+1 on Mount Storm. Macbeath in S.F. has been closed for a few years but the Berkeley location is still going strong and much better than Aura for hardwoods. The quality has fallen slightly over the years but it is still a good spot. Mount Storm in Windsor is an hour and a half north of S.F. but it's worth it. Check or cash only, they don't take credit cards, but a fantastic lumber collection and if you call them first they will tell you what they have on hand before you make the drive. M-F only. To give you an idea of the difference, from this week, Macbeath has - Soft Maple - 4/4 S3S which is barely ¾" with decent tear out giving you realistically a yield 11/16" if you are picky on what you choose or 8/4 S3S which is barely 1-½". It's mostly flat if you select well but you'll likely want to help it along and you'll need to cull through a fair amount to get a good selection. Macbeath stores their lumber flat so it's a workout to go through the unit as the top selection is pretty picked over and you need to move it to get the the lower stock which is in better condition.
Mount Storm - Softy Maple S3S - 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 8/4 all the full thicknesses you would expect and much nicer quality. Wider widths and dead flat as they mill it in house. Also, Mount Storm is vertical storage so it's easy to go through. Much better pricing as well.
I live in S.F. Macbeath is 20 min away from me. Mount Stom is 1.5 hours. I drove to Mount Storm twice this week. To be fair, I still go to Macbeath a lot but it is sometimes frustrating. Call first, sometimes they are out of stock on things you would expect them to have.
You could also contact Moore Newton in San Leandro. It's been quite awhile since i've been there. They had good stock on my last visit but they were a little whiny about people wanting to pull their own lumber. Maybe it's better now? You could call them and ask if they are ok with you going through a unit.
If you just need a stick or two I would go for Macbeath.
You can also swing by Woodcraft in San Carlos on your trip to round out your day.
