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Update, July 24, 2020, 3:36 p.m.: On Thursday, the state of California reversed its decision, reclassifying the Ferry Building as a transit terminal, not an indoor mall — thus allowing businesses inside the building to reopen for indoor service.
The San Francisco Ferry Building has gone through its share of ups and downs over the course of this pandemic, losing a handful of prominent food stalls while other businesses — and the iconic farmers market — have chugged along as best as they could.
But the historic food hall is facing what might be its biggest challenge of the coronavirus crisis this week: As the SF Chronicle first reported, the city has ruled that the Ferry Building should be classified as an indoor mall — a category of business that isn’t currently allowed to be open in San Francisco, as a result of the city having been placed on a state watch list due to its recent COVID-19 spike.
As a result, the Ferry Building abruptly closed indoor service at 26 shops on Wednesday morning, including many of its most prominent food businesses: Humphry Slocombe, Dandelion Chocolate, Cowgirl Creamery, Miette Patisserie, Recchiuti Confections, and Golden Gate Meat Co. were among the retail shops forced to cease indoor service temporarily. So were several popular restaurants — Delica, the Japanese deli; bagel kiosk Daily Driver; and empanada specialist El Porteño, for instance. The Ferry Building’s statement notes, however, that “interior shops can offer curbside pick-up” for orders placed online or by phone. You can see the full list of closures here.
Meanwhile, a handful of restaurants and other businesses lucky enough to have exterior entrances are allowed to continue their takeout operations, with outdoor seating still available on the plaza outside the building. Those restaurants include Acme Bread Co., Blue Bottle (the outward-facing kiosk), Boulettes Larder + Bouli Bar, Hog Island Oyster Co., Gott’s Roadside, and Sur La Table.
The outdoor Ferry Plaza Farmers Market will also remain open during its usual hours.
⚠️Due to the most recent SF City Ordinance, we’ll be taking a moment to reconfigure our Ferry Building Shop to better serve you. Stand by for an update on new hours and/or location. Yes, Secret Breakfast will be ready...we'll all need some bourbon after this. xo Humphry Slocombe
— humphryslocombe (@humphryslocombe) July 22, 2020
As of now, there’s no timetable set for when the shuttered businesses will be able to reopen indoors — and it’s unclear, too, whether some of those shops might be able to relocate to a different part of the building in order resume business. Stay tuned for further updates.
- San Francisco’s Ferry Building to Close Under Coronavirus Health Orders [SFC]
