Dream Savers, a new plant and craft store located at 3150 18th St., had its grand opening on Jan. 25, barely two weeks after securing the space, according to Carlos Saenz, an associate who works at the store.
The store represents a dream come true for “plant doctor” Ita Galindo, its owner and an immigrant from Mexico.
A year and a half ago, Galindo, who regards plants as “defenders of the planet,” moved to San Francisco with a whole truckload of them. Then she started a plant nursery in a Mission private garden, where she also grows lemons and flowers.
“Many of our plants were donated, or were being thrown away by local businesses,’’ said Saenz, “and we restore them in our plant nursery, and bring them back to full life.”
“She sees plants as living beings, and her role is to protect them and care for them,” Saenz added, surrounded by succulents, flowering plants, hanging plants, indigenous-themed masks and dream catchers. “Right now, things have been moving slowly, but little by little we’re making more connections.”
Galindo invites those with weak or sick plants to contact her through Instagram. “We are willing to make exchanges with the community,” Galindo said in Spanish.
Detroit Square Pizza, at 3107 16th St., opened Dec. 25, according to owner Adam Augustini, 36, whose family has been in the Mission since 1989.
“I’m, myself, a really big fan of Detroit pizza,” said Augustini, referring to the pizza that is made in a rectangular pan. “I really want to do a Detroit style, and also bring something more affordable to the city, because I’m looking around, everything is outrageous, in terms of prices.”
So he narrowed his menu down to just four pizzas: Cheese for $7 a piece, proper pepperoni for $8, supreme for $12 and veggie for $10.
Augustini hopes that, down the road, they will be able to infuse some Mediterranean concepts into the square-cut pizzas, such as adding shawarma. But that probably won’t happen in the next six months, not until all the staff members are “familiar with the oven, the heat, the temperature and everything else,” he said.
At 870 Valencia St, a new sushi restaurant, Echigo Home Cook, quietly had its soft opening in early January. The restaurant serves sushi with fish imported from Japan that are “almost like omakase style” — that is, fresh chef’s-choice sushi — but without omakase prices, said manager Edwin Qin.
Qin said Echigo is the name of an old Japanese province known for its wine and beer. In addition to sushi rolls and nigiri, Echigo Home Cook also offers home-cooked dishes such as curries, sandwiches, chazuke and udon.
The vacant storefront at 2331 Mission St. will soon welcome La Playa seafood bar restaurant, which is expected to have its soft opening on Feb. 9 or 10, according to co-owner and chief chef Abel Padilla, 49, who’s also the former executive chef of Hog Island Oyster Bar at the Ferry Building.
Padilla said he’s “excited” to use his three decades of experience in the restaurant business to bring seasonal seafood, oysters and steaks to the Mission.
Kora is in the works at the former Taqueria Mariscos site at 24th and Folsom streets, and is expected to open in late February. The new restaurant will offer Mexican cuisine with a fusion of American flavors, according to manager Raul Vinatoro.
On a separate note, the Vietnamese restaurant Chic n’ Time at Valencia and 19th streets, which has been closed since Dec. 23, will reopen on Monday Feb. 5, according to owner Michael Ho.
“I am back from my vacation, and just cleaning up now,” Ho said in a text message to Mission Local. “Try to get all my preps done this weekend.”
A block away, Bubble tea store BOBOP, at Valencia and 18th streets, which has been closed since Dec. 24, is looking to reopen around May, according to co-owner Nick Harrison.
“We’re really waiting out the cold weather, and whenever the updates happen to the bike lane, and then we’ll reopen,” said Harrison.
Harrison said they still hold the lease, and are using the temporary closure to focus on other restaurants of theirs that are growing. Depending on the situation, they may rebrand BOBOP to another The Korner Store Bites & Vibes like the one at 4516 Mission St., which serves Korean food and soju.
Do you know of any other openings or closures in the Mission? Send tips to info@missionlocal.com.
Congratulations for the new entrepreneurs and especially to Ita in Save Dreamers, taking care plants who give us company in our the gardens.
the new places sound interesting and worth checking, and I’m really looking forward to the re-opening of Ch’n Time and Bobap, as both were great when open