The marquee at the corner of Fillmore and Clay has been dark since 2020. For more than 110 years, the Clay Theater showed foreign, art house and cult-classic films. The storefront next to it, last occupied by the clothing store Alice & Olivia, sits in the same building and is just as quiet.
That corner is where the next phase of Upper Fillmore is being put together. It is happening through a short list of operators chosen by one ownership group, and the Clay's reopening is the date the rest of the plan works toward.
One owner, a short list of operators
Venture capitalist Neil Mehta grew up in the neighborhood. After the pandemic closures and vacancies, he started buying commercial buildings on Fillmore. The effort is called the Upper Fillmore Revitalization Project, and the San Francisco Chronicle reports that it has spent more than $100 million to bring more business to Fillmore between Clay and Pine streets.
Cody Allen, the project's executive director, described how it fills its spaces in an email to the Chronicle on October 14:
"We prefer to seek out specific tenants for our spaces, or operators we believe will bring a unique approach to a concept or business type that we feel the neighborhood needs."
On its mission page, the project says it is looking for local small businesses and food and beverage operators, not chain or formula retail. It also describes long-term stewardship of the buildings it owns. Tim Omi is president of the Fillmore Merchants Association. He told The San Francisco Standard in August that the project has kept its promise to stay away from chain stores.
The buying hasn't stopped. In August, a group connected to Mehta and Allen paid about $8.6 million for 2035–2047 Fillmore, according to the Standard's reading of city records. The Standard put the group's earlier purchases at seven properties, including the Clay. The new building once held Aquatalia, A-Pizza and Mio, and it began emptying out in 2022. Omi welcomed the sale: "The space has been sitting empty, and it will be amazing to have it start to get worked on." The Chronicle reports that the four small storefronts there will be combined into a single restaurant.
The first pick for the corner
The corner beside the marquee is going to Bar Oliver. It's a Basque-inspired restaurant and vermouth bar that opened in Lower Manhattan in 2024 and became known for pintxos and vermouth on tap. Allen told the Chronicle he went to Bar Oliver during a trip to New York and has friends in common with its operator, Aisa Shelley. Shelley got his start in Bay Area restaurants and hotels before he opened places in Manhattan. His partners in New York and San Francisco are Daniel Bennett, Evan Bennett and Jonas Lafortezza.
The Fillmore location will mostly follow the original, with two changes. The New York bar serves only beer and wine, and the San Francisco one will have a full bar. It will also have an open hearth for grilling whole fish and steaks. Service is planned all day, from morning coffee through dinner, as in New York. The project is in early planning and has no estimated opening date.
Bar Oliver shows how the selection approach works. The project went looking for this operator and brought it in. Nobody had to apply for the space.
Walking the stretch, south to north
The street numbers go up as you head north from Sutter toward Clay. Here is where each new name sits, along with its status in the most recent reports from this fall:
- 1800 Fillmore, at Nono Baru. Avocado Green is Kevin Chen's tea and coffee counter set up in the restaurant's windows. It was soft-opening in early September and had closed temporarily by October 8 while permitting issues were sorted out.
- Sutter near Fillmore. Yuzu, also from Chen, is a takeout and grocery shop with a 10-seat, $65 omakase counter. It was closed temporarily for the same permitting reason as of October 8.
- Fillmore and Sutter, the former Pride of the Mediterranean. Matdol Tofu, from Jiman Jang and partners, will serve handmade tofu dishes. It was aiming for "December or January" as of September.
- 2001 Fillmore, the former Noosh. Monami is an upscale Korean steakhouse from Junsoo and Hyunyoung Bae, the owners of the Michelin-starred SSAL. It was aiming for fall 2026, and the Chronicle still described it as coming in its October 14 report.
- 2035–2047 Fillmore. These are the four storefronts bought in August. They are set to become one restaurant, and no operator has been named.
- 2208 Fillmore. Alohas, a footwear and fashion brand from Barcelona, was open by October 8. The local retail operator Leap provides the storefront, staff and day-to-day operations.
- 2210 Fillmore. La Mediterranee has been here since 1979, and its lease now runs to 2038.
- 2222 Fillmore, the former Starbucks. Pim Techamuanvivit is the chef-owner of the Michelin-starred Kin Khao and Nari. The Chronicle reports that her casual curry and noodle spot, Khao Soi Shop, is moving in. In August, SFist reported a working title of Khao Soi Ya and said the name could change. No opening timeframe has been announced.
- 2259 Fillmore, at Clay. Bar Oliver, which shares a building with the Clay Theater.
The blocks just off Fillmore are filling in too. Chef Mike Lanham's Athanor took over the former Anomaly space at 2600 Sutter and serves a $175 prix-fixe menu. California Kahve plans its first neighborhood storefront in the former She/Her space at 2108 Sutter. Hello Mart, a grocery with takeout bento and a coffee bar, was scheduled to open September 12 at 2135 Buchanan.
The Chronicle points out how near the new arrivals at the top of the list are to one another. Bar Oliver will be within shouting distance of Khao Soi Shop. Khao Soi Shop at 2222, La Mediterranee at 2210 and Bar Oliver at 2259 all sit on the same block as the Clay's marquee.
Why La Med's lease now runs to 2038
When the project bought La Med's building and several others on the 2200 block in 2024, La Mediterranee was one of the businesses whose future looked uncertain. The New Fillmore reported that the restaurant first got a three-year extension, with the understanding that major work on the building would follow. Vanick Der Bedrossian, who now runs the restaurant his father Levon opened, looked at other spaces nearby during that time.
He decided to stay. He told The New Fillmore that a big reason was the restaurant's 20 employees: "We have such good people. They're like a second family." Allen then offered a new 10-year lease on top of the three-year extension, which carries La Med to 2038. Der Bedrossian described the offer as "a manageable set of terms." At an August merchants meeting, Allen acknowledged that his group had not communicated well with the restaurant's owners after buying the building. Der Bedrossian called what followed "a mutual softening."
Allen's written statement about the deal reads like the selection approach applied to a tenant that was already there: "Their independent spirit, dedication and commitment to continual improvement embody our vision for Upper Fillmore's future." The project now has a nearly 50-year-old restaurant committed through the 2030s, on the same block as the theater it is restoring.
Not every older business stayed. The Chronicle reports that Ten-Ichi, a sushi restaurant open for 46 years, has closed, while La Mediterranee secured its extension.
The Clay sets the timeline
None of the restaurants above have announced opening dates. The theater has an estimate.
On April 1, the city's Historic Preservation Commission unanimously endorsed the plan to restore the Clay as a single-screen neighborhood theater. Commissioner Robert Vergara's only question was "When?" Allen said the team would apply for building permits soon and hoped to finish "in early '27." The Chronicle's October report said the Clay is being restored and could open next year.
The New Fillmore's coverage of the hearing explains what the renovation will add:
- Restrooms move upstairs, which makes room for an expanded concession area that will become an all-day cafe and a small cinema bookstore.
- The auditorium stays the same size, gets all-new seating, and adds a small balcony.
- The interior moldings and the facade with its historic marquee stay, under the oversight of the preservation architects at Page & Turnbull.
- The theater will run seven days a week, with more than 500 screenings a year that include independent films, repertory programs, 35mm presentations and community events.
The Chronicle reports that Ted Gerike will run the theater. Plans include first-run and repertory films, talks with filmmakers, and live events. The building was put up as a nickelodeon in 1913 and was designated City Landmark No. 302 in 2022.
The theater plans to show films seven days a week, with an all-day cafe inside. Bar Oliver, in the same building, plans all-day service from coffee through dinner. Khao Soi Shop and La Mediterranee are on the same block, and the merged restaurant at 2035–2047 is a short walk south. The project chose Bar Oliver for the corner, extended La Med to 2038 and bought the building at 2035–2047, all while restoring the Clay next door.
For now, through the end of 2026, the active part of the stretch is the side streets and the south end. That includes Athanor on Sutter, Hello Mart on Buchanan, Alohas at 2208, and Monami as it gets closer to its fall target. The north end, at Clay, will come together as the theater does, and the current estimate for that is early 2027.
The Freeman Group follows what opens on Upper Fillmore, and when, because those changes shape the blocks around it. If you're weighing a move on or near Upper Fillmore, we're glad to walk the blocks with you and talk through what the street is likely to look like once the Clay reopens. Let me guide you home.
