Bluestone Lane, the glossy Australian-inspired coffee chain whose Marina cafe draws lines for flat whites and avocado smash, was hit Thursday morning with a major, repeat rodent violation by San Francisco health inspectors. During a routine inspection of the 3352 Steiner Street location on June 4, an inspector documented mice droppings on the floor and on cardboard boxes in the back food prep area — directly below where the cafe stores its bananas — along with “lots” of droppings in the dry storage room and evidence of mice throughout the facility.
For a brand built on seafoam-blue tile, wellness lattes, and a famously photogenic gluten-free banana bread, the image of droppings beneath the banana storage is a brutal one. And the report’s most damning word isn’t in the observations at all — it’s the “(REPEAT)” stamped next to the violation, meaning inspectors have cited rodent problems at this cafe before, and the problem came back.
What the Report Says
The inspection, conducted by SFDPH inspector Amelia Castelli between 8:30 and 9:45 a.m., logged the rodent activity as a major violation of California Retail Food Code sections 114259 through 114259.5 — the provisions requiring food facilities to be free of vermin and built to keep them out. Notably, the report states the facility currently has licensed pest control services. That detail cuts both ways: it shows the operator isn’t ignoring the problem, but it also means a professional pest program is in place and mice are still leaving droppings throughout the building.
A second, lesser violation rounds out the report: plastic milk crates being used as shelving for food storage, a no-no under the food code’s requirement that equipment be commercial-grade and easily cleanable. Under San Francisco’s rules, major violations carry a reinspection fee, and the corrective action ordered is comprehensive — eliminate the infestation using approved methods, remove all evidence, sanitize affected surfaces, and seal the building against re-entry. The report does not indicate a suspension of the cafe’s permit; this was a citation, not a shutdown, though a follow-up inspection is coming.
A Corporate Chain, Not a Corner Shop
Bluestone Lane isn’t a scrappy independent. Founded by former investment banker and Australian rules footballer Nicholas Stone, the New York-based company operates more than 55 cafes nationwide, with its own NYC roastery and a heavily designed, Melbourne-meets-coastal aesthetic. The Steiner Street cafe — a 2,375-square-foot space just off Chestnut Street — opened on September 18, 2023 as the company’s seventh San Francisco location, as reported by Eater SF. The location’s permit is held by BL 3352 Steiner CA LLC, with a Brooklyn-area phone number on file — a reminder that decisions about this Marina cafe route through a corporate office three time zones away…