Two Union Street storefronts that went dark in 2020 now have new tenants signed. At 2240 Union, the smaller half of the former Sur La Table is becoming a play cafe. The other is the former Gamine bistro at 2223 Union, which is becoming the Cow Hollow outpost of a Mission District breakfast burrito shop. A block and a half east, the restaurant that once held 1838 Union has come back in a new format. Its owner had closed it two years ago because, he said, the city wasn't busy enough for it.
Taken together, these addresses show a pattern. This fall, Union Street is filling the spaces that sat empty longest, and most of the new tenants run on weekday mornings and middays. Only one is built for the evening.
Four addresses, east to west
| Address | Previous tenant | New tenant | Status in early November 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1838 Union St. | Kaiyo, the original Cow Hollow restaurant | Kaiyo Handroll Bar | Open since Sept. 11, 2026 |
| 1906 Union St. | Not documented | The Yard Strength Training | Opened fall 2026 |
| 2223 Union St. | Gamine, closed 2020 | Breakfast Little | Lease announced April 2026; no opening date given |
| 2240 Union St. | Sur La Table, empty since 2020 | Little Maison, in the smaller half of the building | Expected late 2026 |
The two spaces in the middle of that list are the ones that changed the most. Each was empty for about six years.
The restaurant that left because the city was quiet
Kaiyo's story explains the rest of the street. Eater SF reported that restaurateur John Park opened the original Japanese-Peruvian Kaiyo in Cow Hollow in 2018. He later added Kaiyo Rooftop in 2022 and a third Kaiyo on the ground floor of the Hyatt Place San Francisco in 2024. While those hotel projects and the sister restaurant Cavaña were opening, Park closed the Union Street original. According to Eater, his team felt the city wasn't busy enough for two similar restaurants while San Francisco was still recovering from the pandemic.
Eater reported that as office workers came back, Park's Brick by Brick Hospitality Group turned to Union Street again. Kaiyo Handroll Bar opened at the old address on Friday, Sept. 11. Same company, same address, same cuisine. Only the timing changed. The same reasoning that closed the restaurant two years ago has now brought it back, so the move reads as a judgment about how much business Union Street can now support.
The kitchen will feel familiar to regulars. Kaiyo chef Alex Reccio and chef de cuisine Kenji Sawada are running it, and hospitality veteran Danny Louie is in charge of drinks. The new part is the format. The hand rolls build on the menu at the Hyatt Place location. Two examples are a lomo saltado roll made with A5 wagyu and shoestring potatoes, and a take on arroz con pato with flash-seared duck and sansho pepper. Many rolls use cilantro rice or chicha morada rice, which is colored with Peruvian purple corn, in place of traditional sushi rice. "We want our food to be approachable… and hand rolls certainly are that fun element," Park told Eater.
Hand rolls are smaller and faster than a full dinner. That makes this a lighter commitment than the restaurant that left, which fits with what has moved into the larger, longer-empty spaces farther west.
Two storefronts, six years empty
Big Union Street spaces are slow to lease, and the old Sur La Table at 2240 Union shows why. The San Francisco Standard reported that the building covers 7,000 square feet and had been empty since 2020. To find tenants, the landlords split it into two smaller units. Sue Perichon took the smaller half for Little Maison, which the Standard calls San Francisco's first play cafe.
Splitting the building is what got it leased. A space sized for a national kitchenware chain sat empty for six years. Half of it found a tenant once the half was small enough for a single local founder to take on.
The Gamine space at 2223 Union is the opposite case. It was always small. The San Francisco Chronicle reported in April that Breakfast Little owner Andrew Martinez-Perez had leased the 970-square-foot storefront where the French bistro operated until it closed in 2020. At the time of that story, the business had not set an opening date for its Cow Hollow shop. Until it announces one, it's best treated as coming soon.
Both spaces sat empty for about the same length of time despite their very different sizes. Both were leased in 2026 by operators who build around daytime hours.
What the newcomers share
Each new tenant has a different concept. What they share is when they're open, and none of them depends mainly on dinner.
- Breakfast Little, 2223 Union. The Chronicle describes egg-filled burritos that put the Mission District original on the paper's top burrito and best breakfast burrito lists. Fillings include chorizo, bacon and fried plantains. Associate restaurant critic Cesar Hernandez singled out the "OG," made with bacon or sausage, garlic aioli, cheese and tater tots. The menu also has breakfast sandwiches, oatmeal bowls, avocado sourdough toast and coffee.
- Little Maison, 2240 Union. The Standard reports a cafe in front and a play space in back. Perichon plans to partner with local businesses for the food and coffee. The design is by Cathie Hong, who also designed the Korean-inspired cafe Sōhn in Dogpatch. Plans include a custom play structure, a separate area for crawlers and a "pretend play zone."
- The Yard Strength Training, 1906 Union. This is the company's third Bay Area location, and The Yard says it opened in fall 2026. Members book time in one of 10 private strength-training pods or on one of four reformers. The gym also offers small group classes, personal training and a coworking lounge, where The Yard says members can get a coffee and work before or after a session. As of late October 2026, The Yard's site said founding memberships were still available and listed discounted parking.
Perichon put the target audience plainly to the Standard: "My target demographic isn't the 3-year-old. It's the 35-year-old with the 3-year-old." The Yard's coworking lounge is aimed at much the same adult and the same time of day. A coffee before a morning session, a laptop afterward and lunch nearby add up to a stretch of Union Street that is busy well before the dinner rush.
That brings Kaiyo back into the picture. Park's own account to Eater says the restaurant returned as office workers returned. More weekday traffic on the street supports a hand-roll bar, and businesses that keep a block busy from morning on are part of what makes evening business worthwhile.
Timing for the rest of the season
For anyone planning around these openings this month, here is where things stand.
- Open now. Kaiyo Handroll Bar at 1838 Union has been serving since Sept. 11, and The Yard at 1906 Union opened this fall.
- Expected soon. Little Maison at 2240 Union. Construction started in July, and the Standard's August report expected an opening "this winter," with hours listed as "Opening late 2026." Little Maison's own website currently says both "Opening this fall!" and "coming this winter!" Its mailing list is the most direct way to get the date.
- Announced, no date. Breakfast Little at 2223 Union. The burritos are available now at the Mission District location.
Union Street's best-known events don't fall in this window. The Union Street Association held its 2026 Union Street Festival on June 6–7, between Fillmore and Gough. This season's changes are happening one storefront at a time.
The other half of 2240 Union
The larger half of the former Sur La Table building is the biggest open space on this stretch. When the Standard spoke with Perichon in August, the other side was still available. "The other side is still open, and I'm hoping for an amazing neighbor," she said. No tenant has been announced for it since.
Whoever takes that space will share a wall with a play cafe, across the street from a breakfast shop, a few blocks west of a strength gym with a coworking lounge. The neighbors to the east have already shown what kind of business has been willing to sign a lease on this block.
If you own a building along this stretch, or a home a few blocks from it, and want to talk through what this fall's new tenants mean for the address you care about, Ana Dierkhising would welcome the conversation. Let's Connect.
