Rogelio Colindres, an immigrant from El Salvador, took over the Acre Cafe in the Presidio in 2012.
Colindres renamed the shop, located in what was the pharmacy of a former Army hospital, and revamped the menu. In more than 10 years running Cafe RX, he has served breakfast and lunch to office workers and tourists taking in the Presidio’s verdant expanse.
But he got an unpleasant surprise last week when his husband alerted him to the Trump administration’s efforts to make dramatic cuts to the Presidio Trust, the federal agency established to oversee the 1,500-acre park.
“He’s like a child, and he’s desperate for attention,” Colindres said of President Donald Trump. “I don’t agree with anything he’s doing, but what can I do as a small-business owner here?”
Colindres is one of dozens of entrepreneurs operating in the park who have concerns for their livelihoods in the wake of Trump’s executive order. Other than a draw for millions of visitors annually, the park is home to some 200 businesses, ranging from schools to restaurants to a trampoline gym.
The Presidio Trust, the federal agency charged with stewarding the park, functions as the landlord to these businesses. Their property leases fund the operations of the trust, which hasn’t received annual appropriations from the federal government since 2013.
“The Presidio is a self-sufficient government operation that should be a model for all government organizations,” said Victor Meyerhoff, owner of the 12-lane Presidio Bowl bowling alley. “Instead, it is being portrayed as a wasteful and unneeded part of the federal government. It is a shame, but like other challenges the park has faced, we will overcome.”
Presidio Bowl, in business for 30 years, has a long-term lease that “would be honored as a statutory duty of the Presidio Trust,” Meyerhoff said.
The White House on Wednesday gave the trust two weeks to prepare a report describing its operations. But for now, the trust’s message is simple: Please continue to visit the Presidio.
“All services, amenities, and business are operating as normal,” said spokesperson Lisa Petrie.
Presidio businesses — and their employees — should not panic, Petrie said: “There are no impacts to any services or businesses in the Presidio. They all have leases and are supported with all necessary services by us as a landlord.”
However, if the order disrupts the park’s operations, it will “directly impact” two locations of Equator Coffee, according to cofounder Helen Russell: Round House by the Golden Gate Bridge and one in Fort Mason.
“That said, we expect that the Presidio will continue to be the self-sustaining treasure that it is,” she said, “and we’re proud to be even a small part of that.”
The trust expects to prove to the Trump administration that its operations are “statutorily based” and defend its financial stewardship of the federal land. The trust’s most recent budget filings, for fiscal 2025, show projected operating revenue of $184 million and costs of $139 million, for a surplus of around $46 million. The trust’s reserves appear to be in good shape, with an $87 million surplus forecast for 2026.
“This news is a huge bummer, to put it lightly,” said Justin Catalana, cofounder and CEO of Fort Point Brewing, which has been making beer in the Presidio for more than a decade. The trust is “essential” to “keeping the park the special place that it is,” he added.
Like others, he predicts the Presidio will win its battle against the White House. In fact, Catalana has sketched out expansion plans for his business. “We hope that one day we can open a full taproom in the Presidio,” he said, “creating another reason to love San Francisco’s national park and another source of income for the park.”