We were thrilled to work with 4505 Meats on their new barbecue joint. They’ve had a long standing spot at the Ferry Building Farmers market, and now they have a brick and mortar home where you can eat their mouthwatering barbecue or pick up a slab of marinated ribs to go.

 

When we first saw this site, it was a long-abandoned building formerly housing “Da-Pit” barbecue and it was an eyesore. After almost 20 years in the practice, we have been in a LOT of buildings and seen some terrifying things, but the interior of this space was the worst we had seen. It was a privilege to be able to take a broken-down building, reeking of rancid grease, and turn it into a hot new BBQ spot.

 

If you’re wondering why it was worth saving, it’s because this is the only building left in the City of SF with a chimney large enough to put a full pig on a spit into. The regulations removing fireplaces in California made this site the ONLY place for 4505 to consider for their first restaurant.

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Located on Divisadero and Grove, this project had some unique challenges. The patio and the restaurant are on two separate parcels, which meant separate permits for the improvements at each area. The patio was especially tricky to gain approvals for. First we had to convince the city to allow us to share the ADA ramp for both spaces even though they are on separate properties. Then, we had to convince them to allow us to utilize a shipping container on the patio. It seems like it would be simple, but these containers aren't built to any building code standard and cutting holes in them without data for structural calculations make them an incredibly difficult system to work with. Ultimately, we prevailed though!

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This has become an INCREDIBLE culinary delight and gathering space for the community. We're thrilled to see it thriving every time we pass by.