City’s heart

NICHOLAS TORRES • True Laurel

WORK • Wednesday Routine

NICHOLAS TORRES • co-founder & beverage director • True Laurel
Neighborhood you work in: Mission

It’s Wednesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
Our weekly farmers market (and most of the farmers we work with) are part of the Heart of the City Farmers Market on Wednesday mornings. So I wake up early, have my coffee, eat my oatmeal (I’m old), and head straight there. That’s usually when I set the tone for the week: sourcing what we need, foraging afterward, and trying to gather all our organic ingredients in one solid run.

We also have weekly management meetings on Wednesdays. We look at our events, repairs, staffing, and any pressing issues as a team. So the day may start with routine, but it fills up really fast.

What’s on the agenda for today?
We’re in that beautiful stretch between winter and spring. Right now we’re still working with winter citrus, alongside tubers and those post-winter rain weeds that start popping up. But we know a wave of greens is just around the corner.

We prep four days a week, so getting organic produce to the team on Wednesday is key. I also sit in on tastings for any menu changes — what’s happening in the kitchen often influences the drink program, and sometimes it works the other way around. These days, our bar shares techniques and flavors with restaurants and bars around the world, so part of each day also involves organizing the yearly calendar — making sure travel, collaborations, and events all line up properly.

Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
I’m heading to Mexico to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Zapote Bar in Playa del Carmen. Really excited for that.

How about a little leisure or culture?
San Francisco remains one of the most beautiful cities in the world, not just because of its majestic scenery, but because of its scenes in general. As challenging as it can be to be an artist here, people still choose to make art here because the environment supports it. There’s money, there’s blight, there’s deep cultural and culinary diversity, and there’s nature both within and just beyond the city.

A day off for me means staying close to home and taking it slow — walking through different neighborhoods, absorbing the layers of old and new. If I have real downtime, I’ll head to the ocean and try to catch a few waves. If you’re a water person, the Bay Area really delivers.

At night, there are some amazing galleries and organizations pushing the needle forward — it’s not just about the big museums. You might check out what Cushion Works is up to.

Any weekend getaways?
Weekends aren’t really a thing in our industry — we tend to make our moves during the week. But recently, I gave myself a day to drive a little north and park at Muir Beach. That might not sound groundbreaking to most Bay Area folks, but there aren’t many places where you can take in one of the most beautiful beaches, then head out on a two-hour hike through majestic California redwoods, and finish it all at a tiny British pub like the Pelican Inn, drinking a Guinness with a port float and eating fish and chips. I mean… come on.

What was your last great vacation?
I travel so much for work (not complaining) that I rarely take real vacations, but I recently went to Baja purely for leisure. I love Mexico if you can’t tell, it’s in my blood. I spent a night at Acre, which is technically a resort, but they have treehouses that aren’t outrageously expensive. You can kind of live like a baller on a budget. From there, I drove the long route to La Paz.

Baja is still an incredible place. It’s developing a little faster than I’d like, but in many ways it still feels wild, unbound, and completely majestic. In a single day, you can find a waterfall, jump in the ocean, ride a horse through the desert, and end up in town at a perfectly affordable hotel if you want to.