'Survivor' champ may not make it in S.F.

C.W. Nevius

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

When he was a contestant on the reality show "Survivor," Yul Kwon cruised through the rain forests of the Cook Islands with ease. In fact, as the CBS show's motto says, he was able to "Outwit, Outplay, and Outlast" the other contestants to win the $1 million grand prize.

But navigating the jungle of San Francisco politics is proving to be a tougher challenge.

Kwon, who was voted "favorite 'Survivor' winner" by Entertainment Weekly readers, wanted to open a yogurt store in North Beach with a couple of friends. But last week they ran afoul of the neighborhood's strict "formula retail" ordinance, which is designed to protect the neighborhood's unique character. The point of the law is to keep large retail chains - Starbucks is the evil empire most often cited - out of the traditional North Beach neighborhood. The question is what defines a "chain."

"It doesn't matter if he's the Shah of Iran or the winner of 'Survivor,' " said Supervisor Aaron Peskin, whose district includes North Beach. "The law's the law's the law."

Mark Young, one of Kwon's partners, says that when they applied for a permit there were only four Red Mango dealerships in the United States. That was acceptable, because the formula retail ordinance, passed by voters in November of 2006, says the franchise must have fewer than 11 in the country or it is considered a chain.

Kwon's group was granted a building permit, began to pay rent on a site at 527 Columbus Ave., and started renovations.

However, Marsha Garland, founder and executive director of the North Beach Chamber of Commerce, was suspicious.

"There's a place for everything," Garland said. "For example, I like Pottery Barn. I'm glad there's one in the Marina. But I wouldn't want one in North Beach. We don't want chains in North Beach."

Garland found that Red Mango had continued to add franchises in the time since Kwon's group was granted a building permit. So by now - and even Young admits this - there are more than 11 locations across the country. Case closed, said the North Beach watchdogs.

"They got a permit and started building and then somebody came and pulled the permit," said Ken Brownell of Blatteis & Schnur real estate, who handled the rental for Kwon's group. "They're shocked and I'm shocked."

Without a permit, Kwon is stuck on Exile Island. His group can't do any more building and the storefront sits empty, although rent is still due.

"Is this going to be tougher than 'Survivor'?" asked Young. "Yul's just going to bleed out all that 'Survivor' money."

Frankly, this is no time to step into deep yogurt. Just last week Kwon was mentioned as a possible candidate for Tom Lantos' seat in the 12th Congressional District. Kwon, a registered Democrat, would be running against former state Sen. Jackie Speier, a formidable opponent.

But it isn't as if Kwon doesn't have attributes, including name recognition. He's a Bay Area guy who grew up in Concord, attended Northgate High School in Walnut Creek (where he was class valedictorian) and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford, then went to Yale Law School.

As for "Survivor," for a short period there between September and December 2006, Kwon was bit of a reality TV sensation. He played a crafty game, pulling off strategic moves that left his opponents guessing, but also managed to come across as a nice guy.

Besides that, he's a bit of a hunk. He was named one of People magazine's "Sexiest Men" of 2006.

In addition, after he won the million dollars, he announced that he was giving $50,000 to the Asian American Donor Program to encourage Asian Americans to donate bone marrow. It seems his childhood friend and college roommate died of leukemia and there was no bone marrow available to treat him.

So, for those "Survivor" fans, I think we can say that Kwon is no Jonny Fairplay. (Jon "Fairplay" Dalton, a contestant on an earlier show, earned his sarcastic nickname for pretending that his grandmother had died to elicit sympathy.)

However, I wouldn't expect much sympathy from the North Beach residents. As Caffe Roma's Tony Azzollini says, the last thing they want is to have the place taken over by chain stores, bars and restaurants.

"We're trying to preserve a really special neighborhood," Azzollini said. "There's already a yogurt place coming in, and it's run by a family business."

Admirable. But Kwon and his buddies aren't exactly straight off Wall Street. Young is a Cal guy, a graduate of the Haas School of Business, and Kwon came back home from Yale to live in San Mateo.

That's fine, say the movers and shakers in North Beach. But the issue isn't Kwon's character, it's his yogurt.

"You may be good-looking and a 'Survivor' winner," said Peskin, "but surviving the chain store wars is a little different."

Is Red Mango a franchise? If so, says police commissioner Joe Alioto Veronese, a North Beach defender, they will be bobsledding down Columbus Avenue before it opens in his neighborhood.

"If it is a chain," Alioto Veronese said, "this is one episode of 'Survivor' he will not win."

C.W. Nevius' column appears Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. His podcast, "News Wrap," can be found at SFGate.com. E-mail him at cwnevius@sfchronicle.com.

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This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle