts and ends with the fishermen.
I should know. My company has souvenir shops and a restaurant at the Wharf, and when the tourists return, we'll continue to offer them the items they seek. But we also own and operate a chandlery, and we supply the fishermen at Fisherman's Wharf the chain, the lines, the buoys, and the hardware they need to practice their craft.
I see both worlds, and I'm here to say that the fishermen are the unsung heroes of our neighborhood. Without them, the area is meaningless. With them, the area is magical.
Fisherman's Wharf is the center of Northern California's commercial and sport fishing fleets, and sometimes it's easy to forget. Pier 45, which was partially destroyed in a 4 alarm fire on May 23rd, houses the West Coast's largest concentration of commercial fish processors and distributors. That's easy to forget, too.
Alessandro Baccari doesn't want anyone to ever forget. While the restaurants are closed and the retail stores slowly re-open, the fishermen are still working away, dangerously heading out to sea to provide the seafood that graces our tables.
You don't see them on Jefferson Street, where the shops and restaurants dominate. But go behind the scenes and they are there. Come down early to the Wharf, and watch the trucks get loaded in the back alleys. Wander down to the water at the end of Hyde, or Leavenworth, or Taylor, and see a world that few even know exist.
It's magical, and everyone should appreciate the history and the work that goes into making the Fisherman's Wharf neighborhood perhaps the most interesting neighborhood in all of San Francisco.
It starts and ends with fishing, but there is so much more. The views of our magnificent bay, the inner lagoon where little fishing boats are peacefully and eternally moored, the restaurants where your grandparents dined, the historic ships at the end of Hyde Street, and the grass and sandy beach of Aquatic Park, where swimmers traverse in the icy waters past the Municipal Pier.
There's so much to see, and sometimes it gets obscured by the hordes of tourists that flock to the area. But there's a reason they come, and someday they'll come again. In the meantime, while the usually bustling streets are virtually empty because of the pandemic, the fishermen remain, toiling away.
Like the retailers and restaurateurs, the fishermen are struggling, too. The Covid-19 pandemic and the Pier 45 fire has put a huge dent into their profession. But they've been at Fisherman's Wharf for well over 100 years, and they're not going anywhere.
People just need to realize they're still there. It's their neighborhood, and always will be.
Come on down and support our local fisherman and restaurants!
