8 New Pop-Ups Opening in SF’s Empty Storefronts

San Francisco’s Vacant to Vibrant program expands this summer with 8 new local businesses that will fill formerly vacant storefronts downtown.

Launched last year to great fanfare, the Vacant to Vibrant program was originally developed through a partnership bringing together local nonprofit SF New Deal with Mayor London N. Breed and the Office of Economic Workforce and Development (OEWD), alongside support from presenting sponsor Wells Fargo, for the future of Downtown San Francisco.

A key part of Mayor Breed’s Roadmap to San Francisco’s Future, Vacant to Vibrant creates new opportunities for small businesses, artists, and cultural organizations to create unique pop-ups in vacant storefront spaces throughout Downtown.

The second cohort of Vacant to Vibrant will include a diverse selection of small businesses, nonprofit organizations, artists, and makers representing unique concepts, operations, industries, and trajectories. Each of these grantees will be offered a rent-free storefront space for three months beginning this summer with the potential to extend their leases.

The initial list of activators involved in Vacant to Vibrant’s second cohort include the following listed below, with even more grantees slated to be revealed in the coming weeks:

Financial District

• 7×7 Social Club (Financial District): Longstanding SF media publication offering original, authentic content around the Bay Area’s favorite pastimes including dining and drinking, travel and the great outdoors, arts and culture, style and wellness
• SAINTFLORA (Financial District): Full-service floral and online shop specializing in unconventional flower experiences

The East Cut

• Aurora Centro (The East Cut): A petite San Francisco deli with a curious kitchen, offering eclectic cheeses, charcuterie, fish tins, chips, snacks, and more
• Hungry Crumbs (The East Cut): San Francisco’s premier cookie bakery, serving up handcrafted, luscious cookies across the Bay Area
• JUMA Ventures’ Steep Creamery (The East Cut): Steep is a youth-run and led boba and ice cream shop focused on management and leadership training for young people from underserved communities in San Francisco; owned by Juma Ventures, a nonprofit social enterprise that operates businesses to employ young people for long-term career success 
• Koolfi Creamery (The East Cut): Small-batch Indian-inspired ice cream shop offering flavors made with the best local and imported ingredients
• Paper Son Coffee (The East Cut): Quintessential SF coffee shop offering both locally roasted coffee and adventurous new flavor profiles

Yerba Buena

• Public Glass Gallery (Yerba Buena): Nonprofit arts organization home to San Francisco’s only public-access glass studio and school

Grantees were selected from a pool of over 1,200 total applications and narrowed down through a comprehensive review process by an advisory committee of local business owners, artists, and community-based organizations as well as downtown property owners.

The local property owners supporting the second cohort this summer include BXP, Clarion Partners, Golden Gateway Center, Monahan Parker, Inc., Salesforce, Kilroy Realty, and Tusker Corporation with pop-up property addresses being announced soon.

Building upon lessons learned and feedback received during the first cohort last fall, SF New Deal and the Office of Small Business are working together to help these grantees with permit navigation to enable swift openings, while also supporting each activator with technical assistance and grant funding. To support their growing investment in the economic revitalization of San Francisco, Vacant to Vibrant’s presenting sponsor Wells Fargo has also announced today a generous $1 million donation being made to SF New Deal. Wells Fargo’s contribution will provide transformational grant funding and support for Vacant to Vibrant pop-ups who have transitioned to long-term leases downtown.

Of the original nine properties involved in the inaugural cohort of the program, seven small-business owners have signed long-term leases downtown and will receive additional grant funding and technical assistance from SF New Deal, made possible through Wells Fargo’s financial commitment to Vacant to Vibrant.

A formal check presentation will take place on May 9 during a special admission-free small business market at 333 Market Street in downtown San Francisco. Hosted by SF New Deal and Wells Fargo, with support from the Office of Mayor London Breed and OEWD, the event runs from Noon to 4:00 p.m. PDT featuring a community celebration of Bay Area small businesses and Vacant to Vibrant’s original and forthcoming pop-ups.

Visit www.VibrantSF.org or call (415) 480-1185 to learn more. Follow along on Instagram at @VacantToVibrant. Read more at SF.gov