Michael Nadile, 431 Hyde Street |
Michael
Nadile, also known as The Mayor of Hyde Street, operated the tiny
storefront flower shop Tenderloin Petals for 23 years before shutting down
in June, 2001. Asked what put him out of business after so much time as
a neighborhood institution, Nadile responds without hesitation, "The Farmer's
Market, that's what did it!" Nadile says he and others warned that making
flowers available at the Farmer's Market would doom independent flower
vendors. "No one listened to us." Nadile, who will take some time off before
deciding what to do next, also blames crack dealers for keeping customers
away from the already sketchy location at Hyde and Ellis. "It was always
rough here, but there was respect," he says, "Most people today have no
respect for history or for the people that came ahead of them." Of the
many changes in the City in recent months Nadile says, "none of it's good." |
