Delivery Giant and Uber-Allied Gopuff Will Open Its First Actual Store in San Francisco

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In case San Franciscans don’t already have enough options for places to pick up a post-dinner pint of ice cream, there’s soon to be a massive new convenience store on the west side backed by none other than delivery giant (and Uber-partnered) Gopuff, the SF Business Times reported first. The approximately 12,000-square-foot space — for reference, that’s about a quarter of a football field — was formerly occupied by a Pier One Imports store located near the intersection of Geary and Stanyan. It’ll sell “food items such as ice cream, nonalcoholic beverages and pet food along with convenience items like toilet paper, diapers and Covid-19 testing kits,” the Business Times reports.

The Gopuff-branded retail store will be the company’s first brick-and-mortar in California, though the company says it has other stores “live” in Texas and Florida that have “yet to be announced.” The company, which offers fast delivery of everything from eggs and olive oil to wine and Japanese whiskey, purchased alcohol retailer BevMo! for $350 million earlier this year and says its SF store is part of an effort to explore “a retail experience to complement its online offerings beyond its BevMo! stores.” Gopuff launched SF delivery in early 2021 and currently operates in a limited number of zip codes. [SF Business Times]

Chez Panisse is pushing back its reopening

In an Instagram post late Wednesday, Alice Water’s iconic Bay Area restaurant Chez Panisse announced it will not reopen this fall as previously reported. The post says the decision comes after careful consideration about the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic — the delta surge, uncertainty around school closures impacting staff, and ever-changing health mandates all played a role.

Thanks, Drake! Dave’s Hot Chicken is coming to the Bay

Due to the timing of the two announcements (news of Drake’s investment in the hot chicken chain broke earlier this week) it seems only fair to thank Drake for the fact that the Los Angeles–based chicken company plans to expand to northern California with a restaurant in Santa Rosa. The SF Chronicle reports it’ll open tomorrow, September 24 at 2240 Mendocino Avenue. [SF Chronicle]

Trevor Noah roasted the mayor over that Black Cat video

San Francisco mayor London Breed can blame the “fun police” all she wants but that won’t save her from being (lightly) roasted by comedian Trevor Noah on “The Daily Show.” The clip appears to have been taken down from YouTube but SFGate reports that Noah actually praised San Francisco for its high vaccination rates before joking about Breed’s decision to celebrate by appearing to flout her own rules. Also worth mentioning, this puzzling map that the show presented: