New Haight Street Restaurant Becomes Target of Ridicule,…
A new San Francisco restaurant faced significant community backlash and vandalism after using AI-generated food images on its storefront menu displays
- Incident date
- May 2024
- Target
- Grind & Unwind
In May 2024, the newly opened Haight Street restaurant Grind & Unwind became the target of public ridicule and vandalism following the use of AI-generated imagery on its storefront menu. The controversy centered on synthetic photos of food items that locals described as unappetizing and uncanny.
What happened
Owners AJ and Lyndsey Lozano, who opened the cafe in the former Citrus Club location, utilized AI-generated photos of sandwiches, pastries, and coffee drinks to decorate their front window. The intent was to provide a temporary, visible menu for tourists in the area while the owners focused on the logistics of the new business opening. However, the images quickly went viral on a Reddit thread, where commenters compared the distorted food to items like lungs, loofahs, and cordyceps fungi.
Public sentiment regarding the restaurant was already strained due to the abrupt closure of the Citrus Club, a neighborhood fixture for three decades. The backlash against the AI images eventually escalated to physical vandalism; the owners arrived to find their awning tagged with red graffiti reading "seriously." Following the incident, the owners removed the AI-generated posters, repainted the facade at a cost exceeding $700, and replaced the displays with physical pastry arrangements and improved window lighting. The owners have since shifted their focus toward integrating into the community through planned events like paint-and-sip nights and pasta-making classes.