On San Francisco’s Valencia corridor, with its blocks of hip restaurants and chic shops peddling $150 dollar pens and Japanese denim, the survival of the tiny Radio Habana Social Club seems like something of a miracle.

Its single room is an art gallery, with mechanical art pieces whirring above a smattering of dining tables. It’s no wonder people who aren’t in the know are confused wandering by.

“That’s the most common comment walking by the window,” said co-founder Leila Mansur. “What is this place?”

If you were to take a guess — bar, art gallery, restaurant, music venue, neighborhood think tank — you’d be right. It’s all of those things. And probably a bunch more. Since opening in 1998, it’s become the neighborhood’s de facto living room.

“It’s basically a house of intellectuals and

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