Azalina’s to get fullsize restaurant
Azalina’s, the Malaysian food kiosk in the Twitter building’s food hall, will expand with a fullscale restaurant space in the Tenderloin.
The new 2,100squarefoot restaurant is the first tenant in a 13,800squarefoot development called the Aviary, which is under construction at 499 Ellis St. Azalina’s owner, Azalina Eusope, said she hopes to set up in February.
Eusope opened the first Azalina’s in the Market food hall and grocery in 2015, introducing MidMarket to Malaysian classics like laksa, a lemongrass curry noodle soup; hokkien mee, noodles tossed with charred shrimp and an umamirich sauce; and a variety of curries served with coconut rice.
Earlier this year, Eusope opened Mahila in Noe Valley, the city’s first fullservice restaurant to focus on ma
Azalina’s, the Malaysian kiosk in the Twitter building, will soon have a new sitdown location in the planned Aviary restaurant development on Ellis Street in the Tenderloin.
mak cuisine, a style from Muslim Indians in Malaysia. Next year, Eusope is opening another Azalina’s as part of Calabash, an AfroCaribbean, Malaysian and Persian restaurantmarket project in Oakland.
With the Tenderloin Azalina’s, Eusope is excited to offer Azalina’s in an environment that isn’t focused on takeout business. She’ll have communal tables and some outdoor seating — about 20 seats to start — in a fastcasual setup.
She’ll have a liquor license — something she also doesn’t have at the original Azalina’s — and plans to have bar seating around an open kitchen.
Though she hasn’t nailed down a menu, she plans to make every location of Azalina’s distinct. That said, she’ll carry over three of her most popular dishes: fried chicken, roasted chicken with rice, and laksa.
Azalina’s will have neighbors: The Aviary includes spaces for two other similarsized restaurants on the ground floor as well as a 7,000squarefoot basement, which real estate broker Joan Ruyle of Maven Commercial said could become a restaurant, bar and entertainment venue. Unlike a food hall setup, each business will have its own entrance and seating areas.
Ruyle said Maven has received a lot of interest from potential tenants because of the unusual combination on offer: belowmarket rents and no required buildouts. But they’re being selective. While open to different types of retail, Ruyle said Maven is looking at other successes nearby, like Mensho Tokyo and Elephant Sushi. Fine dining is not being considered.
“We hope business owners focus on food with reasonable prices, because they won’t have builtout costs,” she said.
Affordability in the Tenderloin is important to Eusope, though she’s also concerned about the rising costs of operating in San Francisco. While most of her dishes in the Twitter building cost $13$15, she hopes to keep prices under $12 at the new location.
“The price point is critical,” she said. “That’s what makes me so nervous — you want to make sure everyone can enjoy a meal, but you don’t want to be in the hole.”