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A Marin-Based Team Helping Local Businesses Stop Overpaying on POS & Credit Card Fees
Running a business in the Bay Area isn’t cheap—and many owners don’t realize how much they’re paying in POS systems and credit card processing fees. Hidden markups, unnecessary features, and confusing pricing structures can quietly add thousands each year.
Marin locals Shannon Ronan & Breelyn MacDonald, Strategic Partnership Managers with CHIPP, help business owners review their setup, uncover hidden fees, and find better-fit solutions. As past founders of a local business themselves, they understand these challenges firsthand and offer real, local support you can actually reach.
Contact Shannon for a Free Cost Analysis:
[email protected] | 415.845.3721 | Follow us @MacRonanSolutions | chipp.cc
A 17-year-old named Tupac Shakur was working a shift at Round Table Pizza. Even though he was young and shockingly poor, even compared to other Marin City residents, he was different. He possessed a self-described arrogance. During lunch rush on a fall day in 1988, his boss pushed him to the limit for the final time.
Tupac grabbed his leather jacket, lit a cigarette right in front of his boss, and walked out the door.
It’s a small part of a fascinating chapter in the life of one of the most famous rappers who ever lived. I’ll tell part of that story, but first, where was this pizza joint and what is there now?
Round Table Pizza was located at 50 Belvedere Drive until 2016. Today it is just behind Strawberry Village and In-N-Out (the In-N-Out opened in 1999, the shopping center was called Town & Country at the time). The building is a veterinarian clinic that recently closed, Modern Animal.
In June 1988, Tupac Shakur boarded a Greyhound bus in Baltimore with $5 to his name. He took the journey alone, his younger sister was already in Marin and his mother would join soon after. He took the bus to nearby Tamalpais High School, which was only 2.7 miles away, but a world apart from the Marin City public housing living.
9 of the 227 students in Tupac’s Tam High senior class were Black. Even more, Tupac was also nothing like the Black students who attended Tam from Marin City before or after. He was a theater kid, not a jock. He previously attended Baltimore School for the Arts, a racially diverse magnet school where he trained alongside students and teachers of all backgrounds — better preparation for Tam High's predominantly white environment than most Marin City kids had.
Tupac joined the drama program and his talent was immediately obvious to all:
Name something a performer was required to do—anything a performer was required to do—and Tupac mastered it. He could cry on demand. He could speak in a British accent. He could learn lines on the quick. He could turn his body into Jell-O. He could scream like a girl being stabbed by Jason Voorhees and howl like a boy holding his beloved dead cockapoo.
It was the same day he quit the pizza job that Tupac gave his first video interview. A fellow student was working on a journalism class project: a documentary interviewing fellow Tam students.
I’m running out of space, so won’t deconstruct the interview. However, it is fascinating. To hear the rationale behind quitting the pizza job earlier that day, skip ahead to minute 16. To understand the depth of his beliefs and passions, I recommend minute 24.
Tupac dropped out of Tam in the spring of 1989 and within four years he would be on the Billboard charts. Within eight he was dead at 25.
p.s. This Marin Magazine article also has a great tidbit about Tupac impressing during a classroom reading of Othello.
p.p.s. Shout out to Allison who happened to check out the Tupac biography Only God Can Judge Me the same day I started this article, before I even mentioned it. Perfect timing, we are meant for each other! And thanks Jeff Pearlman, there was a ton of detail about Tupac’s life in Marin that has not been covered anywhere else.
p.p.s.s. Another Marin History music note: I did a recent video tour of the recording studio in Sausalito where Fleetwood Mac recorded Rumours exactly 50 years ago.
Corte Madera Ridge by Alexander Brebner
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Newsletter note: this is the first time we are doing Get Your Tickets Now and Bay Area Events on Monday. On the Wednesday email you will still receive the list of Marin events coming up on the weekend.
Summer concert season is just around the corner and the opening day shows at both Rancho Nicasio and Hopmonk Novato are both already sold out.
Here is the full list and my video overview of Rancho Nicasio’s BBQs on the Lawn series:
Hopmonk Novato is still adding a few more dates to their Cookout Concert Series, but you can view the current list on sale here or and see my video overview here.
Due to the popularity of both of these venues, I recommend taking a look soon and buying tickets to the more popular shows while you still can.
It’s free wine month in the Alexander Valley, Healdsburg area. How come no one told me about these complimentary tastings before? Here is the full list of participating wineries, including whether you need to make a reservation in advance.
Every year on Easter Sunday, SF does the Bring Your Own Big Wheel Race. Kids and adults bomb down an extremely curvy hill in Potrero.
Is this the year you finally learn how to sail or windsurf? Cal Sailing in Berkeley has an open house on Sunday with free lessons and more dates here.
Zillow of the Week brought to you by: Making Marin Home. From neighborhood trends to off-market opportunities, our team offers the local real estate expertise that gives you a real advantage. Email [email protected] today.
Please note that this property isn’t associated with the banner sponsor above or Marin Buzz in any way. It is just a unique home you might be interested in seeing, for entertainment purposes only!
$2.4M Treehouse in Stinson Beach
Somewhere in the hills near Stinson Beach is a three story treehouse with 70 glass windows.
There’s a video on the Sotheby’s website that gives a great tour. The listing says you can walk to town and the beach. I wonder why they didn’t list the exact address?
The 1970 Tower House was designed by Valentino Agnoli and there is also a separate bunkhouse. In total, it is listed at 709 square feet, with two beds and two baths. So that is more like two tiny homes in a beautiful location.
Given the price tag and tiny livable area, this comes to a shocking $3,378 per square foot. Four times more than the Marin average!
Check it out:
Bixby is a Norwich terrier, but he looks like a bear cub. He’s 7.5 years old and he is a cancer survivor! We’ve nicknamed him The Mayor of Marin because he seems to know everyone and loves strutting down the block!
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A Pilates Studio for those Who Care About Moving Well
A boutique Pilates and strength studio in the heart of Mill Valley. Rooted in authentic Pilates and elevated with modern strength training, our classes are designed for people who value precision, strength, and consistency. Small classes. Exceptional instruction. A community that moves differently.
Thanks for reading. We will be back with the regular events and activities email Wednesday morning!
