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On April 11, when IKEA opened Saluhall—its first US food hall and cooking school, next to its San Francisco store on Market Street—the company was taking a chance on energizing a part of downtown that had seen better days. The department store itself had only been open since August.
The ground floor’s Smörgåsland swept in with swoonable pastries developed by Chef Claus Meyer, who co-founded the famous Noma restaurant in Copenhagen, while other entryway concepts offer vegan burgers and soft serve. The bakery is as good as any of the best in the city.
The real action takes place upstairs though, where there are DJs, a bar, and San Francisco food businesses with plant-forward menus. It’s the new home for Algerian eatery KAYMA, previously based at La Cocina Municipal Marketplace, which is now a private kitchen for the nonprofit food business accelerator, as well as the place to find a permanent stall for the MOMO Noodle and Curry Up Now food trucks, Oakland’s vegan Mexican restaurant La Venganza and the Bay Area’s only vegan Puerto Rican concept Casa Borinqueňa, also formerly from Oakland, on the west side of the Bay. And it’s an expertly designed calming space.
After just a few months in business, Saluhall has proven to be a valuable addition to the neighborhood as a gathering space for people who live, work, or are just passing through the area. That stretch of Market Street can still feel cold and desolate at times: a visiting New Yorker who I sent to Saluhall for coffee on the morning of the Skrillex and Fred Again rave at Civic Center admitted she didn’t feel very safe walking around during the day for too long, and was surprised at her own reaction.
Saluhall is offering more than coffee to start thawing that out and warming it up.
Saluhall, 945 Market Street, Suite 102, SF
