{"id":305917,"date":"2026-05-08T12:20:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T12:20:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/305917\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T12:20:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T12:20:16","slug":"s-f-s-hottest-homegrown-establishments-flocking-to-mission-bay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/305917\/","title":{"rendered":"S.F.’s hottest homegrown establishments flocking to Mission Bay"},"content":{"rendered":"

When construction crews broke ground in 1997 on the Giants\u2019 future stadium in Mission Bay, the San Francisco neighborhood was not much more than a dilapidated former train yard, with vast swaths of land abandoned and disused by the end of the 20th century.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A year later, the city would adopt a redevelopment plan for the area, carving up the neighborhood block by block<\/a> for different uses, and dedicating 30 percent of residential units to affordable housing<\/a>. It was a slow trickle at first, but in recent years \u2014 by some alchemy of housing, medicine, tech, sports and other business \u2014 the landscape has been transformed with plate glass office buildings, mid-rise apartments, and a sprawling, state-of-the art medical center.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With the neighborhood\u2019s rapid growth, it\u2019s easy to spot another growing trend \u2014 not of big business, but small. Highly prized establishments, homegrown in other neighborhoods, are coming for the eastern waterfront.<\/p>\n

Take Richmond district<\/a>-born Arsicault Bakery. After it was dubbed best new bakery<\/a> in 2016, the neighborhood croissanterie developed a reputation for drawing long lines<\/a> down Arguello Boulevard, and later out the door of its second location on McAllister Street near Civic Center. Now, those lines are sometimes at its newest location at Mission Bay.<\/p>\n

Arsicault is just one example. Increasingly, it looks like someone cherry-picked the hippest bars, bakeries and restaurants from throughout San Francisco and plopped down outposts in fancier digs along the eastern waterfront.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some of S.F.\u2019s favorite eateries have headed to Mission Bay<\/p>\n

A selection of businesses with outposts in Mission Bay, May 2026.<\/p>\n

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Burma Superstar\/<\/p>\n

Burma Love<\/p>\n

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House of Tadu Ethiopian Kitchen<\/p>\n

Burma Superstar\/Burma Love<\/p>\n

Map by Iryna Humenyuk.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a reason it looks that way: Those commercial tenants are, indeed, sometimes cherry-picked as part of a top-down curation by major developers. Residents don\u2019t seem to mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ten years ago, \u201cNone of this existed,\u201d said one resident out walking her dog along the neighborhood\u2019s waterfront walking trail on a recent weekday. \u201cNow I have a lot of friends who I\u2019ve met because they\u2019ve chosen Mission Bay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what they\u2019ve [the developers] planned has been good. I have a dog, so a lot of green space has been nice,\u201d she added. \u201cIt has been nice having businesses that I love in San Francisco move to my neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"GlassQuik Dog Mission Rock. Photo by Zoe Malen<\/p>\n

\"\"Cafe R\u00e9veille in Mission Bay. Photo by Zoe Malen<\/p>\n

The Arsicault team was approached in 2023, specifically by developers at Mission Rock \u2014 a 28-acre development project born out of a 2018 partnership between the Giants, global development conglomerate Tishman Speyer and the Port of San Francisco. <\/p>\n

That development, just across McCovey Cove from the Giants stadium Oracle Park, is not yet complete, but contains perhaps the highest density of neighborhood-born outposts in the area.<\/p>\n

Arsicault\u2019s Mission Rock outpost sits on the ground floor of the \u201cVerde\u201d building, one of two residential high-rises so far built at the site. The 23-story building is clad with emerald green ceramic tiles, a similar hue to the awning of Arsicault\u2019s original location in the Richmond District.<\/p>\n

\u201cComplete coincidence,\u201d said Arsicault\u2019s owner, Armando Lacayo, with a laugh. Arsicault Mission Rock might be a tad more conspicuous than its sister on Arguello.<\/p>\n

\"AThe Verde building, Arsicault Mission Bay\u2019s less-than-conspicuous home in Mission Rock. Photo by Nicholas David.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really so expensive to have the entire building painted green,\u201d he said he\u2019ll sometimes joke. \u201cBut no, it was a coincidence. And obviously it worked out pretty well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arsicault is one of seven locally-owned businesses to open at Mission Rock in the last two years.<\/p>\n

To name a few others: Mission Rock is home to Flour and Water Pizza Shop and Quik Dog, both outposts of spots born in the Mission. The team behind Che Fico, which started on Divisadero, also recently opened up Via Aurelia at the site. And Berkeley-born Fieldwork Brewing operates a bar in Mission Rock\u2019s China Basin Park, with outdoor seating and waterfront ballpark views. Fieldwork will soon open a full-fledged outpost in the adjacent building, which upstairs serves as Visa\u2019s global headquarters.<\/p>\n

Opening at Mission Rock \u201csounded attractive and at the same time, risky,\u201d Lacayo said, \u201cbecause obviously, you know, a brand new project.\u201d Still, the bakery was three years into its second location and looking to expand again, and \u201cthe growth of the area was definitely a great factor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another factor: capital. Developers gave Arsicault \u201can allowance for tenant improvements,\u201d which went towards construction, Lacayo said. Now, just over a year in, that outpost pushes about as many pastries as the original in the Richmond.<\/p>\n

Lacayo called the agreement, which included that contribution for building out the bakery, \u201ca fairly normal deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, deals such as these are increasingly normal in new spaces owned by big developers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cInstitutional landlords tend to contribute more towards the infrastructure,\u201d said Alex Sagues, Senior Vice President of CBRE, which leases space at Mission Rock and other sites in the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you own a large project\u2026 you\u2019re incentivized to create a great place because that makes your office and multifamily more valuable. You\u2019re incentivized to invest more in those deals, and that means more tenant improvement allowance or more landlord work.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Which is all to say: they\u2019re helping things along.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not that they\u2019re more generous\u201d than smaller landlords, Sagues added. \u201cThe incentives are different.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"StreetFlour and Water Pizza Shop in Mission Rock. Photo by Zoe Malen<\/p>\n

CBRE also oversees leasing at the Warriors\u2019 \u201cThrive City\u201d retail complex, and Pier 70 farther south in the Dogpatch neighborhood, contiguous with Mission Bay along the eastern waterfront.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pier 70 is still in its earlier phases, but is under a mixed-use development plan similar to Mission Rock. Local businesses imported from other city zip codes have begun dotting the map at those projects as well \u2014 take Burma Love restaurant at Thrive City, or Pier 70\u2019s Breadbelly, an Asian-American pastry and coffee spot. Both of those spawned from eateries first formed in the Richmond District.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re dotting the map in Dogpatch, too<\/p>\n

A selection of businesses with outposts in Dogpatch, May 2026.<\/p>\n

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Map by Iryna Humenyuk.<\/p>\n

Even with help from developers, businesses need to be in good shape to expand. For Clement Hsu, co-founder of Breadbelly, it stands to reason that neighborhood eateries like his and Arsicault were well-poised.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have such strong support from our neighbors within the Richmond district that we would inevitably look for another space,\u201d Hsu said.<\/p>\n

Hsu did not comment on the terms of the agreement between Breadbelly and developers at Pier 70, but Sagues said \u201cwe did help them through the process of construction cost.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, Sagues said, CBRE is interested in a diverse array of retailers. \u201cPeople are seeking authentic neighborhood experiences. And that, I think, is oftentimes done with a good balance between local and national,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"ExteriorThe exterior Breadbelly sign at Pier 70. Photo by Zoe Malen<\/p>\n

\"\"Standard Deviant Brewing at Pier 70. Photo by Zoe Malen<\/p>\n

Jen San Juan, former manager of external affairs for the Giants, echoed that sentiment. \u201cOverall, it is an intentional curated mix,\u201d San Juan said of Mission Rock\u2019s offerings. In addition to the local gems, the developers at Mission Rock have also welcomed larger chains like Sweetgreen, and a Chipotle is coming soon. But they do often look for viable neighborhood spots, \u201crecognizable names with deep connections and local ties.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

In urban design critic John King\u2019s estimation, local joints like those have \u201chelped Mission Rock be seen as a certain authentic place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Market-motivated as they may be, developers there \u201csmartly realized,\u201d King said, \u201c\u2018if we\u2019re going to get people out to this big development we\u2019re doing, we need to have some aura of authenticity.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Even if the authenticity is calculated, the setup appears to work for the tenants and residents filling the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they work enough of the local flavor into it that it doesn\u2019t feel like we\u2019re in a simulation,\u201d said one of a couple who moved to Mission Bay five years ago from the suburbs.<\/p>\n

\"RedQuik Dog Mission Bay. Photo by Zoe Malen.<\/p>\n

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