By Chellis Ying

Double grande: The former site of Japantown Bowl may soon give way to the caffeine beast. Guardian photo by Lori Spears

Any big chain going into any small strip of independently owned businesses is likely going to change the commerce and character of a neighborhood. But in a community like Japantown, which is struggling to maintain its history and heritage (it's one of just three remaining Japantowns in the United States), the battle for cultural individuality has even higher stakes.

The San Francisco Redevelopment Agency recently granted approval to a Starbucks and a UPS store to occupy the 3,000-square-foot commercial space where the old bowling alley used to be. And according to Linda Jofuku, executive member of the Japanese Task Force (JTF), the organization trusted since 1998 with preserving the community's heritage, the selling-out of a spot that was once a hangout for the neighborhood's families and children has left sour feelings in the community.

The relationship between the SFRA and the city's Japanese American community has a long and rocky history. According to Jofuku, a memo outlining the transaction was passed under the table between SFRA executive director Marcia Rosen and the commissioners of the SFRA. On May 2 she came across the information through a connection to the SFRA. "It's a slap in the face to the community," Jofuku said. "We work so closely with the SFRA that it hurts us that they did this without telling us."

According to District 5 supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, Starbucks has not officially violated the 2002 Owner Participation Agreement, which prohibits fast-food operations and franchise retailers from inhabiting the neighborhood. Technically the store would not be a franchise, as it would be owned and operated by the Starbucks corporation. Mirkarimi said, "The term 'franchise' is a manipulative vernacular. A tweaking of legal lies."

In addition the JTF is concerned about how another coffee shop with the buying power of Starbucks could affect independent businesses. "Over the past few years, the Ma and Pa businessmen have had a small profit margin. Anything that comes to erode their already small profits will hurt them," Jofuku said. She believes the Starbucks would compete with at least three long-established neighborhood businesses, including Benkyo-do (1747 Buchanan, S.F. 415-922-1244), opened in 1905; May's Coffee Shop (1737 Post, Ste. 13, S.F. 415-567-9133), opened in 1973; and Murata's Cafe Hana (1737 Post, Ste. 368, S.F. 415-567-9133), opened in 1988.

May Murata was hurt by the news of a new competitor of Starbucks' size. "We have struggled for so long. They have no compassion for the Japanese," she says. Murata has worked in Japantown for more than three decades, and her café, inside the Kintetsu Building, offers noodles, Japanese desserts, and other specialties that reflect the tastes and culture of the community.

In response to the reaction against Starbucks, Joanne Sakai, the SFRA's deputy executive director, said, "Perhaps this is a misplaced anger. Anasazi Properties [which owns the property] promised the community that they would work together to grow a Japanese-centered business. It's a miscommunication." She would like the Japanese community to know that "we are always concerned when there is an outcry. Period."

Yet Mirkarimi believes the SFRA's behavior is not merely a miscommunication. "This is not about whether or not a Starbucks is placed in Japantown. It's about the community not being a part of the process," he said. Furthermore, he says, the SFRA's "thorny history" with minority communities shows institutional dismissiveness.

While many in Japantown are holding their breath for the June 7 hearing, which they hope will prevent the lease from being signed, the Japanese community feels somewhat helpless against the coffee conglomerate, and it's trying to keep its goals realistic. "I'm not going to predict what may happen," Mirkarimi said. "But I've always been on the side of the underdog. We may not win, but if you wage a good-spirited fight, anything is possible."