‘It’s like there’s a renewed excitement on the street,’ Palmer’s Tavern owner Sam Fechheimer said
Something was in San Francisco ’s air in 2025, and it made many residents utter the oft-repeated phrase that The City was “so back.” Debuting night markets, free outdoor concerts and new business openings appeared in headlines, replacing stories that covered mounting building vacancies, dwindling tourism numbers and high-profile crimes.
The proprietors of those businesses and organizers of said events say The City’s revitalization is clear. “San Francisco has bounced back,” said Sam Fechheimer, the owner of Palmer’s Tavern in Pacific Heights. Fechheimer’s Fillmore Street restaurant and bar reopened in October following a two-year closure stemming from major flood damage. In his free time throughout the year, he said, he went on runs along the Marina Green, biked in the Marin Headlands and attended Cole Valley Nights, a neighborhood street market. He said his summer was filled with plenty of San Francisco Giants games. The team enjoyed its best total and average attendance at Oracle Park this year since 2019. Ballpark trips also gave fans glimpses of progress at Mission Rock, the Giants’ 28-acre mixed-use development across the stadium. In September, the team behind Che Fico opened Via Aurelia at the complex. Specializing in Tuscan flavors, the project is the first upscale restaurant launched by co-founders David Nayfeld and Matt Brewer. Trick Dog, the award-winning cocktail purveyor, debuted the diner-inspired Quik Dog there in November. The restaurant and bar serves burgers, fries, hot dogs and salads. At nearby Chase Center, the Golden State Valkyries sold out all 22 home games during their inaugural season, setting WNBA attendance records in the process. Thrive City, the public plaza outside the arena that is also home to the Warriors, welcomed new faces. Bay Area favorites Senor Sisig and Fikscue Craft Barbecue joined the growing number of merchants doing business in the area in the winter and spring, respectively. Local stakeholders worked to spread some of the eastern waterfront’s good vibes to downtown San Francisco, a district filled with businesses that have long relied heavily on office workers. Between May 30 and October 10, the Downtown San Francisco Partnership hosted four free block parties on the 500 block of Front Street. Robbie Silver, the community-benefit district’s president and CEO, said the four events attracted more than 46,000 people to the area. Attractions included an away-game watch party for the Valkyries in September and an October screening of the 1986 film “Top Gun” that coincided with Fleet Week. In addition to block parties, Silver’s group also organized “Let’s Glow.” Held Dec. 5-15, the 10-night undertaking covered office-building exteriors in light projections created by artists. Silver said this year’s edition, the fifth iteration of “Let’s Glow,” drew over 100,000 visitors. “It’s no accident that people and businesses see downtown as a vibrant neighborhood,” Silver said. “We look forward to doing more activations in the new year.” Throughout the year, crowds also flocked to Civic Center Plaza for concerts, farmers markets and other events. Bay Area promoter Another Planet Entertainment worked with local leaders in September to organize a free outdoor concert featuring musical acts including Shaboozey, Red Leather and Fireboy DML. Ex // Top Stories San Francisco needs to save its art scene Between funding cuts, privatization and the long tail of the pandemic, the state of the arts is regrettably shaky SF crime kept falling in 2025, but the drop wasn’t citywide Property and violent crime fell once again, though shifts varied by police district For holidays, SF bartenders air grievances with naughty customers After the viral violent incident at Hazie’s, The Examiner gives bar staffers space to vent in honor of Festivus Spectra, a 1.6-acre public light art sculpture, was installed earlier this spring at nearby Fulton Plaza. The debut coincided with “Night of Ideas,” an annual event hosted every year with KQED. “The work we’re putting in alongside The City is really paying off,” said Tracy Everwine, executive director of the Civic Center Community Benefit District. The plazas also offered skateboarding, weekly fitness classes, and lessons on chess and mah-jongg.Business owners expressed similar sentiments in the Haight, where part-owner Wes Wakeford and his team opened The Green Heron in November. Down the road, Mary’s on Haight opened in September where the bar Trax once stood. Wakeford received the keys to the bar in July, when pedestrians popped in to ask about an opening date as employees made touchups and other repairs. He said his team, which also operates a bar in the Sunset district, moved to the Haight because it saw the neighborhood’s potential.Bar employees met more new faces in August when music lovers descended on the neighborhood for three straight weekends of live performances. Dead & Company concerts in honor of the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary this year gave way to sets tied to the Outside Lands music festival. The Green Heron is open for business, but work continues on the venue. Throughout December, employees put up a stained-glass art installation depicting the bar’s namesake bird. New and returning customers also swung by for the bar’s holiday party and toy drive, a Dec. 19 event at which gifts were donated to families affected by ramped-up federal immigration-enforcement operations. Over the course of five hours. DJs spun records, while guests enjoyed holiday cocktails, desserts and an assortment of Christmas decorations.As for where San Franciscans should spend their time in 2026, Fechheimer said it felt impossible “to make a bad decision.”
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