2 days ago
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
S.F.'s hottest restaurant opening this year is a fast-food chain in a concrete plaza
In San Francisco, whose dining scene twinkles with Michelin stars, the most anticipated restaurant opening of the year is not a new Italian trattoria in the Ferry Building. Nor is it a high-end Cantonese spot debuting in Hayes Valley.
The restaurant the city can't stop obsessing over is a location of a fast-food chain above a sunken concrete plaza on a beleaguered stretch of Market Street.
A San Francisco outpost of Jollibee, the massive Filipino chain, is now four years delayed. It's due to cost over $1 million in construction, according to city estimates. And its opening — or lack thereof — has been scrutinized as an indicator of the recovery of downtown San Francisco.
Every movement at the 934 Market St. space, a former Payless Shoe Source, is studied for clues. Most recently, the arrival of a Jollibee sign two weeks ago was greeted as a good omen. ' It's happening!!' one commentator wrote on Reddit, uploading a photo of the bright red sign. 'I can finally drown myself in a large plate of spaghetti and spicy chicken without having to leave city limits,' another user replied. A Google listing for the new restaurant stated it would open in August. (It got three five-star reviews despite not being open.)
But in fact, a company spokesperson told the Chronicle the listing was inaccurate: An opening timeline is still unclear.
Jollibee didn't respond to a question about the cause of the delay. The city's Office of Economic and Workforce Development didn't respond to a request for comment.
But city records show that the project has faced hurdles largely due to its location in a historic district — even though the building itself was deemed 'of minor or no importance' architecturally, and not a contributor to the downtown neighborhood's historic character.
Jollibee, sometimes called the Filipino McDonald's, operates more than 1,600 locations worldwide and 81 in the U.S. It opened its first U.S. location in Daly City in 1998. There are 12 locations in the Bay Area, and last year, to the bemusement of San Francisco fans, Jollibee opened a location in Alameda. It once operated a San Francisco location near Moscone Center, which closed in 2011.
The company's crunchy fried chicken, which comes in a traditional and spicy coating, is a comfort food for many. Other sought-after items include fried chicken sandwiches, hot peach mango pies, garlicky adobo rice, and Jolly Spaghetti, topped with a sweet-savory meat sauce with sliced hot dogs and cheese.
San Franciscans have been waiting for the new location since 2021, when a sign was first posted in the window of the shop above BART's Powell Street Station on the southwestern edge of Hallidie Plaza. A year later, an 'opening soon' banner was taken down, and a video of a break-in and vandalism at the still empty site was posted to X. But a representative reassured concerned fans that the store would open in 2023.
Behind the scenes, the process has been going on even longer. Jollibee first filed for a permit on Nov. 11, 2020, to transform the former shoe store space into a restaurant. The Department of Building Inspection estimated the cost would be $1,050,000. But the permit was automatically placed on hold because of its location in the Kearny-Market-Mason-Sutter Conservation District. The area, designated in 1985, is 'one of the few homogeneous collections of early Twentieth Century commercial architecture of its type in the United States,' according to the city.
The plans also faced other holds from the Fire Department, and the Department of Public Works, which said a document did not include a property line.
Finally, on Jan. 12, 2023, the permit was issued. The Historic Preservation Commission observed that because the building was completed in 1974 in a Brutalist style, it was 'outside the district's period of significance.' It wasn't actually considered a contributor to the historic district, and Jollibee had proposed only minor exterior changes.
Jollibee filed a secondary permit in May 2024 to install outdoor electrical switch gear for required PG&E meters and connections. San Francisco Planning indicated it would grant approval — but records show the process stopped there.
A permit for an exterior sign like the one that recently appeared was filed in 2021 and approved; but Jollibee itself canceled the permit in October.
It's not clear what stage of progress the restaurant is at currently. There has been some work: A special traffic permit was filed so that electric and gas lines could be trenched from Market Street to supply the space last September. In a message to the Department of Public Works sent in October, Manish Goyal of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development informed the department that PG&E was scheduled to complete the gas installation around Nov. 4.
Goyal wrote in the email, obtained through a records request, that he was helping Jollibee open. At the time, the restaurant had announced plans to open by the end of 2024. 'But I'm not sure they will be able to meet that deadline,' Goyal wrote.
Goyal continued to assist the company in procuring permits for work into 2025. On May 13, he inquired about special traffic permits so the company could use a crane 'for its last bit of work.'
In another hopeful sign, job listings went up in early June for store crew for 'immediate placement.'
Marisa Rodriguez, CEO of neighborhood business advocacy group Union Square Alliance, said her organization has been monitoring the opening for years. Jollibee's arrival, she said, is seen as a show of momentum in the much talked-about recovery of downtown San Francisco.
'This opening not only reflects the vibrancy of San Francisco's food scene, but also reinforces Market Street as a prominent thoroughfare for local and international visitors alike.'
Luis Velasco, senior vice president and marketing head at Jollibee North America, struck a positive note in a statement. 'We're excited to join the thriving city center, becoming a part of the community's rich tapestry, and serve the residents a beloved taste of the Philippines right in the heart of one of America's most iconic cities.'
He did not respond to a question about the opening date or what is taking the business so long to arrive.
