Since opening in North Beach as a pop-up store specializing in Italian language books in 2017, Libreria Pino has outgrown several different locations in the neighborhood.

North Beach is home to what may be the country’s first smartshop, a retail concept born in Europe featuring mushrooms, psychedelic plants, and the like.

The more than 30-year-old dim sum favorite Lai Hong Lounge is back from a months-long remodel, and while the giant menu is still the same, there are new private dining rooms to enjoy those Michelin Bib Gourmand-winning pork and custard buns.

Dance bar and happy hour spot Tope is reopening this weekend with a new parklet, new cocktail menu, a complete interior redesign, and some sweet new neon.

More than 1,000 hungry noodle lovers descended upon North Beach and Chinatown for the revived SF Noodle Fest on Saturday, and celebrity chef Martin Yan cracked up the crowd and took pictures with anyone who asked.

North Beach has plenty of places to get your drink on. But until recently, if you were seeking a mellower high from a cannabis dispensary, you were out of luck.

The noodle wars are coming back, as the street food festival Noodle Fest will pit 29 North Beach and Chinatown restaurants against one another in a noodle contest with celebrity judges Martin Yan, Soleil Ho, and Broke-Ass Stuart.

North Beach resident and artist Jeremy Fish is excited about The Fish Tank, his new gallery and studio located at 1331 Grant Ave. But he’s even more thrilled to be part of the renaissance his beloved neighborhood is experiencing now that the worst of the pandemic — knock on wood — is behind us.  

The North Beach location of popular taqueria chain El Farolito finally gets the green light, after the burrito franchise was foiled when the planning department said it ran afoul of SF formula retail regulations.

“We were in the Tenderloin for 10 years and were really advocating for the neighborhood,” says owner Kristin Klein. “But I could not turn down a primo location in North Beach for the same price as pre-pandemic Tenderloin.”

What was once a SoMa pop-up restaurant in 2019, SF Chickenbox has since grown into a fully-fledged eatery with a permanent location at 464 Broadway. But without needed renovations, the North Beach business could go the way of the dodo bird. 

The “Unthanksgiving” gathering at dawn on Alcatraz Island is back on, and boat tickets are still available, plus the ceremony will be streaming online.

A new retro-diner-inspired brunch spot, Hilda & Jesse (701 Union St. at Powell) has just opened in North Beach, in the space formerly occupied by North Beach Gyros.