Saluhall, the struggling food hall connected to the downtown San Francisco IKEA, recently announced that a new operator has stepped up to take the reins of its bars. Now, in another bid to bring activity back, there’s a new tenant lined up for the hall’s vacant coffee counter.
Oklava Café, a Turkish bakery, will serve Turkish-style coffees, salads, pizza slices and pastries inside Saluhall, at 925 Market St., according to a press release. Owners Aziz Aslan and Elif Uzun opened the first Oklava in downtown Palo Alto in 2023, serving baked goods such as baklava imported from Turkey and yeasted buns filled with cheese and olives. In 2025, they opened bakery and restaurant Turquaz in SoMa, just a few blocks away from Saluhall, on the corner of Mission and Eighth streets.
Oklava Café and Saluhall did not provide a full menu, though the press release describes the new project as “a combination of the team’s existing concepts.” An opening date and business hours will be announced in a few weeks.
“Our goal is to create a space where people can grab a quick, delicious Mediterranean lunch or linger over a traditional Turkish coffee. We’re building a menu that is accessible and affordable, but never compromises on the quality and heritage of the food,” Oklava Café manager Deniz Soykan said in the press release. Aslan and Uzun were not immediately available for comment.
Saluhall’s coffee counter and bakery space has sat empty since March, when the previous operator, Cheezy’s Artisanal Pizza, abruptly closed following an alleged dispute with Saluhall’s management over a new lease.
Once Oklava Café opens it will join Filipino sandwich kiosk Izzy & Wooks, local Indian food chain Curry Up Now, both located on Saluhall’s second level, and smashburger specialist Smish Smash — ranked No. 80 on the Chronicle’s 2026 list of the Top 100 restaurants in the Bay Area — on the ground floor. These are the only remaining tenants inside the largely vacant hall, which has seen near-constant tenant turnover since opening in 2024. In November, Saluhall and IKEA parent company Ingka Centres split with the food hall’s operator, Kerb Food, a London hospitality group.
In April, Saluhall management announced that Spirited Beverage Co., the beverage arm of Bay Area events company Always Fishing Hospitality Group, was taking over Saluhall’s three bars. They will operate under the name Spirited at Saluhall with a lineup of cocktails, beer, wine and non-alcoholic drinks that is consistent across the bars. Under previous management, Saluhall’s three bars had different names and offerings.
Neither Saluhall nor Spirited have announced a reopening date for the bars.