“Sunset Buzz” is a recurring column on changes, tidbits and other news from the Sunset. Got news? Send us tips at junyao@missionlocal.com.
The Yemeni brothers at KJ Produce, an Inner Sunset grocery store, are trying to “make the block happen” on Fifth Avenue.
“It’s been so neglected compared to Ninth Avenue,” said Yahya Munsar, one of the brothers running the corner store.
Munsar opened the grocery store with his brother and father on Firth Avenue and Irving Street in 2022. Now, four years later, he is planning a Yemeni cafe and dessert lounge at 403 Irving St., just across from their corner store, that will run late into the night. They plan to open early next year.
The space, vacated around 2020, was formerly occupied by Shin Dig, a small venue for weddings and special events. After years of vacancy, it’s in good shape and still has a wall of floor-to-ceiling wine coolers.
Once the cafe opens, those coolers would be stocked with easy grab-and-go meals: Think Bi-Rite Market for the spread, Munsar said, but “a quick tuna sandwich that’s not $30.”
It will have a full coffee bar, pastries from local bakeries and trays of baklava — made in house — from a recipe of Munsar’s father. Most importantly, the cafe will offer the neighborhood a hangout spot that is not a bar, open as late as 10 p.m.
This is the second new cafe planning to open on the block. The Mission-born Abanico Coffee Roaster is also opening a second location right next to the Munsar’s grocery store.
“We’ll try to be a little bit different,” Munsar said. Abanico serves Latin American coffee, and Munsar will serve Yemeni. Munsar’s cafe will also have later hours.
There has been a boom of Yemeni cafes in the Bay Area in recent years. Munsar said his Yemeni community is planning to move on from grocery stores to opening cafes at “hundreds of locations” in the next five years across the Bay Area.
Munsar, 23, moved to the United States in 2006 with his family and opened the grocery store in 2022. Now, he knows all the regulars by name and picked up Spanish after working with delivery drivers and grocery workers.
“We are super committed to the neighborhood. That’s why we are doing this,” he said. “We are going to have a good, safe spot to serve food, to offer good coffee and to have late hangout hours for the neighborhood.”
Poke Origin, the poke spot at 716 Irving St. that opened in 2017, served its last spicy tuna bowl on Oct. 1. The 10-year lease ended, said owner Cyrus Shen, and while the poke restaurant had a good run, it was time to move on.
Shen owns many restaurants across the city, including three other poke spots, as well as the Instagram-famous but controversial coffee shop Q Specialty Coffee at Laurel Heights and Toast N Egg, the buzzy but short-lived Korean street sandwich place on Irving Street.
While it was the end of a chapter for Poke Origin, the entrepreneur, who is already opening a second Q Specialty Coffee location near Salesforce Tower in November, said he would be interested in any spaces in the Inner Sunset as a third location for Q Specialty Coffee.
Around June, UMe Tea, a Cupertino tea shop, was interested in opening at the Poke Origin location. But the landlord didn’t want it to compete with Easy Breezy Frozen Yogurt next door, Shen said.
UMe Tea would’ve been considered a formula retail business — chain stores that have 11 or more locations — which requires special permission from the Planning Commission to open.
The fifth-graders at Lawton Alternative School on 31st Avenue are inviting neighbors to the Lawton Fall Fest, a community event on Saturday, featuring food, activities, and carnival-style arcade games.
The games are entirely designed and built by the students using recycled and repurposed materials, according to Melissa Lai, a parent at the school.
The fall tradition was first inspired by Caine Monroy, a Los Angeles boy famous for making an arcade in his father’s backyard using cardboard.
“It’s been incredibly fun watching their creativity, problem-solving, and determination come to life,” Lai said. “We’re hoping to give them an opportunity to share their work with people beyond our school community.”
The event takes place at the Lawton Alternative School Yard at 1551 30th Ave. on Oct. 10 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Outdoor movie nights have returned to McCoppin Square on Taraval Street. The tradition, which started in 2012, is organized by the People of Parkside Sunset merchants association.
Every Friday in October, bring a blanket and watch a family-friend movie with your Parkside neighbors. And there’s free popcorn!
Here’s the schedule:
- Oct. 9: Bad Guys 2
- Oct. 16: Zootopia 2
- Oct. 23: Sonic the Hedgehog
- Oct. 30: Despicable Me 4
Movies begin at 5:30 p.m.
