Scott James

Ike's popularity swells

Four NIMBY neighbors, thousands of sandwiches, and countless media stories later, San Franciscans are now getting the chance to have their say about the fate of Ike’s Place, the tiny sandwich shop in the Castro that has become so wildly popular it faces eviction.

People are talking. Or to be more specific, e-mailing.

Shop owner Ike Shehadeh sent out an e-mail on Tuesday looking for folks who might be willing to say something positive about his postage-stamp-size eatery. Four upstairs neighbors have threatened to sue, and the landlord started eviction proceedings, after the restaurant became a foodie sensation and began attracting huge, allegedly disruptive crowds.

Scott James

Save Ike's goes viral

The response to the e-mail was swift: 400 people e-mailed in support in just the first day, according to Shehadeh.

“All of a sudden my e-mail box was flooded,” he said. “It almost brought tears to my eyes. When I go through and read them, it just might.”

And the outreach for support is poised to go viral: online foodie messages boards are chatting about the email, encouraging people to forward it to others. Shehadeh plans to use the responses in his defense should his case go to trial. No court date is set.

Four hundred versus four. And this just started.