Public plaza surrounding Chase Center is cultivating a thriving culinary scene
While Mission Bay ’s multipurpose arena welcomed its second permanent tenant with the Golden State Valkyries ’ W NBA debut last week, business owners in the 11-acre, mixed-use area known as Thrive City say it continues to evolve into a dynamic, vibrant restaurant complex.
“It’s a growing, vibrant neighborhood with a diverse community and incredible energy,” said Fikscue Craft Barbecue co-founder Reka Saleh, calling Thrive City “a rare opportunity to be part of something dynamic, where food, sports, and community all collide.” Elsewhere in the plaza, the team behind the Snug cocktail bar opened the fast-casual Taco Primo taqueria last month, while Pacific Cocktail Haven’s crew brought a 30,000 square-foot sports bar steps away from the arena earlier this year. Owners of those businesses who spoke with The Examiner said they hope energy from the spring translates well into the summer. “Everybody was writing about the doom loop for the last five years and I really feel like we’ve turned a corner as a city in 2025,” said Andy Chun, an owner of the aforementioned sports bar, Splash. Saleh and her husband, Fik, started Fikscue from their home in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The couple opened an Alameda storefront in 2021, combining halal Texas barbecue with Indonesian dishes. Fikscue started slinging smoked beef ribs and sausage-link platters during the Golden State Warriors’ NBA playoffs run last month, as part of the Mission Bay outpost’s soft opening. The barbecue joint will also be open on Valkyries gamedays ahead of a grand opening this summer. Saleh called opening in Thrive City “a natural next step” that allows the restaurant to “meet guests in a really organic, high-energy environment.” Customers have given feedback on details as granular as the flow of foot traffic, Saleh said, which is useful for fine-tuning the number of employees and the level of kitchen preparation needed ahead of Fikscue’s full opening. Olivia Ringo, whose Snug team opened Taco Primo across from Harmonic Brewing a little over a month ago, said that “it really was just a no-brainer” to establish a waterfront outpost. Ringo’s team was motivated by developments surrounding Chase Center and the neighborhood itself. “I moved to The City in 2008 and Mission Bay looked a lot different then,” Ringo said. Thrive City’s emergence “has done such a great job of prioritizing community” for operators and customers, she said. Other Thrive City merchants have provided valuable advice on figuring out how to handle arena crowds and their volumes, Ringo said, whether Chase Center is booked for a sporting event or a major concert. Ex // Top Stories Soccer clubs see mixed bag in proposed pro team at Kezar Stadium A trio of amateur sides that call the century-old venue home for at least part of their seasons see opportunity for investment, chances for scheduling conflicts Pelosi touts FEMA money for SF, vows to continue fight for more SF, other California cities believe they’re owed much more money for COVID-19 response SF congressional race without Pelosi could look a lot like her first It’s 1987 all over again — assuming the House speaker emerita doesn’t run “We literally dove right into it and are just looking forward to continuing that momentum,” she said. Chun and his team opened the Splash sports bar back in February, just in time for the NBA All-Star Game. The bar’s massive, 1,400 square-foot video screen has since become an attraction for Thrive City visitors. Many Warriors fans have made Splash their away-game destination, Chun said, cheering with all the same passion and energy for every play as if they were in the actual arena. Chun said he expects that energy to translate to Valkyries games over the summer as the WNBA season progresses. “We’ve been really encouraged with the response to people coming and seeing us, not only on game days but also just throughout the week with concerts and all of the other good stuff that’s happening,” Chun said. Though still in their early stages, the recently opened restaurateurs say they are eager to become ingrained in people’s experiences when they visit the plaza. Similar to its location in Alameda, Fikscue’s Thrive City outpost has already drawn lines out the door.“It’s pushed us to grow in new ways while staying true to our roots,” she said. For some operators, Thrive City’s success is also emblematic of how The City’s future is also on the upswing. Chun said that the Mission Bay neighborhood is “an opportunity for San Francisco to actually rewrite a little bit about how we live, work, play.” Ringo of Taco Primo said that this summer is a chance for the Mission Bay businesses to continue putting down roots in the area. “Being in that space with waterfront views and next to such friendly neighbors, we’re really happy to be there,” she said.
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