THE TEMPERATURE IN San Francisco climbed to the low 80s on Thursday afternoon, but the heat didn’t deter a crowd from attending the outdoor “Vacant to Vibrant Community Market” downtown during San Francisco Small Business Week 2024.
During the free-to-the-public event, held at Wells Fargo Plaza at 333 Market St., San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced eight new grantees selected to participate in phase two of the Vacant to Vibrant program, which works to fill downtown building vacancies with local small businesses, entrepreneurs, organizations and creatives’ pop-up storefronts.
“Making downtown vibrant is so important to the future of this community of San Francisco, because before the pandemic, downtown was 9-to-5 Financial District … and now it needs to and has become a community where people live, work and play,” Breed said at the event.
Vacant to Vibrant is a part of Breed’s “Roadmap to San Francisco’s Future,” a comprehensive plan she publicized in February 2023 to revitalize downtown, increase foot traffic and tourism and have a positive economic impact on the city. Plan-related achievements in 2023 included the launch of about 700 businesses in total, with 200-plus new businesses taking up shop downtown, according to a report published by the mayor’s office in February.
Building the new downtown
The first cohort of Vacant to Vibrant “pop-up activators” — 17 local businesses, entrepreneurs and creatives in total, in nine downtown stores — was announced in September 2023, with the grand opening of the inaugural pop-ups taking place the next month.
“The key ingredient to building the new downtown is going to be small businesses, just like they are the key ingredient to the unique identities of all of our neighborhoods. I want to acknowledge the small business owners out here today … who are opening these pop-ups downtown, bringing the spirit of the program to life,” said Simon Bertrang, executive director of SF New Deal, the nonprofit organization backing Vacant to Vibrant in partnership with Breed and the city’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development.
SF New Deal was founded in March 2020 in response to the pandemic, with the aim to support small businesses in San Francisco and strengthen the city’s neighborhoods.
Bertrang said, “We launched Vacant to Vibrant a year ago, and we’ve been inspired by the new energy and momentum that it has brought downtown. The economic health of downtown in San Francisco as a whole and all of our neighborhoods (is) deeply interconnected. And through Vacant to Vibrant, we’re building towards a vision of the downtown as a diverse and inclusive neighborhood, and that is going to mean housing, a university, entertainment zones, arts and culture and everything else laid out in the mayor’s ‘Roadmap to San Francisco’s Future.’”
The second phase of Vacant to Vibrant’s pop-up activators includes the 7×7 Social Club, Aurora Centro, Hungry Crumbs, Koolfi Creamery, Paper Son Coffee, Public Glass Gallery, Saintflora and Steep Creamery. All are in the South of Market neighborhood and will officially open their pop-up store doors this June.
According to a news release from SF New Deal, additional pop-up openings in the downtown area are planned for this summer, with more grantees announced in the coming weeks.
“It’s very important to have marketing, logistics and financial backup to be able to be successful. And I feel like we have all that with this opportunity with SF New Deal. So I’m very excited and very grateful,” said Priti Narayanan, owner of Koolfi Creamery, one of the new pop-up grantees.
Excited for the future
Some of the businesses that opened their pop-ups last fall were present at Thursday’s event.
Rosalind Bakery, of the first cohort, had a booth set up at the plaza, with staff selling pastries.
“The opportunity to contribute to the revitalization of downtown San Francisco is huge and meaningful. I’m grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the first round of small businesses that contribute to the efforts, and I am excited to see what comes next,” said Matthew Kosoy, owner of Rosalind Bakery, which is located at 4 Embarcadero Center.
Seven of the nine first-batch storefronts intend to lengthen their stay in their downtown spots, including Nafy Flatley, owner of the eatery Teranga.
“I was able to be one of the businesses that was able to extend the lease, and I’m looking forward to creating a beautiful, nice environment for people to come in and enjoy delicious and healthy food and keep the downtown vibrant and healthy,” she said.
Teranga, Rosalind Bakery, Devil’s Teeth Bakery, GCS Agency, KALW-FM 91.7, The Mellow and Whack Donuts! will take up permanent residency at their downtown addresses, having signed long-term leases.
“The opportunity to contribute to the revitalization of downtown San Francisco is huge and meaningful. I’m grateful for the opportunity … and I am excited to see what comes next.” Matthew Kosoy, owner of Rosalind Bakery
“That is huge, and it also gives me hope for the next cohort to be here and to be a part of the fabric of what makes San Francisco so special,” said Breed of the lease signings.
Wells Fargo’s Darlene Goins announced a $1 million donation to SF New Deal to support the businesses’ change in status from pop-up to long-term.
“San Francisco is a vibrant, innovative, resilient city, and it’s really essential to our local economy that we support the small business community. That’s why Wells Fargo is committed to this project to helping our diverse small business community thrive, recover and flourish,” said Goins, head of philanthropy and community impact and president of the Wells Fargo Foundation. Wells Fargo has been a sponsor of Vacant to Vibrant since the program’s launch.
Speakers on Thursday commented on the importance of collaborations between city officials, nonprofits and businesses and working with city property owners for Vacant to Vibrant to not only come to fruition, but to also continue as a viable city program.
“Vacant to Vibrant has changed the game. And not only has Wells Fargo made this investment, but in my upcoming budget … there will be even more investments in Vacant to Vibrant because we want to provide an opportunity for those incredible creatives, for those folks who have a new idea and want an opportunity to thrive in San Francisco and in Downtown,” Breed said.
Operating hours and locations of the currently open Vacant to Vibrant stores are listed on the organization’s website.