"Primarily a daytime place." That's how Jeff Hanak described Kitchen Commons to the San Francisco Standard in May. Hanak co-owns Liholiho Yacht Club, and he is bringing the cookware shop and cafe to 130 Clement St. with former Nopalito chef Connor Bruce. The phrase fits more than one storefront. Look at everything announced this year for Clement between Arguello Boulevard and Sixth Avenue, the stretch closest to Lake Street. Nearly all of it is built for the hours before dinner: three cafes, a kitchen shop, a gift store and a Pilates studio. The one exception sits on the very first corner.
One Dinner Room at 1 Clement
Rose Pizzeria began serving lunch and dinner in late April in the old Village Pizzeria space at Clement and Arguello. It is the San Francisco branch of the Berkeley pizzeria. SFist marked the opening on April 27. A few weeks later, the Standard reported hours-long lines.
The room is worth a look even without a reservation strategy. According to the Richmond Review, the build-out kept the original Village Pizzeria floor of green-and-white checkered tile. The walls are painted green to match the upholstered benches, and a back panel is papered with an image of the Via Appia. There are 44 seats inside and 15 outdoor seats along Arguello. The pies are Cal-Italian thin crust, made with stone-milled flour and mozzarella from a Petaluma supplier. One example is the Green Deluxe, with broccoli rabe, roasted garlic, cream and lemon. Beer comes from Cellarmaker, and the wine list runs Italian and Californian.
Owner Gerard Gobel told the Richmond Review that despite the national attention, he and his wife and co-owner, Alexis Rorabaugh, "want to serve the Richmond neighborhood." Rose is also the only business on these blocks that has fully settled in. Every other arrival is either opening this week or still on the way.
The Next Five Storefronts, Address by Address
Read the pending openings in street-number order and a pattern shows up quickly.
| Address | Business | What it is | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|---|
| 32 Clement | Therapy Stores | Gift shop, 11th Bay Area location | Approved by the Planning Commission on Sept. 24 |
| 35 Clement | MNT Studio | Pilates and wellness club | Preview week from Oct. 19, regular schedule from Oct. 26 |
| 130 Clement | Kitchen Commons | Cookware, cafe, prepared food | Announced for fall 2026 |
| 200 Clement | Evermore | Cafe | Announced for 2026 |
| 324 Clement | Cafe Réveille | Cafe, fifth location | Announced for 2026 |
MNT Studio is the one with a firm date. Its Inner Richmond page lists reformer and heated mat Pilates, a sauna, childcare and community events. Preview week began Oct. 19, and the opening class schedule was set to start Oct. 26.
Kitchen Commons is closest to being a neighborhood project in the literal sense. Hanak has lived in the Inner Richmond since 2001. Bruce has a young family in the Richmond. The shelves will carry cookbooks, specialty pantry goods, carbon steel and cast iron pans from Smithey, Kinto tableware and coffee gear from Slow Pour Supply. The owners also hope to host lessons and demonstrations during the Clement Street Sunday farmers market. They plan to sell savory pastries at most, because Arsicault is just around the corner. The shop's own site still reads "coming fall 2026."
The two cafes come from opposite directions. SFGATE reported in March that Evermore is the first cafe from Amy Lee, who has lived in the Richmond her whole life. It will sit at 200 Clement, across the intersection diagonally from Giorgio's Pizzeria, where she ate with her family as a kid. Cafe Réveille is an established San Francisco brand. The same SFGATE story describes its outposts as popular with remote workers, and it confirmed a fifth location at 324 Clement for 2026, "possibly in May." May came and went with no public update. For now, both cafes are announcements.
Taken together, the table describes a stretch of street that will be busiest between breakfast and early evening. The 32 Clement application lists its proposed hours as 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
The Longest-Running Address Left in October
The shift is easiest to see at the 300 block. After 34 years, Mai's Vietnamese at 316 Clement St. closed for good on Wednesday, Sept. 30. Mission Local's Richmond Buzz column reported the news the next day, along with a sign left in the window: "It has been a joy to serve you and be part of this neighborhood." That column's correspondent wrote that the restaurant's imperial rolls would be missed.
A few doors up, 324 Clement is waiting for Cafe Réveille. So within one block, the street lost a restaurant that had served three decades of meals and is set to gain a coffee shop.
The same Oct. 1 column found two more storefronts closing at the southeast corner of Sixth Avenue and Clement, both behind scaffolding:
- Chococo, a clothing store at 455 Clement St., had earlier posted a temporary closure notice. By Oct. 1, a "Store closing" sign was in the window.
- China Jingdezhen Ceramic Jade Mahogany Furniture Wholesale And Retail, around the corner at 304 Sixth Ave., had handwritten "Big clearance" signs in English and Chinese.
- Aroma Tea Shop, at 302 Sixth Ave. between the two, looked like it was staying, according to the column.
Why a Gift Shop Needed an Hour-Long Hearing
The only arrival on these blocks to need a public hearing is the gift shop at 32 Clement.
Therapy Stores, owned by Jing Chen, has 10 locations around the Bay Area. On Sept. 24, the Planning Commission granted permission for an 11th at 32 Clement St., near Second Avenue. According to the city planner on the case, the storefront has been empty since 2024. Mission Local explained the technicality. San Francisco's formula retail law generally applies at 11 locations. Chen had 11 stores when she applied, because the planning code also counts locations approved to operate, even after her San Bruno store closed. She chose to go before the commission rather than argue the point.
"If there's a chain, this is the chain. I am the chain," Chen told commissioners, according to Mission Local. Five Clement Street merchants spoke against the store, arguing that it would carry the same kinds of goods already sold within the same three blocks. Five people spoke in support. Commissioner Mike Chen said he saw a local business's 11th location as different from an outpost of a national retailer. The commission approved it unanimously.
The approval came with conditions. They include a Planning review of the store's signage and a community liaison, appointed before a building permit is issued, whose contact information goes to neighborhood groups. The commission packet sets a 30-day appeal window after the Sept. 24 decision. SFGATE reported that the Clement Street Merchants Association planned to appeal. Whether an appeal goes forward will set the store's timeline.
The fight shows how this stretch is being shaped. A local multi-store owner got more scrutiny than any of the new food or fitness businesses. The pushback came from the people who already run shops on these blocks, not from a city agency.
The Blocks That Aren't Changing
The newcomers are joining a street that already had regulars. The Standard's May story places Kitchen Commons among neighborhood staples like Chapeau, Le Soleil and Lily, plus Pasta Supply Co., which opened in 2023. Giorgio's still anchors the corner across from 200 Clement. Arsicault is close enough to shape what the cookware shop will bake. And the Sunday farmers market is what Kitchen Commons plans its events around.
Pasta Supply Co. chef-owner Anthony Strong gave SFGATE his list of what makes the area work: "an awesome toy store, dumplings and hot pot, a hardware store and Sunday farmers market." The new arrivals mostly add to the daytime part of that list. For a weekday walk from Lake Street, here is the order things land in by late October. Rose for lunch at the Arguello corner, MNT Studio's first weeks of classes across from 32 Clement, and papered windows at 130, 200 and 324 Clement.
If you're weighing how changes on Clement affect a home nearby, Adelaida Mejia is glad to walk the blocks with you and talk it through. Book an appointment or request a home valuation.
