Four restaurants have been announced for Fillmore Street between Clay and Pine, and none of them is serving yet. Each one went into a building owned by the same investor group, which says it seeks out specific operators instead of waiting for applications, and which chose Bar Oliver for its corner space. That's why the new names on this stretch show up as press announcements months before anyone hangs a sign. It's also why the block will probably change all at once instead of one storefront at a time.
A few blocks south, on Fillmore below Pine and along Sutter, storefronts are opening, changing hours and closing at the usual pace of a San Francisco retail street. There are now two clocks on the same corridor, and knowing which block you're on tells you a lot about when its empty windows will fill.
One owner, six buildings, three blocks
The group behind the slow clock is the Upper Fillmore Revitalization Project. It's funded by venture capitalist Neil Mehta and run by executive director Cody Allen. The San Francisco Chronicle reported in April that entities connected to Mehta had bought half a dozen properties on the three blocks of Fillmore between Clay and Pine. A private equity fund raised $100 million from a single undisclosed investor in January 2024. That same month, a company registered to Allen bought the Clay Theater for $11 million, and related companies spent close to $40 million more on five other buildings on the corridor.
A landlord who owns that much of a block can wait for the right tenant instead of the first one. Allen told the Chronicle in October how the team picks: "We prefer to seek out specific tenants for our spaces, or operators we believe will bring a unique approach to a concept or business type that we feel the neighborhood needs." According to the Chronicle, Mehta has also said he plans to support new businesses in his buildings, including through below-market leases.
The approach has drawn debate. The Chronicle describes supporters who see a fix for a corridor that struggled with vacancies, and critics who raised concerns about transparency, rents and longtime merchants. Ten-Ichi, a sushi restaurant that had been on the street for 46 years, has closed. La Méditerranée, which has been there for decades, negotiated a lease extension and is still open at 2210 Fillmore.
The waiting list, address by address
Here's where each announced project in the group's buildings stood in mid-October 2026:
| Address | Previously | Coming | Status, mid-October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2259 Fillmore, at Clay | Alice & Olivia | Bar Oliver, Basque-inspired restaurant and vermouth bar | Early planning, no estimated opening date |
| 2222 Fillmore | Starbucks, which left in 2024 after 30+ years | Khao Soi Shop from chef Pim Techamuanvivit | Working through city permitting, no date |
| 2035–2047 Fillmore | Four small storefronts, including Mio and A-Pizza | One combined restaurant | Building bought in August, operator not announced |
| 2001 Fillmore, at Pine | Noosh | Monami, Korean steakhouse from the owners of Ssal | Announced in January with a fall target, still listed as forthcoming |
| 2261 Fillmore | Clay Theater, closed since 2020 | Restored single-screen cinema | Target of early 2027 |
Two of the four restaurant teams already hold Michelin stars elsewhere in the city. Techamuanvivit runs Kin Khao downtown and Nari in Japantown's Kabuki Hotel, and Monami comes from the owners of Ssal. Khao Soi Shop will be her casual curry-and-noodle spot, and the menu depends on what kitchen equipment the permits allow.
Bar Oliver is the outside pick. Aisa Shelley, who worked in Bay Area restaurants and hotels before opening places in Manhattan, is bringing the second location of his Lower Manhattan spot to the corner of Fillmore and Clay. The Chronicle's Mario Cortez reported that the San Francisco location will mostly follow the New York original, with pintxos, patatas bravas and "bikini" ham-and-cheese sandwiches, served all day from morning coffee through dinner. It will add two things New York doesn't have: a full bar and an open hearth for grilling whole fish and steaks over fire.
Why the Clay sets the clock
Bar Oliver's address explains the rest of the plan. Its space shares a building with the Clay Theater, which showed foreign, art house and cult films for more than 110 years before it closed in 2020.
The theater cleared its first city review on April 1, when the Historic Preservation Commission endorsed the restoration plan unanimously. The New Fillmore reported that Commissioner Robert Vergara asked one question, "When?" Allen answered that the team hoped to finish "in early '27." The Clay was built in 1913 as a nickelodeon and is City Landmark No. 302. Under the plan it keeps its marquee, interior moldings and auditorium size and gains a small balcony. Moving the restrooms upstairs makes room for an all-day cafe and a small cinema bookstore. Historic preservation architects at Page & Turnbull are overseeing the work.
Veteran cinema curator Ted Gerike will run it. The plan calls for more than 500 screenings a year, seven days a week, mixing first-run films, repertory classics, 35mm presentations, filmmaker talks and live events. Earlier estimates put the renovation at $5 million.
A theater running more than 500 screenings a year brings people to the block at night, which is when restaurants make most of their money. Next door is an all-day restaurant with a full bar. A short walk south are a Korean steakhouse and a chef-driven Thai spot. Read as a group, the tenant list looks built around evenings anchored by the Clay. In its October 14 story, the Chronicle said only that the theater "could open by next year," so the early 2027 date is still a target.
Where the street moves at normal speed
Outside the group's buildings, Fillmore and Sutter have turned over the usual way this year, with operators signing leases and opening within months.
At Fillmore and Post, Super Duper Burgers opened by August in the old Burger King space, serving burgers, chicken sandwiches, shakes and soft serve. Tacos El Patrón took the former Scott's Chowder House space at 1325 Fillmore. The neighborhood paper The New Fillmore reported in August that owner Alberto Pineda planned an end-of-August opening for what he called his biggest location yet, with about 50 seats, after Pleasant Hill and the Mission. An October 12 roundup from The Infatuation lists it as operating.
Retail has followed a different model. Leap supplies storefronts, staff and retail operations to brands that started online, and its newest tenant, the Barcelona shoe and bag brand Alohas, is now open at 2208 Fillmore. That address belonged to Rocksbox, which had closed by August after opening on Fillmore in late 2024. Jonathan Adler's home furnishings store at 2133 Fillmore closed in the same stretch.
The New Fillmore's October street report tracked how nearby restaurants keep adjusting:
- Palmer's Tavern serves lunch Wednesday through Friday starting at noon, plus weekend brunch, and keeps its kitchen open until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Its reopening was never part of Mehta's project.
- Athanor is chef Mike Lanham's new restaurant at 2600 Sutter, in the same space where he closed Anomaly earlier this year. It serves a $175 prix-fixe menu.
- California Kahve is coming to the former She/Her space at 2108 Sutter, across from Sweet Maple. It will be the company's first neighborhood storefront after its Golden Gate Park and Presidio Tunnel Tops locations. No opening date has been announced.
- Yuzu and Avocado Green, an omakase speakeasy and a coffee-and-matcha bar at Fillmore and Sutter, were temporarily closed in early October while permitting issues were worked out.
- Jevikal, a San Jose Korean food truck known for kimbap and Korean fried chicken, is working on its first permanent restaurant in the former Pride of the Mediterranean space at Fillmore and Sutter. No opening date has been announced.
Below Pine, the street fills one lease at a time, and each space can open, change or close on its own schedule. Between Pine and Clay, one owner is holding several spaces for operators it chose and timing them to a theater that won't open before next year.
The weeks around Halloween and into winter
The blocks beyond the construction have their own late-October calendar, drawn from The New Fillmore's recent neighborhood reports and the residents association's listings:
- Halloween, Saturday, October 31. Mudpie and Just For Fun carry children's costumes, and Just For Fun has seasonal toys as well. Goodwill has new and used costumes for adults. George carries costumes for dogs.
- Alta Plaza Park. The tennis courts have been resurfaced. The playground closed September 28 for new surfacing and play structures and is expected back in early January.
- Thursday, November 12. The Pacific Heights Residents Association holds its annual member meeting and reception from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Flood Mansion, 2222 Broadway, for current members.
As of mid-October, none of Bar Oliver, Khao Soi Shop, Monami or the restaurant planned for 2035–2047 Fillmore had an announced opening date, and the Clay's target remained early 2027.
If you own on or near Upper Fillmore and want to know how a curated block next to a restored landmark cinema could affect what you're holding, Jeffrey Marples can walk you through it. Request a personalized market consultation, and we'll go through it block by block.
