"Preston has been coming to this historic bar and restaurant just across the street for decades. Club Waziema opened in 1997, and before that was known as Club Morocco in the 1960s, a venue for artists including Marvin Gaye and Billie Holliday. The venue lay dormant and worked as a pseudo-private hangout for a few years before owners Giday Beshue and Nebiat Tesfazgi took over. Then, it took three years of hearings to get all the certifications approved by the city, a process both owners say Preston was instrumental in supporting. Much of the space, from the stage in the back to the bar in front, is held over from the original club. In addition to the powerful drinks and vibey music, Waziema is in fact a worthwhile restaurant all on its own. The owners know Preston’s order and fire it up once he walks in, preparing an extra order of the vegetarian combo for him to take home for his daughter. While we pile into the well-spiced, potato-centric medley — all lovingly wrapped in fermented injera — two locals ask Preston his thoughts on the Dolores Hill Bomb arrests, and what he thinks the police should’ve done. The three of them chat as the evening’s eaters and drinkers flock to the sidewalk outside, no doom loops in sight. 'Just come visit and find out for yourself,' Preston says of San Francisco in 2023. 'Enjoy the city.'" - Paolo Bicchieri
