{"id":314141,"date":"2026-05-13T20:00:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T20:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/314141\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T20:00:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T20:00:20","slug":"mission-buzz-baja-food-coming-to-mission-new-sushi-on-valencia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/314141\/","title":{"rendered":"Mission Buzz: Baja food coming to Mission, new sushi on Valencia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mission Buzz is a regular update on changes, tidbits and other news from the Mission\u2019s commercial corridors. Got news? Send to tips at tips@missionlocal.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"ALiliana Valle said that opening a cafe has been always been a dream because she grew up in the bakery her mom owned. Photo by Oscar Palma. <\/p>\n

Nearly two years after Little Spot Cafe<\/a> closed its doors, another cafe is taking over the space at 1199 South Van Ness Ave. at 23rd Street.<\/p>\n

Lili Cafe could be opening as soon as mid-June if it passes a final city inspection scheduled for May 22.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Owner Liliana Valle, who also owns Kiara\u2019s Beauty Salon just up the block, said that opening a cafe has always been a dream in the making.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always told my customers \u2018I already have what I\u2019ve wanted. Now, we\u2019re missing the coffee,\u201d said Valle, who grew up in the Nicaraguan highlands of Estel\u00ed, a region known for coffee and tobbaco. \u201cI\u2019ve been a coffee lover all my life and my mom had a bakery, so it\u2019s always been an illusion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Valle said she\u2019s planning to bring some beans from her native Estel\u00ed. The cafe will also offer some Nicaraguan and pastries as well as other baked goods, bagels and sandwiches.<\/p>\n

\"Street-levelKiku Sushi & Vegetarian at 530 Valencia St., near 16th Street had a soft opening last weekend. The restaurant takes over the space left empty by We Be Sushi. Photo by Oscar Palma.<\/p>\n

Kiku Sushi & Vegetarian<\/a> is taking over We Be Sushi<\/a>\u2019s former home of 30 years at 538 Valencia St., near 16th Street.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Valencia Street outpost is the restaurant\u2019s third location, which already has locations in Berkeley and Lafayette.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kiku Sushi & Vegetarian opened last weekend, but its grand opening is scheduled for Thursday May 14.<\/p>\n

\"AChicano Nuevo received its interim permit last week. the restaurant owners hope to start serving food within the next two weeks. Photo by Oscar Palma.<\/p>\n

Chicano Nuevo<\/a>, the pop-up turned restaurant serving Baja California style of cuisine, Wu-Tan-shaped flans and squid-ink tamales, received an interim permit from the Health Department last week that finally allows it to serve food.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Up until now, the brick and mortar at 3355 Mission St. at Virginia Avenue had only been able to operate the bar.\u00a0<\/p>\n

An inspector with the Health Department informed owners, Abraham Nu\u00f1ez and Courtney Fujita, in December, shortly after its opening, that the restaurant\u2019s newly installed ventilation hood was too loud under the city\u2019s new regulation.<\/p>\n

The duo had to raise money to build a sound barrier wall around the whole circumference of the fan.<\/p>\n

They will start serving food within the next two weeks as the owners are currently hiring and training staff. The restaurant will have a soft opening in a week and a half and a grand opening in about two and a half weeks, said Nu\u00f1ez.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been a pop up for 10 years, so it\u2019s nothing really new, but right now we\u2019re settling into our final brick and mortar, so it\u2019s exciting,\u201d said Nu\u00f1ez.<\/p>\n

\"SilverMission Yoga will celebrate its 25 years with a party on Saturday night. The studio will also offer free classes on Saturday and Sunday. Image courtesy of Mission Yoga.<\/p>\n

Mission Yoga<\/a> turns 25 years and the studio is celebrating big.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so excited to be in a position here to help steer and guide the community and offer this for so many years,\u201d said Mission Yoga\u2019s owner Steve23 Sanchez. \u201cI\u2019m honored. It is really what it comes down to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mission Yoga first opened at 2390 Mission St., at 20th Street in 2001. It was also the year Sanchez attended his first yoga class at the studio \u2013 he was invited after coming back from Burning Man.<\/p>\n

Sanchez fell in love with yoga and he started teaching in 2006, also the year he took over the studio. In 2021, Mission Yoga moved from the northwestern corner of 20th and Mission across the street to its current location at the southeastern corner when the first landlord refused to negotiate a rent reduction<\/a> during the pandemic.<\/p>\n

To celebrate the quarter of a century, Mayor Daniel Lurie will be doing a proclamation making May 14 Mission Yoga Day in San Francisco. The studio will be offering free yoga classes on Saturday and Sunday and it will host a party Saturday night with a DJ, potluck and a bar.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people here are very dedicated and very connected. Also the things that we offer are very effective at achieving your goals,\u201d said Sanchez when asked what he thought has kept the studio open this long. \u201cWe\u2019re traditional in our methods, but we\u2019re also innovative.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MissionMission High will host the 19th Dancing Feathers Youth Powwow. Photo by Lana Tleimat. August 16, 2023.<\/p>\n

The 19th edition of the Dancing Feathers Youth Powwow<\/a> is taking place on Saturday May 16 at Mission High.<\/p>\n

For years, the event took place at Thomas Edison Charter Academy in Noe Valley until last year when it was moved outdoors to Julian Avenue. It will be the first time Mission High hosts the event, which has attracted as many as 300 people from the greater Bay Area region in years past. Dancers vary in age from toddlers to teens.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There will be an open dance after the event as well as a jingle and potato<\/a> dance contest.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s celebration will honor the memory of Tom Phillips<\/a>, an elder and former executive director of the American Indian Cultural Center and a respected Powwow MC, who died in March.<\/p>\n

The event will also have American Indian arts and crafts and food vendors and it will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.<\/p>\n

\"AThe pop-up at the BART plazas will continue every third Saturday of the month through the end of the year. Photo by Oscar Palma.<\/p>\n

The 16th and 24th Street BART plazas will be activated with local vendors, family activities and live performances on Saturday May 16.<\/p>\n

The activations are spearheaded by Mission Loter\u00eda<\/a> in collaboration with the city\u2019s Office of Economic and Workforce Development and other local organizations such as CLECHA, Mission Economic Development Agency and Calle 24 and American Indian Cultural Districts.<\/p>\n

It will be the first of a series of activations called Sabado Gigante<\/a> at the BART plazas set to take place every third Saturday of the month throughout the remainder of the year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking to bring a little joy to the Mission at the BART plaza activations,\u201d said Luis Quiroz, the founder of Mission Loter\u00eda.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cWe want people to come out and support vendors, enjoy the music and some fresh air.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s activation will have a Carnaval theme. Attendees will have the opportunity to take salsa and cumbia lessons and enjoy performances from groups set to participate in Carnaval.<\/p>\n

\"AA sign of Hamburger Project at 598 Guerrero St. on Saturday October. 11, 2025. Photo by Oscar Palma.<\/p>\n

Months after replacing sushi restaurant Handroll Project<\/a> at the corner of 18th and Guerrero streets, Hamburger Project<\/a> shut its doors earlier this month.<\/p>\n

Co-owner Tan Truong told Eater<\/a> they \u201csimply weren\u2019t getting the traction needed at the location.\u201d<\/p>\n

The original Hamburger Project<\/a> opened at 808 Divisadero St. in December 2024 and sold more than 1,000 burgers<\/a> in its first two days. After rapid success, a social media scandal broke when one of the chefs messaged a food influencer after she described the burgers as \u201cnot great.\u201d<\/p>\n

The chef, Greoffrey Lee, stepped back from the restaurant as a result.<\/p>\n

Most recently, the Mission location was involved in a different controversy after photos of raw meat left in the sun outside of the establishment circulated online. In an Instagram post<\/a>, the restaurant owners wrote it had been the driver, without their consent, who left the meat outside because there were no employees at the time of the delivery.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously we disposed of the product as soon as we found it,\u201d read the post.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"A\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Reporting from the Mission District and other District 9 neighborhoods. Some of his personal interests are bicycles, film, and both Latin American literature and punk. Oscar’s work has previously appeared in KQED, The Frisc, El Tecolote, and Golden Gate Xpress.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMore by Oscar Palma\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n