ZinZanni closer to new home
It’s too early to order your cocktails with contortionists or chicken a la ringmaster just yet, but Teatro ZinZanni — the premiere circus withdinner experience — took a big step in its quest to replant its whimsical antique spiegeltent on the Embarcadero.
More than three years after the popular show packed up its tent home of 11 years at Piers 27- 29, to make way for the America’s Cup and the new cruise ship terminal, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors gave it a key approval this week to move ahead with its plans to build a new, permanent home at Broadway and Embarcadero.
The unanimous vote could be very good news for ZinZanni’s legion of admirers, especially its many repeat customers who marked special occasions or entertained out- of- town guests with its generally top- notch acrobatic, musical and clown acts amid a tasty five- course meal. But it’s still a little early for the company’s enthusiastic announcement, emblazoned on its website, that its “Dream to Return to San Francisco Becomes a Reality.” This city is as famous for its permitting and construction delays as it is for the quality and diversity of its entertainment options.
As ZinZanni founder Norm Langill says, the board’s unanimity demonstrates the breadth of support the project has in the community. Zin- Zanni, based in Seattle, and its partner Kenwood Investments, a San Francisco private- equity real estate firm, announced in October they are planning to build an LEEDcertified four- story, 40foot- high hotel on Seawall Lot 324 ( currently a parking lot), with a glass- walled gazebo for ZinZanni’s 100- year- old Belgian spiegeltent as well as an adjoining outdoor cafe and public park. The hotel will help underwrite the economics of the project as well as provide housing for the circus artists.
The supervisors approved a “sole source” agreement with the Port Commission, which owns the land, allowing the port to negotiate the deal with ZinZanni and Kenwood without requesting proposals from other parties. Given the location — at least one previous bid for the property was shot down because it exceeded the area’s 40- foot zoning — and the skyrocketing real estate market, the decision is a huge boost for the project.
There are permitting processes, negotiations and other steps still to come before construction is likely to begin, let alone an opening- night set. But the impressive range of North Beach, Chinatown, Telegraph Hill and Barbary Coast neighborhood and community groups supporting the project speak well for its chances. That’s good news not only for ZinZanni’s old fans and the many local artists and artisans the show employs, but for many who haven’t had the chance to experience its unique mix of circus and cabaret acts with dinner. There’s nothing else quite like it.