After years of waiting, Cinderella Bakery is slated to open its 24th Street location on Friday, Aug. 28.
Cinderella has been serving Russian goods — piroshkies, kvass, Siberian pies, borscht and more — to San Franciscans for more than 70 years at 436 Balboa St. in the Inner Richmond. It opened in 1953 and, in 2017, the bakery was recognized as a legacy business.
Its Mission location will be located at 2937 24th. St., on the corner of Alabama Street. The building was the home of La Victoria bakery for 67 years, but was purchased by Cinderella’s bakery co-owner, Mike Fishman, a month after La Victoria shut down in October 2018 following years of declining business and a family dispute.
Fishman bought the corner shop, hoping to open up Cinderella’s second location in the city.
“The building is very attractive, and there aren’t very many mixed-use buildings” on the market, Mike Fishman told Mission Local in October 2018. The building also houses three apartments and two other businesses, Texis Jewelry and Gemini Barber, which remain open.
Fishman said in 2018 that he did not plan to raise the rents on the businesses.
Cinderella’s route to opening was long, drawn out by both the pandemic and neighborhood activists.
The bakery faced early opposition from neighborhood groups, who called for a boycott of the business and demanded the space be made available for La Victoria to return — even though the business had closed, after years of decline and struggle.
Jaime Maldonado, who took over the family business and was the master tenant of the building, in October 2018 evicted its own subtenants, arguing it was a necessary move to settle a lawsuit with his stepmother, Susan Maldonado. Laura Hernandez, an employee of 12 years at the bakery, later opened La Victoria SF at 3249 24th St., at Capp Street, in 2019. It is still there.
One of the loudest voices in 2018 against Cinderella was Calle 24’s then-president, Erick Arguello.
In an interview in May 2025, however, Arguello said he didn’t want to look back, and instead welcomed Cinderella to the corridor.
“I just want to look forward. Everything is fine. … The important thing is that they’ve integrated into the community,” Arguello said at the time.
Fishman told Mission Local in April 2025 that Cinderella’s opening had also been delayed for years by the pandemic and by the fact that, at the time, banks would not lend him money.
Cinderella’s opening in the Calle 24 Latino Cultural District required the business to adhere to several conditions, such as sourcing ingredients locally and featuring local artwork to “preserve the prevailing neighborhood character,” according to the city planning code.
Cinderella commissioned a mural from Precita Eyes that was completed in November 2025.
Fishman, an immigrant from the former Soviet Union whose Jewish family was, at one point, banished to Siberia, said in April last year that he felt excited to open up in a neighborhood both vibrant and with a rich immigrant history.
“I’m very excited about reviving and honoring the old space that held so many special memories,” said Fishman. “We look forward to being a positive addition to the neighborhood.”
Calle 24 Latino Cultural District stands proudly on its Mission and Vision to protect the Latino Cultural District Cultural Assets and its Cultural Economy. We were designated as a Cultural District by the City and County of San Francisco and the State of California because of the over 8 thousand Latino residents and small businesses displaced from the Mission. We are the founders and creators of the Cultural District concept. There are now 8 cultural districts city wide in order to help keep San Francisco a diverse city.
Mr. Fishman, owner of Cinderella Bakery and our Founder and President Erick Arguello met with the City to discuss conditions required by our Special Use District created by the community to protect our cultural assets and cultural economy. Mr. Fishman met those conditions.
He is paying respect and homage to La Victoria Bakery’s 75 year history in a mural. Is hiring locals that speak spanish, will provide some products targeting the latino population. Will purchase locally from other Calle 24 businesses, Outside the SUD he reiterated he will not be evicting the two other small businesses on his property. This will help to minimize harm to the Cultural District and help him integrate into the culture.
This process has helped us protect the reason thousands of visitors come to the Calle 24 Latino Cultural District annually. To visit our small businesses, murals, experience Carnival, Fiesta De Las Americas, Paseo Artistico, Dia De Los Muertos, Lowrider Parades, Lovers Lane and car exhibitions. Generating the highest business revenue in the Mission.
Calle 24 Latino Cultural District
It is so weird to me that part of the package of deference includes putting a mural on your building (presumably paying Precita Eyes to carry it out). The murals certainly are more attractive than the greige covered buildings designed developers but it seems so formuliac now. Also, Cinderella’s products are already appealing to the Latino population and remind me of many things sold in the markets to Latinos and found in Latin America. The tokenistic concessions are strange. I am glad for real activism that keeps this neighborhood from being overtaken by bougie-ness but in this case, you guys held up a business that truly represents San Francisco and serves to maintain its socio-economic diversity.
Thanks so much for your comment.
It’s unfortunate that some news articles don’t always capture the full picture. Mr. Fishman was not able to open his business because he was unable to secure a loan at the time, and then COVID made the situation even more difficult. Mr. Fishman has been quoted in other articles explaining this as well.
Our broker, along with the Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD), worked to help find a tenant for the space. There were several parties interested in the space, but ultimately they could not afford the rent needed for the location. Mr. Fishman also invested significant time and resources into renovating the new location. Anyone interested in further verification is welcome to contact OEWD directly.
I also want to highlight that the Cultural District is home to more than 700 murals, making it the largest outdoor public gallery in the country. These murals tell our stories, our history, and the struggles of communities whose voices were once not represented in mainstream galleries.
The Cultural District brings visitors who come to learn about the history of the Mission and the experiences and struggles of immigrant communities. That cultural tourism also generates revenue for our small businesses and supports the local economy.
The 24th Street commercial corridor is one of the most economically stable commercial corridors in San Francisco, with a very low vacancy rate and many long-standing businesses, including numerous legacy businesses that have served the community for generations. This stability is a reflection of the strength of our small businesses, community, culture, and the relationships that have been built over decades.
Our cultural economy is a key part of the sustainability and long-term success of businesses in the area. Supporting culture, arts, and our small businesses helps strengthen the local economy, preserve the unique character of the Mission, and create pathways for businesses to remain rooted in the community without causing displacement.
I’ve been looking forward to this opening for a long time! Hooray 🥳
Good article..can hardly wait for one of their delicious Puroskis!
A beautiful addition to the neighborhood.
I have eaten at their other location and THE FOOD IS OUTSTANDING ! I’m glad they persisted through all of the Hispanic mafia bullying and payouts to local money grabs! Now maybe the neighborhoods best interests can be served once the open their doors. Welcome to the neighborhood. The NEIGHBORS are certainly glad your here
”In an interview in May 2025, however, Arguello said he didn’t want to look back, and instead welcomed Cinderella to the corridor.”
Of course he says that now with complete disregard that him and his (former) organization do nothing but cause impediments in the Mission (between this and the Laundromat on Mission). Must be nice doing it all on taxpayer money no less.
If not for these articles citing his absurd behaviors, Erick has already been forgotten. He’s a rotten individual whose actions and words will have no impact on the long term movement of this neighborhood.
Glad the racists lost on this one, but it’s embarrassing they dragged things out this long. Excited to see Cinderella finally open!
So thrilled this opening! I’ve been at the one in the Richmond and their food is delicious. Last time I counted, there were at least 5 or six Hispanic bakeries with similar fare on 24th St. between SVN & Potrero- not complaining but having more variety, in my opinion, is a good thing— especially a top-notch one like Cinderella Bakery.
Racist? Who? I would like to know so I can keep my community safe from potential discrimination and danger.
I like how many of the folks commenting on here have nicknames. If you are too scared to put your full name on it, it means it’s something you know shouldn’t be said or get you in trouble if tied back to you.
It “shouldn’t” be said because some neighborhood activists like to use harassment and cries of bigotry whenever people say things they don’t like. So yes, folks will “get in trouble” and it would be with unjust and narrow-minded accusations. You are evidence “A.”
This saga was definitely part of Woke 1.0. Hopefully, it is good riddance. Cinderella is everything you could ask for in an SF business–rooted in a SF immigrant tradition, homestyle, delicious, and affordable. I hope it becomes a legacy business.
Calle 24 and MEDA are nativist organizations.
Their nativist thuggery is exactly analogous to MAGA nativist thuggery.
One is (supposedly) “progressive” and the other is (supposedly) “conservative”.
Just like Left-NIMBYism and Right-NIMBYism, there is no material difference as the results are identical.
Every native San Franciscan or SF community cultural organization will push to preserve what makes the City of St. Francis so special (even those at City Hall). There’s no “thuggery” or “NIMBYism” going on. Long or lifetime residents embrace change and welcome newcomers. Both realities can and should co-exist. I welcome Cinderella Bakery and give kudos to Calle 24 for its mission and neighborhood advocacy.
Nothing in this comment makes any sense. Calle 24 and MEDA, organizations that help out the Latino and immigrant community, are “natavist.” That’s literally the opposite of the definition of nativist. The perversion of a Latino community in San Francisco should be a priority. San Francisco is the only California city that has a steady decline of Black and Brown residents that rates that red states and MAGA lawmakers would like to see nationwide. So if trying to preserve a working-class neighborhood so immigrants can have once small pieces of San Francisco to call their own, after all, most businesses, especially restaurants, have immigrants working in some capacity, is nativist. I have to go back to the 8th grade and retake the grammar/spelling class because I clearly don’t know what “natavist” means.
>>Nothing in this comment makes any sense. Calle 24 and MEDA, organizations that help out the Latino and immigrant community, are “natavist.”<<
Calle 24 and MEDA get paid to help themselves by running an extortion operation.
We proved at Marshall Elementary last year that these city funded ethnicity and poverty nonprofits have zero credibility and political legitimacy with Mission residents, only with the political class.