Sam Spade tackles mystery of the SF market
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, February 1, 2004
SAN FRANCISCO -- Seated at a table for two at historic John’s Grill, I pondered the Mystery of the San Francisco Market.
What will happen here when a major competitor opens a gleaming new complex at the edge of downtown Las Vegas?I was joined in my ruminations, which I undertook during the just-completed San Francisco Furniture Market, by the spirit of Dashiell Hammett, who used John’s Grill as a setting in his classic work, “The Maltese Falcon.” The falcon (O.K., a copy of the falcon) rests securely in a case upstairs just outside the Maltese Falcon Room.How would Sam Spade, Hammett’s famous private eye, size up the situation in San Francisco?For starters, he would be pleased with the turnout in John’s Grill. The crowded restaurant welcomed a number of furniture market attendees, enjoying the vast culinary treats offered here. This is truly a restaurant lover’s city.But crowded San Francisco restaurants don’t automatically imply crowded market buildings. Spade would face a series of sometimes conflicting reports of traffic, ranging from a bit light to modest to better than expected. (But what was expected?)So Spade would continue his investigation. He would be struck by the singular story of the scaffolding at the San Francisco Mart. “But the scaffolding is gone,” one would say. “That is the singular story,” Spade would respond, conditioned by the warren of scaffolding that enshrouded the Mart for years. It’s nice to see the Mart’s exterior now.At just this moment my dinner arrived at John’s Grill. Spade ordered the chops, a baked potato and sliced tomatoes. I went with the baked potato, switched the chops to broiled salmon, and replaced the tomatoes with a salad.Back to our investigation. Spade would like, I think, the Mart’s travel promotion, which subsidizes rooms for buyers at several great hotels. Smart move, he would think.He would be impressed, too, with the improving transportation picture in San Francisco. The BART system now runs from the San Francisco Airport to downtown San Francisco. Say bye-bye to those expensive cab rides to and from the airport.But what of the larger question. How will San Francisco fare against Las Vegas?I looked around the crowded room at John’s Grill. Suddenly the spirit of Sam Spade had a question for me:“Why didn’t you order the chops?”That’s where this chapter of the Mystery of the San Francisco Market ends. How will the next chapter be written?
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