8 pop-ups coming to empty downtown S.F. storefronts

San Francisco has announced the next wave of city-backed pop-up businesses opening in empty downtown storefronts, part of an ongoing initiative from Mayor London Breed’s administration to inject more energy into the struggling urban core.

Starting in June, eight new pop-ups will debut in rent-free commercial spaces around the East Cut, Financial District and Yerba Buena neighborhoods for three months each, with the option to extend their leases if all goes well, officials said Thursday.

The list includes ice cream shops, a bakery, coffee shop, arts and media organizations and a floral shop. It’s the second round of “Vacant to Vibrant,” a program Breed launched to fill some of the empty storefronts that proliferated as downtown emptied out when remote work took hold during the pandemic.

Seven of the nine spaces in the first round of the popup program that launched last year have signed longterm leases downtown and will get more grant funding, according to SF New Deal.

“We are working every day to bring creative solutions and vibrancy to our Downtown and neighborhoods across the City, and Vacant to Vibrant is a great example of how we are solving for vacant storefronts while supporting our small businesses,” Breed said in a statement.

The pop-ups coming to the East Cut are: Aurora Centro, a deli Hungry Crumbs, cookie bakery

JUMA Ventures’ Steep Creamery, a boba and ice cream shop

Koolfi Creamery, an ice cream shop

Paper Son Coffee, a coffee shop

The pop-ups coming to the Financial District and Yerba Buena are:

7x7 Social Club, a program from the 7x7 publication that provides discounts and deals to businesses and events in the Bay Area SaintFlora, a floral shop Public Glass Gallery, a nonprofit arts organization and glass studio

The city has allocated $1.06 million to fund both phases of the program, according to Breed’s office, and Wells Fargo is making a $1 million donation to support the program. SF New Deal said the money would provide “transformational grant funding and support” for the pop-ups that have transitioned to long-term leases.

Koolfi Creamery owner Priti Narayanan said in a statement that she and her wife “are very excited to be included in the second cohort of Vacant to Vibrant because we get to be a part of the revival story of the heart of San Francisco — its downtown.”