Tabitha Lahr puts a face on the changing Western Addition
The Mill, a joint venture between Four Barrel Coffee and Josey Baker Bread, has been tagged as yet another sign of a pricey new San Francisco, thanks to its $4 toast.
The shop’s owner, Josey Baker, was one of the first portraits of new — and old — neighbors that Lahr tackled for her 10-painting series, Facial Recognition:
“Josey Baker is a really nice guy, and I think he’s been blanketed into gentrification, which is an understandable response because there’s been a lot of threats with rising rents and rapid change,” says Lahr, 42, who’s lived in the Western Addition for 13 years.
The point is to show portraits of people in the neighborhood that have been there, but also infuse it with people who have come to the neighborhood.
Because they happen to own an artisan business on the street doesn’t make them an —hole.