What's New Around Fillmore and Sutter This Fall?

There's a citrus-yellow storefront on Sutter Street near Fillmore. By day it's a takeout counter and a small grocery. In the evening, a 10-seat omakase counter opens behind a refrigerator door. That storefront, Yuzu, is a good guide to where the neighborhood's newest businesses are going this fall. They're mostly a few blocks downhill from the upper Fillmore boutiques, on or near Sutter, and several of them are more than one kind of business at once.

Here's what has opened, what has paused and what's coming. The list starts at the corner where most of it is happening and works outward.

The corner of Fillmore and Sutter

Three of this fall's projects are clustered at this one intersection.

Yuzu is restaurateur Kevin Chen's newest place. In the evening, the counter serves a 12-course tasting menu for $65. Many omakase menus in the city are priced as special-occasion dinners. Chen told The New Fillmore that his seafood buying power lets him keep the price low, and he described the goal as "a very affordable omakase dining experience with a very fun casual setting."

Avocado Green is Chen's tea and coffee shop. It sits in the windows of the Nono Baru space at 1800 Fillmore and serves matcha lattes, housemade pastries and takeout food. Both places joined Chen's other neighborhood restaurants, Don Don, Ninniku and Nono Baru.

Check before you go. The New Fillmore's October 8 Street Talk column reported that Yuzu and Avocado Green were temporarily closed while permitting issues were worked out. No reopening date had been announced as of late October.

Matdol Tofu is the third project. It's going into the former Pride of the Mediterranean space on the corner. It's a Korean restaurant built around handmade tofu, from Jiman Jang and the team behind the Jevikal food truck in San Jose. The planned menu includes:

• sundubu jjigae, a soft tofu stew
• L.A. galbi, marinated short ribs
• deulgireum makguksu, buckwheat noodles with perilla oil
• allergy-friendly and vegan options, which the team is still developing

The team was aiming to open in December or January.

Why the location matters to Matdol

Jang chose this corner for its history. He pointed out to The New Fillmore that the site is a few blocks from where Korean immigrants first settled in America more than a century ago. In 1908, the Gongnip Association, which served newly arrived Koreans, moved its headquarters to 1944 Buchanan Street.

"We felt this neighborhood would truly understand the spirit of what we're bringing with Matdol," Jang told the paper.

One block east, a mart with a coffee bar

Hello Mart at 2135 Buchanan is another hybrid. It's a small grocery that also has takeout bento boxes and a coffee bar, on a block The New Fillmore described as otherwise residential. It was set to open September 12. The Infatuation's review describes pantry staples, produce, drinks, frozen foods and ready-to-eat Chinese bento boxes and sides. The shop's website lists hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

If you live between Sutter and Bush, that means grocery basics, lunch and a morning coffee can now come from the same storefront.

West on Sutter, two more arrivals

Heading west, the newest businesses move further from the corner store.

California Kahve is coming to 2108 Sutter, the former She/Her space across from Sweet Maple and just west of Sweet Lime. The local coffee company already runs locations in Golden Gate Park and at the Presidio Tunnel Tops, which are listed on its website. The Sutter shop will be its first neighborhood storefront, and no opening date has been announced.

Athanor at 2600 Sutter is the high end of this stretch. Chef Mike Lanham closed Anomaly earlier this year and has opened Athanor in the same space. The name refers to the furnace alchemists used, a nod to the changes in both the chef and the kitchen.

Eater SF reported in mid-September that Athanor serves a 10-course tasting menu for $175, with two seatings a night, Tuesday through Saturday. The restaurant's site lists dinner from 7 to 11 p.m. on Tuesday and 6 to 11 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. It's closed Sunday and Monday. The fall menu changes with the seasons and ends with a course called "One Last Egg."

Yuzu's evening omakase costs $65 for 12 courses. Athanor costs $175 for 10. Both are on the same street, a few blocks apart, and both serve a fixed tasting menu.

Uphill, the long-running places are expanding

Upper Fillmore isn't quiet this fall. The news there is mostly about established businesses staying put or adding hours.

La Mediterranee at 2210 Fillmore has served the street since 1979. The New Fillmore reported on October 13 that it has signed another 10-year lease extension. Vanick Der Bedrossian, who runs the restaurant his father Levon opened, told The New Fillmore, "Let's keep it going." Combined with an earlier three-year extension, the lease runs through 2038.

Palmer's at 2298 Fillmore is an old-school tavern with a chophouse feel, classic cocktails and hearty food, as described by The San Francisco Standard. It keeps adding hours. Lunch now runs Wednesday through Friday starting at noon, alongside weekend brunch, and the kitchen stays open until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Alohas, the Barcelona footwear brand, opened at 2208 Fillmore in the former Rocksbox space. It came in through Leap, which brings online brands to Fillmore by providing the storefront, staff and retail operations. The store carries ballet flats, loafers, sneakers, boots, heels and bags.

Between them, upper Fillmore has a restaurant with a lease through 2038, a tavern adding lunch and late-night hours, and a test-store setup for brands that started online. The newer one-off ideas like a speakeasy omakase, a mart with a coffee bar and a handmade tofu house are opening on and near Sutter.

Where things stand

On the calendar

Halloween falls on Saturday, October 31, and the last-minute costume stops are on Fillmore. Mudpie has tiny costumes for little kids, and Just For Fun has costumes plus seasonal toys. Goodwill carries new and used costumes for adults, and George has costumes for dogs.

These are listed by the Japantown Cultural District and the farmers market organizer:

• Once in Japan photo contest exhibit at KOHO Creative Hub, 1675 Post St. It's free and open Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., through November 30.
• Buchanan YMCA 90th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, November 7, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at 1530 Buchanan St.
• Fillmore Farmers' Market every Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at 1700 O'Farrell St., year-round.

Fillmore and Sutter could have the most new businesses of any corner in the neighborhood by winter, if Yuzu and Avocado Green reopen and Matdol Tofu opens on schedule.

I follow these openings because a new coffee bar or a lease running through 2038 can change how a block feels day to day. If you'd like to talk about what's changing near your street, David Kleinschmidt is happy to compare notes. Let's Connect.