Two yawning vacancies have plagued the Inner Sunset’s busiest corridor for more than a year at 9th Avenue and Irving Street.
Now the intersection could be getting a whole new look.
Mama’s Boy Pizza (opens in new tab) is set to take over the former Reliable Rexall pharmacy space in the spring, marking the NYC-style slice shop’s first expansion outside of Oakland. The lease is supported by the new Inner Sunset Neighborhood Vibrancy Fund and the nonprofit SF New Deal. Meanwhile, BMO Bank is eyeing the former Bank of America space across the street, according to Planning Department records.
That won’t be the only visible change in the area. Twenty-eight recipients of the Vibrancy Fund, announced Thursday, will benefit from beautification grants, business assistance, and leases from new tenants like 403 Coffee at 403 Irving St.
The grants are funded by Inner Sunset neighbors, who invested $300,000 in the area at a time when SF New Deal was hoping to extend its Vacant to Vibrant programs beyond downtown. Nearly 100 local businesses applied to the grants, which ranged from $5,000 to $20,000.
“It’s exactly the kind of commercial corridor that is the reason San Francisco is a city of neighborhoods,” said Simon Bertrang, executive director of SF New Deal. “We saw that there were some pretty persistent vacancies, and we were hoping to encourage some businesses to fill those vacancies.”
The beautification grants, which include money for murals and lighting, target 20 businesses between 5th and 19th avenues that want to zhuzh up their exteriors, including Peasant Pies, San Francisco Women Artists, The Game Parlour, Luke’s Local Grocery, and Green Apple Books on the Park.
403 Coffee, one of two leasing grant recipients, will be the first Yemeni cafe on the west side. Proprietors Ali Munsar and his sons Yahya and Yaseem Munsar own KJ Produce Market across the street. That building would require extensive renovations to sell prepared food and coffee, so they’ve been eyeing the vacant storefront at 403 Irving St. since taking over the market in 2022.
The cafe will serve pour-overs and fresh baklava, as well as lattes and espresso drinks. It will have a grab-and-go selection of pastries in the morning, then transition to a more social third space in the evenings.
“We still believe that this neighborhood is a family neighborhood, but it’s definitely awake after 3 p.m., when most of the coffee shops close,” Yahya Munsar said. “The missing piece that the neighborhood needs is a spot that stays open til 10 p.m., a nonalcoholic space.”
The 1,200-square-foot space, which has been empty for years since a private event venue closed, will have cedar plank ceilings and burgundy tile counters. A $20,000 grant from the Neighborhood Vibrancy Fund will go toward interior design and sourcing materials as the cafe shoots for a December opening.
Storefronts in the neighborhood have been filled by upscale newcomers, like Saint Frank Coffee, which replaced a Starbucks.
A persistently empty bank that has irked local businesses may be close to having a new occupant: BMO Bank this summer filed for a formula retail approval, which is under review by the Planning Department.
“It will help meet residents’ and merchants’ everyday needs, bring foot traffic to that corner, and light up a spot that has been dark for a long time,” said Susannah Wise, president of the Inner Sunset Merchants Association.
Since announcing the Neighborhood Vibrancy Fund in July, San Franciscans from other neighborhoods have reached out to SF New Deal asking for a similar program on their blocks.
Bertrang said the beautification part of the grants is important to show the work that SF New Deal and the Neighborhood Vibrancy Fund is supporting in communities.
“We want people to feel that their local commercial corridor is more active, more culturally and commercially vibrant,” he said.
Neighbors and business owners have noticed.
“We came when the neighborhood was in a very quiet phase, and we’re seeing things get better and better and better,” Munsar said.