Steven Bracco

After a quick remodel and concept change, Niji Japanese Sushi & Bar has opened at 3970 17th Street (near Castro).

Nearly six years after receiving approval, a former real estate office at 2201 Market St. (at Sanchez) will be demolished and replaced with a six-story mixed-use building.

In this edition: a hot chicken and ramen restaurant changes concepts to a sushi restaurant and a custom sofa store and medical spa open in the Castro.

The long-vacant Castro storefront at 2295 Market Street (at Noe), will soon be occupied by Salvadoran restaurant Los Amigos, which opened a Mission District location in 2019.

Castro residents now have a new spot from which to pick up fresh baked pastries, desserts, and coffee.

The Castro's nearly 25-year-old The Hope For The World Cure mural at 16th and Market streets was recently restored with vibrant colors and three new additions.

Mexico-based chain La Borra del Café has proposed to move into the long-vacant ground floor retail space 2175 Market Street (at Sanchez and 15th streets).

A new Chinese restaurant is slated to open on Castro Street in the coming weeks, occupying a long-vacant storefront.

The Epicurean Trader was just announced as the ground floor retail tenant at the new residential condo building 2238 Market — a.k.a. the development on the former Sullivan's Funeral Home property.

Castro residents now have a new source for hanging plants, house plants, and moss baskets.

The longtime owner of the plant shop and nursery, David Gray, says the shop hasn't been profitable for a while. "I'm gonna have to find a job," he says.

Plans for the return of a Pink Saturday event in the Castro have been canceled just four days before Pride Weekend.

After 13 years in the Castro, Trudy's Tattoo Parlor (2275 Market St.) quietly shuttered this month due to pandemic-related financial stresses.

San Francisco-based Live Fit Gym is set to take over the former Castro 24 Hour Fitness location at 2145 Market Street (at Church).

The Academy Award-winning 2008 Harvey Milk biopic 'Milk,' the production of which included on-location shooting in the Castro and the restoration of the Castro Theatre's neon sign, will be screened again at the theater in June as part of a benefit.

More details continue to emerge about Another Planet Entertainment's plans for the renovation of the historic Castro Theatre, including the hiring of BuildOut California, an association of LGBT construction firms and trades.

We now have some hints about changes being made inside the Castro Theatre via plans that have been filed with the city.

For the third year in a row, the Pink Triangle atop Twin Peaks will once again be lit up like a giant gay beacon throughout Pride Month. But this time, it will be more vibrant in the daytime as well.

In June, a new art and events pop-up, Queer Arts Featured (a.k.a Queer A.F.), will be opening in the former HRC Store (also Harvey Milk's one-time camera store) at 575 Castro Street.

After nine years at its current location on 17th Street, Castro gift shop Local Take (3979B 17th. St.) is preparing to move to a new, larger space at 18th and Castro streets.

There is now a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for the restoration of the Castro's nearly 25-year-old The Hope For the World Cure mural at 16th and Market streets.

Sunglass Hut quietly closed its Castro store at 511 Castro Street last week after at least 15 years in that space.

No one was injured in the April 8 fire on Noe Street, but it displaced five residents and shut down Sushi Urashima, and crowdfunding campaigns have been launched for both.

The long-awaited cocktail lounge and restaurant Lobby Bar (4230 18th St.) opens today on the ground floor of The Hotel Castro.

Castro residents and visitors looking for their daily fix of Starbucks coffee, lattes, frappucinos, and more can rejoice.