Del Popolo, the city’s upscale wood-fired pizzeria that grew from a glass-walled shipping-container oven into a downtown staple, will close its Union Square restaurant on May 8. Owner Jon Darsky plans to shift the business toward the company’s frozen sourdough pizzas on grocery shelves, effectively wrapping up more than ten years of service in the neighborhood.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Darsky wrote on social media that the pizzeria will “serve its final customers on May 8” and that “months of reflection haven’t lessened my ambivalence” about the decision. He added that he intends to “begin a new chapter” centered on frozen pies and growing Del Popolo’s retail operations.
From Truck To Bush Street Dining Room
Del Popolo rolled onto the scene in 2012 as a glassed-in shipping container mounted on a Freightliner truck before settling into a brick-and-mortar dining room on Bush Street in 2015. According to the Del Popolo site, the restaurant is located at 855 Bush Street near Union Square. Early local coverage, including a feature in The Bold Italic, documented those truck-era days and the lines that quickly followed.
Frozen Pies And Grocery Aisles
Del Popolo has since built a sizable retail business. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the brand now distributes its frozen sourdough pizzas to more than 100 grocery stores, including Whole Foods locations in California, Nevada and Arizona. In a blind tasting earlier this year, the Chronicle highlighted Del Popolo’s crust for its blistered, chewy bite, a result Darsky has said helped confirm the decision to lean into frozen pies.
Another Downtown Casualty
The closure lands amid a years-long reshaping of Union Square’s retail core, where dozens of storefronts have gone dark since 2019. A San Francisco Standard analysis found that only about 53% of pre‑pandemic retailers on Union Square streets remained open as of 2023, underscoring the ongoing headwinds for downtown restaurants and shops.
What Customers Should Know
Del Popolo will continue serving at its Bush Street restaurant through May 8. After that, its pizzas will live on in freezer cases at grocery partners and through a locator on the Del Popolo site. For diners who watched the business grow from truck to dining room, the closure ends one era while keeping its pies in reach across the region.
