Polk Street's Fall Openings Lean Toward Daytime. Which Ones Can You Actually Walk Into This November?

Five food and drink projects have been announced this fall for the Russian Hill and Polk Gulch stretch of Polk Street. As of early October, one was open, according to food writer Jeff Marples' status check. What they plan to serve says more about where Polk is headed. The five are a bakery, a bagel shop, a coffee counter and a hand-roll counter, plus a single bar.

So the blocks between Jackson and Union are filling in from morning to early evening. The one bar on that list is still planning pop-ups, and a second bar proposal, which surfaced in late October and sits outside the original five, has no name or timeline yet.

The one counter that's serving

Handroll Hawker opened Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 2360 Polk St., on the corner of Union. Founder Romi Trower built the concept around Australian-style portable hand rolls with chef Tai Trinh, who runs the kitchen, as the SF Standard reported ahead of the opening. It's open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., according to Eater SF.

Trower told Eater that in Australia the hand roll is "as common as getting a sandwich or a salad for lunch." The hours fit that description. A counter that closes at 7:30 p.m. earns its money at lunch and early dinner. Three of the four projects still to come are built for the same daytime hours.

Walking north from Jackson, address by address

Here is each project in street order, with its status in early November. Restaurant opening dates slip all the time, so read every "projected" below as a forecast.

Freedom Coffee is the least visible of the five. The San Francisco Chronicle reported in August that city permits show plans to turn the space at 1850 Polk into a café. A Pilates studio most recently leased that space. In early October, the company's jobs page listed the Polk address but no open roles.

Lorella is the one most likely to draw a line. It's a bakery from Melissa Perello, chef-owner of Frances and Octavia, and pastry chef Melissa Loar. The name combines the two chefs' last names. It grew out of Saturbake, a monthly Saturday walk-up pop-up at Octavia's side door at 1802 Bush St. that starts at 10 a.m. According to the Chronicle's fall openings list, last updated Oct. 6, the menu covers seasonal breads, pastries and rotating pizza, with a weekend ice cream cart to follow, and the projected opening is November. The Chronicle's original announcement in July said Lorella would be open daily. For now, Lorella's own site still says "coming soon" and lists no hours.

Bageletto has the oldest forecast on the street. In April, the SF Standard reported that co-founders Kiki Theodorides and Rich D'Aloia planned a sit-down café at 2193 Polk, with bagels made at their Mission production site. The co-owners estimated "60 to 90 days" and a late-spring opening. Bageletto's site still lists only its 76 14th St. location. As of early October, no delay had been announced and the Polk location had not been confirmed.

Taken together, the bakery, the bagel café, the coffee counter and the lunch-focused hand-roll spot are all set up for the hours before dinner. Marples' summary: if even half of the pending openings land on schedule, the Russian Hill stretch of Polk adds most of its new food business before 7:30 p.m.

A 5 a.m. anchor at the south end

FITNESS SF has posted Nov. 1 as the opening date for its gym at 1600 Jackson St., just off Polk. The neighborhood newsletter My Town News describes it as a 42,000-square-foot space. The location page lists these opening hours:

• Monday through Thursday, 5 a.m. to midnight
• Friday, 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.
• Saturday and Sunday, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The company's community page also says it opens November 1, 2026, and that grand-opening details are still to be announced. The gym's 5 a.m. weekday start is hours earlier than Handroll Hawker's 11:30 a.m. opening, and it sits at the south end of the stretch, near Freedom Coffee's proposed site at 1850 Polk.

The evening side is the slower half

Polk's evening additions are the least settled. One is the single bar among the original five; the other is a newer proposal outside that count.

Jupiter Room is moving into 2065 Polk, the former Lord Stanley space. The Chronicle lists Peter Hemsley as chef-owner, Trevin Hutchins as bar director, and Deirdre Balao Rieutort-Louis as head chef and pastry chef. Plans call for a martini-led bar with nostalgic bar food and a takeout window facing Broadway. The Chronicle's Oct. 6 update projected a late-November opening. Jupiter Room's own site says "Landing Soon!" and that it "launches LATE 2026." It promises pop-ups before the permanent doors open, mentions martinis, fries, late night and takeout, and posts no hours or pop-up dates yet.

Farther north on Polk, a bigger evening project is only a proposal so far. Hoodline reported on Oct. 28 that nightlife operator Nate Valentine wants to combine 2155 and 2157 Polk St. into one larger bar. Those storefronts currently hold the Buccaneer and House of Sushi. Hoodline credited The Business Journals with the first report, which describes Valentine as a partner in April Jean, Lost Resort and Harper & Rye. The building at 2155 Polk dates to 1906. The proposed bar has no public name or timeline, and Hoodline said it's not established whether either current tenant has agreed to make way. Until something changes, both businesses are where they've been.

On the daytime side, a single counter is open and three more have addresses and menus. The evening side has one bar planned around pop-ups and one plan with no name. Polk's evening bars are mostly the established ones, including the Cinch Saloon up the block, which has operated since 1974.

What each storefront will show next

On a block you walk every day, construction usually shows up before any announcement does. Here's what to look for on each storefront this month, in the order Marples flagged them:

1. 2139 Polk, Lorella. It has a November projection and a "before the holidays" target, so signage, posted hours or a soft-open date is the next likely change.
2. 2065 Polk, Jupiter Room. Pop-ups come first, so a temporary event may happen before the doors open for good. A working takeout window on the Broadway side would mean the permanent space is close.
3. 1850 Polk, Freedom Coffee. As far as public reporting goes, it's still at the permit stage. Visible build-out would be the first real sign of progress.
4. 2193 Polk, Bageletto. Any activity in the windows would be the first news since April.
5. 2155–2157 Polk. A name, a filing or a sign on the Buccaneer and House of Sushi frontage would be the first public detail about Valentine's project.

If you own a rental between Jackson and Union, which of these storefronts are actually open will change from week to week this season. Ray Amouzandeh keeps track of Polk Street openings so that listings and showings describe the block as it stands that week. Get a fast leasing plan by scheduling a free consultation.