Boichik, One of many Bay Space’s Greatest Bagel Retailers, Is Opening Three New Shops in San Francisco

The San Francisco bagel scene is about to get a serious boost. Boichik Bagels, arguably the Bay Area’s most popular bagel maker, is expanding with three new locations in the city. The San Francisco Business Times reports shops at 1946 Fillmore Street, 22 Battery Street, and 3665 Sacramento Street should open in spring 2024. “It’s not a ghost town,” founder and CEO Emily Winston told the outlet. “There’s good energy there.”

Boichik has already opened in Palo Alto, Santa Clara, and Larkspur, and calls Berkeley home complete with a bagel-making robot. According to the Business Times, these three shops in Lower Pac Heights, FiDi, and Laurel Heights will be to-go, retail locations only, with bagels brought from Berkeley each day. The store openings mark Winston’s first expansions into San Francisco.

Cafe Jacqueline temporarily closes

North Beach mainstay Cafe Jacqueline will close for six to eight weeks because chef and owner Jacqueline Margulis broke her arm in early March. The Chronicle reports the Grant Avenue restaurant owner took a “nasty fall” before heading to the emergency room; no surgery was required, and Margulis told the paper she’ll be fine after taking time to heal.

Mexican fusion restaurant opens in Sacramento

Japan, Peru, Ecuador, and Mexico collide at 2731 K Street in Sacramento thanks to new restaurant Octopus Baja. Chef Joel Siegel, also behind Mayahuel, told the Bee this restaurant is an homage to the spice trade routes that fed these countries, meaning dishes including chipotle salmon topped with mango and bluefin tuna tostada with corn microgreens will be commonplace. Two more “Octopus” restaurants will open in downtown and West Sacramento soon.

Construction begins on Hayes Valley Trader Joe’s

There’s life inside 555 Fulton Street, the site of a much-delayed Trader Joe’s planned to open in Hayes Valley. SFist reports furniture has been moved in and construction has begun, meaning the most recent projection of a spring 2024 opening is possible. Skeptics have reason to shrug, though, as this project has been teased since 2014.

Nonalcoholic bottle shop coming to Cow Hollow

New Bar, a Los Angeles-based booze-free bar, is opening at 2181A Union Street by the end of March. The Standard reports the business will take over former plant shop Sill and will offer daily tastings of the 40 to 50 nonalcoholic drinks that will be sold on-site. “We’ve seen over time that a large set of our customers actually are shopping from San Francisco,” founder and CEO Brianda Gonzalez told the outlet of the move north. “So from just an internal data perspective, it made a lot of sense.”