By Joe Bonadio

With its picturesque streets, eccentric little shops and proliferation of historic watering holes, North Beach has long been the neighborhood where San Francisco goes to cut loose. After all, we created the North Beach Festival, considered to be America’s very first street fair, all the way back in 1954. And through the years, it has come to be known that North Beach requires no excuse to throw a party.

With the advent of the SF Pizza, Bagel & Beer Festival, which just celebrated its third year in July, North Beach added another epic outdoor event to its already busy calendar. On the day of the festival, roughly 4,000 hungry attendees filled the streets surrounding Washington Square Park for an afternoon of fresh bagels, craft beer and more pizza than I’ve ever seen in one place. It was by any measure a massive party, and one of the best days that North Beach has seen in a very long time. And as sprawling as the event was, it basically ran like clockwork.

Of course, that’s anything but a coincidence. Festivals like this require a staggering amount of planning, along with no small measure of experience. Happily, from its inception this festival has been helmed by two of the most capable people in the neighborhood: the San Francisco Italian Athletic Club’s Nick Figone, and Tony Gemignani, owner of the Tony’s Pizzeria Napoletana restaurant group. Between the two of them, Figone and Gemignani have the sort of connections and know-how that make the impossible possible, and indeed, it’s hard to imagine anyone else pulling it off.

Chief Operating Officer for the SFIAC since 2016, Figone has been a busy boy since day one, presiding over an ever-crowded event schedule of festivals, stag dinners and sponsored parties. Much like Gemignani, Figone is a fund-raising champion. He also stewarded the SFIAC through the gauntlet of Covid, using the downtime to complete a major renovation for the club’s Stockton Street headquarters.

Now that San Francisco is finally getting back to normal, the club is busier than ever, and the SFIAC’s staff is growing to meet the workload. In July, the SFIAC Foundation (the non-profit arm of the organization) brought on Jill Micheli as a full-time staff member. In her new role, Micheli is spearheading marketing and special events for the foundation—which as you’ll see, is something she knows quite a bit about. She and I sat down last week to discuss her new role at the club, and lightly edited for clarity and length, our conversation is below.

Joe Bonadio (JB): Hi, Jill. Welcome.

Jill Micheli (JM): Hi, Joe. 

JB: As you know, I’ve been talking to Nick for the last few years, and reporting from time to time on happenings here at the Italian Athletic Club. And with your new role at the org, he though it would be a great idea to talk with you this time around.

JM: Great, thank you. 

JB: So tell me a little bit about yourself, Jill. Where are you from?

JM: Well, I’m fourth generation San Franciscan Italian. 

JB: Wow.

JM: Yeah, both sides of my family came over, and are of Italian descent. Both sets of my great grandparents lived and worked in San Francisco, so North Beach and the Italian Athletic Club were always a big part of my family history. 

JB: What is your work background?

JM: I was in technology, legal tech, and digital accessibility for 20 years. And then I made a switch into special events and fundraising at Riordan High School, and had the opportunity to join the San Francisco Italian Athletic Foundation Board. I really enjoyed that, and then there was an opportunity for me to come over here full time. 

JB: How long were you on the board? 

JM: About a year. 

JB: Sort of a quick ramp-up for you. 

JM: It was.

JB: You must know what you’re doing, Jill. 

JM: A little bit…

JB: (Laughter) So the SFIAC is a very important organization for North Beach. When it comes to activating this really important spot, Washington Square Park, that so many people consider to be the heart of the city, there isn’t a more important organization. They’re the engine for this little corner of the city, along with our fantastic restaurants and bars here. So it must be exciting to be jumping into this role. 

JM: Yes, it’s been a thrill for me. It utilizes a lot of my different skills, from sales and marketing to operations, fundraising and special events. 

JB: Tell me what your role entails.

JM: I am working with the foundation, primarily on the annual appeal. Our subsidiary is CIAO, the Coalition of Italian American Organizations. It’s a business network that promotes all things Italian. We have a collaborative Italian event calendar, and we work to promote Italian and Italian-American businesses and organizations through our network. Then also I’ll be working on the foundation side to help elevate a lot of the events. For instance, we just finished the Pizza, Bagel & Beer Festival, and we had right around 4,000 people. 

JB: What an event! Just a barnburner.

JM: It was. We had over 50 pizzerias, 20 breweries, and over 150 volunteers. And we’re looking to expand it.

JB: I just met with Tony [Gemignani] this morning, and he was sharing some of his ideas for expanding the whole thing next year, which is really exciting. That festival is my favorite day of the year here in the neighborhood. To me, it’s like the new North Beach Festival. 

JM: Yeah, I agree. So it was really exciting just to be a part of that. 

JB: So tell me about the annual appeal.

JM: On October first we’ll be launching our annual appeal. This is when we ask the members as well as the general public to help support a cause for the foundation. This year we are choosing to not only raise general funds for capital improvements within North Beach just to keep it beautiful, but to raise funds specifically to light up Saints Peter and Paul Church permanently. Right now just the steeples are lit up, and we’re going to raise funds to light up the entire front of the church year-round. We currently light it up twice a year, two weekends in October and two weekends in December. 

JB: So is it a matter of an equipment upgrade? 

JM: Yes, so it’s primarily equipment, and to help pay for some of the electricity costs. But primarily it’s to raise money for the equipment. 

JB: Instagram is going to be so happy!

JM: I know, it’s going to be the most Instagrammable monument in North Beach, maybe all of San Francisco. 

JB: Well that’s only proper. I think that’s one of the reasons people like it so much over here: our forebears were really good about commemorating the history of the place. North Beach is rich in monuments.

JM: It is, and we want this area to be a beautiful destination for both tourists and locals to come year-round. 

JB: And that does take some doing.

JM: Yes, it takes a lot of work. 

JB: How long have you been in this new role, Jill? 

JM: Since June first. 

JB: So you’ve had a few months. Tell me about your experience thus far. Have there been any surprises? 

JM: Well, I came in drinking from the fire hose with the Pizza Festival! But I have a strong background in special events and event planning, so I just jumped in. I had my task, and I was able to recruit over 150 volunteers to help for this event. 

JB: That’s impressive. With the second entrance, we needed a lot more people. 

JM: Yes, it definitely helped. 

JB: Getting a little bit more space, I think, is going to be the next challenge. 

JM: Yeah, I think so, too. 

JB: But Tony and Nick are all over it. 

JM: Yes, and we passed all of our post-event inspections from the garbage company in the city, to make sure we can keep holding the event. We came in well above expectations in terms of cleanup and keeping the park beautiful. 

JB: That’s important. If there’s going to be a next year, you have to take care of this year. 

JM: Exactly. Another one of the exciting things about the volunteer aspect of it this year, was I had quite a few high school students come out to volunteer. And they had a small but pivotal role primarily at the entrances. But they’re all excited to come back next year and volunteer, to have a bigger role and bring their friends. I think that says a lot that you have high school kids interested in volunteering for something like this. 

JB: Well, you know the kids want to come. And they might not have the $90. 

JM: Yes, so it’s exciting for them. Yeah, we so many great volunteers this year. 

JB: So what do the kids do? Are they checking IDs? 

JM: They were checking IDs, they were doing wristbands, they were scanning tickets. They were our runners back and forth between the two entrances for whatever we needed. Bringing water to the other volunteers, and some of the volunteers were doing garbage cleanup. They actually got really into it, making sure things were clean and tidy. So primarily helping out at the entrances and cleanup.

JB: And both are really important. Obviously the entrances, because no one wants to stand in a long line. But the garbage, I mean, it’s amazing how quickly it can get out of control. 

JM: Oh, we know, we know. 

JB: To be fair, some people are just slobs. I’ll just put this right here—meanwhile there’s a trash can right over there. 

JM: Yeah, there were a lot of half-drunk beers all over this place. 

JB: But what are you gonna do? It’s a party.

JM: I know. But again, it was exciting to have a lot of the students involved. 

JB: So like you put it before, drinking from the fire hose—you stepped right into deep planning for the festival. 

JM: Right, I did. 

JB: A little bit of a hazing. But I guess there’s no better way to learn that much in three or four months.

JM: Right, right. You can’t really learn those things. You have to just do them. 

JB: And perhaps fail. 

JM: We did not fail this time, happily. I had a lot of experience at Riordan doing similar things, particularly around a few special events that had never been done before. So I have a good background in planning, implementing, and making events like this better and better. 

JB: And Nick certainly needs somebody like that, with the calendar you guys have. He’s gotta have a good crew. 

JM: That’s true. 

JB: So Jill, do you live here in The Beach?

JM: I live in San Bruno, right next to YouTube. 

JB: Oh, by their HQ?

JM: Yeah, down by the airport. But all my family grew up here in the city. My great-grandparents grew up on Greenwich Street. I had an aunt that grew up on Green Street, and then other family out in the Sunset. 

JB: So we have another great event coming up this weekend.

JM: Yes, the Italian Heritage Festival & Parade is coming up this Sunday.

JB: That’s another real fun event.

JM: Yeah, that’s an amazing day. It’s going to be busy this year: we sold out of all of the outside tables in record time. This year we also have tables on the inside, as well as bleacher seating. 

JB: That’s always such a fun event. It’s almost like all the outdoor tables presaged the parklets you see everywhere now.

JM: Yes, that’s just going to be a great day. 

JB: Jill, you’ve been a part of this community for a long time, coming to the neighborhood and attending the very events you’re now organizing. What’s it like to be on the other side of an organization you have so much history with?

JM: Well, North Beach is such a special place, I’m just happy to be a part of it. And to help keep all the revitalization going.

JB: It’s amazing to me the pivotal role this neighborhood has played in the recovery of the city. When the chips were down, we were the ones who brought it all back. It came down to North Beach. So this neighborhood is something we’ve all really got to take care of, and to protect. And you guys are such a big part of that. 

JM: Thank you, Joe. It’s a great organization to be a part of, and it’s been a pleasure to see people enjoying the Italian Athletic Club during member events, and especially the public events. And we’re going to continue our work with the church and other monuments. We’ll be working to get more signage, making sure there’s more crosswalks painted, and that even more light poles have the Italian colors on them. North Beach is a great neighborhood, and we just want to keep this area vibrant and fun.

JB: Jill, congratulations on the new position. And thanks again for taking the time.

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To support the essential work of the SFIAC Foundation and donate for their annual appeal, click here.

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