When a conference like Dreamforce comes to the city, Max Gueli, the longtime manager of Working Girls' Café on New Montgomery, says it's obviously good for business.

"When we have conventions in town, our sales pretty much double," he said. "It helps the local economy tremendously. All the restaurants are booked, all the hotels are booked."

But looking at the bigger picture?

"It's an opportunity for people to come in and see our city," he said.

A city in the midst of a years-long battle between perception and reality. Gueli will be the first to acknowledge, the reality of 2020, 2021, and 2022 in San Francisco was rough. But he says that reality has changed significantly in recent years.

"The streets are much cleaner, much safer, and people are coming back – office people are coming ba

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