The two-story Mission space that once housed Hawker Fare, and has had a rough go of it ever since, has a new occupant in the wings. Mandi House, a Yemeni restaurant with a serious following in LA's Westwood neighborhood, is coming to 680 Valencia. For a city where dedicated Yemeni food is genuinely hard to find, this one is worth watching.

For years, The Jug Shop's planned return to the Maison Pacific building felt like a story that kept not happening — an eviction, a GoFundMe that barely moved, and shelves that went bare. Now there's an ABC license notice in the window and workers inside. The Jug Shop is coming back. Joining them: Look at Me, a Russian manicure and eyelash studio with two popular existing SF locations.

Polk Street is about to have a handroll situation on its hands. A new grab-and-go sushi concept called Handroll Hawker is quietly under construction in the old Zero& space, which means Russian Hill will soon have two dedicated handroll bars within a few blocks of each other. Saru has held that turf alone for a while now.

North Beach has been without a full-service grocery store since May 2023. Construction photos from inside Northpoint Centre suggest the wait is almost over — though the Q1 2026 opening window has already come and gone.

San Francisco's most-ubiquitous boba chain has quietly colonized a storefront at the newly reviving Anchorage Square in Fisherman's Wharf — windows fully wrapped, QR codes deployed, doors still locked. Little Sweet's tenth SF location looks ready. The opening date is anyone's guess.