Here's the latest in SF Eats. In this edition, a popular, local pizzeria plots expansion to the Inner Sunset, a Guatemalan-cuisine restaurant moves to a new Mission location while another Mission-based eatery offers gingerbread house-making workshops for the holiday season.
Openings
Inner Sunset
Fiorella (1240 9th Ave.)
Fiorella is expanding to the Inner Sunset. According to Eater SF, the popular local pizzeria will move into the space that formerly housed Park Chow (1240 9th Ave.), which closed in 2018.
Co-owner Boris Nemchenok told Eater that the project is a personal one because it’s the first spot where his parents dined in 1983, when they immigrated to the United Stats from Latvia.
Nemchenok’s first restaurant was Uva Enoteca in the Lower Haight, which launched over a decade ago.
Nemchenok has since expanded, opening pizza-focused Italian restaurant Fiorella in the Outer Richmond in 2016 with business partner Brandon Gillis, followed by Violet’s in June of 2018.
The team opened a second Fiorella location on Polk Street last March.
The Inner Sunset outpost will be Fiorella’s largest to date, with two levels of seating. It will also involve an installation of an even larger pizza oven. Boasting 6,500 pounds and a bigger size overall, the oven will have enough room for eight to nine pizzas at a time.
For drinks, wine will be sourced from Italy and California. Beer and low-ABV cocktails will also be served.
For food, the focus will be on once again be on pizza. The restaurant will also serve fresh pastas and antipasti.
Nemchenok told us there's no specific opening date yet, since the project is “pretty big,” but the restaurant should open sometime in 2020.
Mission
Prubechu (2224 Mission St.)
As we reported in October, Prubechu, the fine-casual restaurant specializing in Chamorro cuisine, has found a new home in the former Commonwealth space at 224 Mission St., which shuttered last August. According to its website, the restaurant will open on December 3rd.
Back in August, General Manager Shawn Camacho told us that he and Chef Shawn Naputi ceased operations at the 2847 Mission St. location in 2014 due to a rent increase, and because it was not equipped for an expansion.
Camacho said the new space was everything they were looking for. "Perfect size, an upgrade for us in every aspect, an adjacent parking lot, which just doesn't exist in the Mission, [and] it's just a few blocks from our former location, and in an established food destination in the 18th St. corridor,” Camacho said.
Since the space contains 1,500 square feet and 40 seats, it’s not notably larger than the first spot (at 2847 Mission St.); however, the kitchen has reportedly gone through an upgrade to enable cooking with a range, plancha, combi oven and a deep fryer.
Its offerings will include a "Fiesta Table," a new family-style dinner which Chef Naputi calls a "sharable feast,” in addition to an expanded a la carte list including old favorites such as red rice, Chamorro empanadas, and BBQ pork ribs. The menu will also feature new items, such as kadun pika (a traditional spicy stew), and an entire section dedicated to Kelaguen (Guam’s version of ceviche, served with coconut flatbread).
Once the restaurant debuts on December 3, it will serve dinner from Monday to Thursday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday to Saturday from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Reservations are now available.
Events
Prairie (3431 19th St.)
Mission-based restaurant Prairie is offering gingerbread house workshops for the holiday season, with a twist.
Pastry Chef Alison Sullivan and Chef Anthony Strong will lead guests in the creation of a mid-century modern Tahoe mountain ski lodge, all from gingerbread.
The restaurant will provide some specialized, non-traditional gingerbread house ingredients, such as frosted rosemary evergreens and sugar-glass windows.
Workshops will be held on December 7th, 14th and 21st from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The price is $150 per house for up to two people, and additional guests available for $30/person.
The ticket includes drinks (house-made eggnogg, kombucha bellini, coffee and tea) and snacks (gingerbread cake, whipped uni, and egg salad on milk bread) to enjoy during the crafting.
Tickets are available on TOCK.
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