Article 3 of 11-Part Series

SAN FRANCISCO - Four years ago, Yvonne Hines began making pralines out of her home, selling the Louisiana confection to friends and family throughout her Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood. In time, she began selling cookies and pies, too, and needed a permanent place of business. She looked no further than the commercial Third Street corridor near her house on Evans Avenue.

"I just wanted to get on the jump," she said standing behind the counter of her one-month-old shop, Pralines by Yvonne, between Revere Street and Shafter Avenue. "I wanted to be proactive, be ahead of the game and secure me a spot here along Third Street."

Bucking the trend of business owners shying away from the neighborhood because of its high crime and poverty rates, Hines and many other new business owners are starting to eye Third Street as a place to make money.

"I didn't want to be on the outside looking in saying, 'I should have done that,'" said Hines of leasing her small store. "I didn't want to be like, 'What if?'"

The business allure of Third Street comes from its potential to become the shopping area of choice for nearby residents who are now forced to go outside of the neighborhood for basic services, business owners said.

"There was crime, but not a lot of business," said Peter Gomez, owner of seven-year-old El Azteca Taqueria and two-year-old Road House Cafe, explaining why he opened his businesses along Third Street. "There was no established business where you could go eat with your family. Before, they'd have to go somewhere else for a hot meal, coffee."

Monika Hudson, Director of Bayview Business Resource Center, would like to see more people like Gomez along Third Street.

"We're looking at fresh food, locksmiths, cobblers," she said. "The businesses that you're seeing are the types of businesses that people want to see."

The lack of retail along Third Street means foot traffic will take some time to build and pedestrians are the lifeblood for many businesses, Hudson said.

But if deficiency equals potential, Third Street has plenty.

Only one grocery store, FoodsCo Supermarket, serves the community. Located seven blocks west of Third Street, it has been widely criticized by locals for its lack of quality food.

Moreover, many retail shops that were once on Third Street have closed since construction began on the light rail project in 2002. Construction removed 300 parking spots along the thoroughfare and destroyed any existing foot traffic.

"What we're trying to do is recapture the neighborhood services," said Hudson. "One of the things that we will see as the trains start running is that you'll see business re-emerge like the Road House Cafe or the taquerias."

Angel Vaca, the owner of the six-year-old taqueria, Aguila de Oro, acknowledged that the street looks nicer with the light rail, but it would take time for his own business to recover from the construction period. Before the light rail project began he had six employees. Now he has one because business has been so poor.

But many business owners said the demographic changes will mean different businesses on Third Street, which in turn will provide a healthy dose of competition along the major artery - and some needed foot traffic.

A predominantly black neighborhood since the 1940s when many southerners migrated to work at the naval shipyard, the community now includes more Asians and Hispanics. From 1990 to 2000, the number of African-Americans in the community dropped 8 percent from 17,395 to 15,922, accounting for 48 percent of the population. Asians made up 24 percent of the neighborhood, while Hispanics held 16 percent, according to the 2000 Census.

"You have a lot of different cultures now," said Gomez. "It makes it so people will not go somewhere else. It builds a community. ... It brings in more competition."

Gomez said that when he opened his taqueria, Walgreens and McDonald's also moved into the neighborhood. Now, seven years later, there is Vaca's taqueria up the street and a number of Asian restaurants.

"When you start seeing Asian, Caucasian people and people of all ethnic backgrounds out here walking their dogs in the morning you know there's a change," said Theresa DeRouen, proprietor of The Monte Carlo Bar and Restaurant.

"Nevermind the outsiders coming into the neighborhood," said Gomez. "If just the people in the neighborhood feel safe enough to walk the streets, that is gonna help everybody."

But not everyone was excited about the changes in the community.

"It's gonna be like Fillmore," said Lonnie Abram of Abram & Sons Towing. "You know about Fillmore? There used to be a lot of black families in Fillmore. All gone. It's gonna be the same here."

Still, at Pralines by Yvonne, Hines remained confident of her business acumen.

"We've got the light rail that's coming, the possibility of bringing more customers to this community, different nationalities," said Hines. "My neighborhood is changing."

Moments later, a light rail car making a test run passed in front of her business, frightening a customer still unfamiliar with the new trains.

"That's the street car," said Hines laughing.

The customer relaxed and ordered pecan pralines.

"Another satisfied customer," Hines said.