Who's Coming and Going on Union Street This Fall?

Corsagna Deli stayed open through 2020 on Union Street. Gamine, the French bistro a few blocks west, closed that year. Sur La Table left its big storefront near Fillmore that year too, and the space has been empty ever since. Six years later, both of those addresses have new tenants lined up. Corsagna served its last sandwich on October 2.

That's the pattern on Union Street this fall. The new arrivals are mostly filling space that sat empty after 2020, and the one business leaving had kept going the whole time. Most of the newcomers also keep different hours or serve a different crowd than what was there before.

The deli that made it through the empty years

According to SFGATE, Corsagna Deli at 1668 Union St. had been in the same family for three generations. In the 1970s, Egidio Giampaoli took over an accordion studio at that address and turned it into an Italian bakery. His daughter Elvira Giampaoli took over in 1980 and turned it into a deli because customers kept asking for sandwiches.

People ordered the pesto chicken panini and the Mr. Italiano, which came with salami, coppa, mortadella and provolone. The deli only opened on weekdays during the day, and it had little red bistro tables out on the sidewalk. Manager Angie Denardo and her sister Paola Berdichevsky grew up working behind the counter and later ran the place together.

Denardo told SFGATE that rising costs were only part of the reason for closing:

"The kids went away to college, the economy changed, our clientele has shifted, and so everything just kind of created this little perfect storm of the universe being like, 'OK, maybe now is a good time to say goodbye.'"

The family held a champagne toast with light bites on the last day. SFGATE's report didn't say what will go into 1668 Union next, and the closing announcement didn't name a new tenant. Of all the storefronts on this list, it's the only one that changed hands this fall without anyone taking it over.

1838 Union: Kaiyō returns with later hours

The first of the long-empty spaces to reopen is the old Kaiyo. Restaurateur John Park opened the original Kaiyo, a Japanese-Peruvian Nikkei restaurant, at this address in 2018. Reports differ on how long it sat dark. In September, Eater SF reported that Park closed it two years ago because the team felt the city wasn't busy enough for two similar Kaiyo restaurants. A second one had opened inside the Hyatt Place San Francisco. 7x7 reported that the Union Street space stayed vacant while the group focused on Kaiyō Rooftop in SoMa starting in 2022, and it describes the comeback as happening four years later.

Once office workers started coming back, Park's Brick by Brick Hospitality Group turned its attention to Union Street again. Kaiyō Handroll Bar opened on Friday, September 11. The menu is built around hand rolls that mix Japanese sushi technique with Peruvian dishes. Two examples are a lomo saltado roll with A5 wagyu and shoestring potatoes, and an arroz con pato roll with flash-seared duck and sansho pepper. Some rolls use cilantro rice or chicha morada rice made with Peruvian purple corn in place of standard sushi rice. Danny Louie runs the drinks. One of his cocktails is the Deiji, a margarita with shiso and sakura. There's also alcoholic soft serve, with nonalcoholic versions available.

The new version keeps much later hours than the original. After the kitchen closes, the plan is to run it as a cocktail lounge with limited food and DJs. 7x7 ran a first look on October 5 after a few weeks of service, so the restaurant is clearly open. The hours vary from source to source, though. 7x7 listed late-morning openings on Saturday and Sunday. The restaurant's own site lists 4 p.m. openings every day it's open and service until 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. Check the restaurant's site before you go, especially on a weekend.

So a lunch counter that closed in the afternoon has left one block, and a block west a bar that stays open past midnight has filled a space that had been empty for years.

2223 and 2240 Union: the two spaces empty since 2020

The next two addresses have been empty since 2020, and neither tenant has opened yet.

2223 Union St., former Gamine. In April, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Breakfast Little, a breakfast burrito shop from the Mission, will open its second location in the 970-square-foot space where Gamine operated until 2020. The best-known item is the "OG" burrito with bacon or sausage, garlic aioli, cheese and tater tots. The shop also sells breakfast sandwiches, oatmeal bowls, avocado sourdough toast and coffee. Owner Andrew Martinez-Perez told the Chronicle in April that there was no opening date yet, and no date has been announced since. When it does open, it will be two blocks from Mama's Luncheonette, which the Chronicle notes is also known for breakfast burritos. Mama's is at 3006 Buchanan St.

2240 Union St., former Sur La Table. This is the largest empty space on the list. In August, The San Francisco Standard described it as a 7,000-square-foot former Sur La Table that had been vacant since 2020. The landlords split the building in two to make it easier to lease. The smaller half is going to Little Maison, which founder Sue Perichon calls San Francisco's first play cafe. The cafe will be in front and the play space in back. Plans include a custom play structure, an area for crawling babies and a "pretend play zone." Perichon told the Standard that the target customer is "the 35-year-old with the 3-year-old." Construction started in July. The Standard gave the opening as late 2026. Little Maison's website currently says both "opening this fall" and "coming this winter," with no specific date.

The other half of the old Sur La Table is still available. Perichon told the Standard she's "hoping for an amazing neighbor." Even after Little Maison opens, part of that 2020 vacancy will still be empty.

Both businesses are going after times of day Corsagna didn't serve. Breakfast Little sells breakfast and coffee. Little Maison is designed for parents spending a couple of hours with small kids. Neither one replaces a weekday sandwich lunch.

Around the corner and up the street

A couple of changes just off this stretch of Union add to the picture.

Turtle Tower, the Hanoi-style pho restaurant, opened at 3145 Fillmore St. this January. SFist reported that it started with takeout and delivery and soft-opened the dining room on Saturday, January 17. Eater SF's January openings roundup listed the same address and the same dine-in date. The Chronicle counted it as one of several restaurants expanding into Cow Hollow this year.

On the retail side, KRON4 reported in May that the athleisure brand Alo had filed paperwork to open its first San Francisco store at 2071 Union St. It would take over the 3,485-square-foot space that outdoor apparel retailer KÜHL currently occupies. As of that May 26 report, the proposal was still "pending review" with the SF Planning Department, and there was no opening date. Unlike the other spaces on this list, 2071 Union isn't empty. If Alo moves in, one current tenant would replace another.

Union Street, address by address

Here's where each storefront stood going into November, listed east to west:

• 1668 Union, Corsagna Deli. Closed October 2 after 46 years. No new tenant announced.
• 1838 Union, Kaiyō Handroll Bar. Open since September 11 in the old Kaiyo space after a gap that reports put at two to four years. Check posted hours before going.
• 2071 Union, KÜHL. Alo filed to take over the space. As of May, the proposal was pending city review.
• 2223 Union, former Gamine. Breakfast Little announced in April. No opening date yet.
• 2240 Union, former Sur La Table. Little Maison is under construction and expected in late 2026. The other half of the building has no tenant yet.
• 3145 Fillmore, Turtle Tower. Open since January.

The Union Street Association's events page still lists the June 6 and 7 Union Street Festival on Union between Fillmore and Gough, and it hasn't posted any events for the rest of 2026. The next update to watch for is a sign in the window at 1668 Union.

I'm keeping an eye on how these storefronts fill in, because on a street like Union, what opens on the ground floor shapes the blocks around it. If you're in Cow Hollow and want to talk about what changes like these could mean for your own place on or near Union, David Kleinschmidt is happy to sit down and go through it with you. Let's Connect.