SF’s Mission Bay boom brings new restaurants, tech companies and rising rents

But increasingly, game days are just one source of energy in a neighborhood attracting more residents, workers and businesses.

New attraction on the waterfront

Dig deeper:

Sergeant Ma, a new waterfront restaurant located on the ground floor of a massive China Basin complex just steps from Oracle Park, opened Wednesday with a fully booked first week.

The restaurant serves California cuisine with Asian influences and features a lounge, fire pits and views of Mission Creek.

“The neighborhood – it is booming. Not only from business, from AI, from tech, you have all the events, the Giants, Chase Center, but the residential neighborhood has been overwhelmingly supportive right now, and you need this dynamic mix of both to kind of keep a restaurant full and busy right now in San Francisco,” said Ryan Cole, CEO and partner of Hi Neighbor Hospitality Group.

The restaurant was four years in the making, transforming an office space that had sat vacant for years.

“We could see the writing on the wall with how it’s kind of in combination with all of San Francisco this revival, if you will, it’s just become almost a magical place where you don’t feel like you’re in San Francisco when you’re here,” said Cole.

Tech boom fuels Mission Bay growth

By the numbers:

Mission Bay has emerged as one of the strongest pockets of San Francisco’s recovering office market.

While office vacancy in downtown San Francisco remains high at about 29%, Mission Bay and China Basin have the lowest office vacancy of any submarket in the city at about 17%, according to CBRE.

OpenAI now has more than one million square feet of office space in San Francisco, all of it in Mission Bay.

AI chipmaker Nvidia has also leased its first San Francisco office space at the Mission Rock development.

The neighborhood’s growth is noticeable to longtime residents.

“I was joking with a friend last week that 20 years ago, Mission Bay didn’t even really exist, and now it’s the newest part of San Francisco. Every day, we noticed this restaurant just because there were people circulating, here on the creek, which is something we have never seen before,” said Ezra Garrett, a San Francisco resident.

His wife, Zamira Garrett, said the pace of change sometimes makes her feel like a visitor in her own neighborhood.

“I personally feel myself, as a resident, like tourists walking around. So it’s very fun neighborhood,” said Garrett.

Businesses bet on growth

What they’re saying:

Sergeant Ma isn’t the only new business betting on the area’s growth.

San Francisco Brewing Co. opened a large brewery and restaurant on Hooper Street this summer, targeting a customer base that extends beyond Giants and Warriors fans.

“In Mission Bay, back in 2015, there was only about 2,500 people down here, and today there’s around 13,000 people that’s just living down here. And then you have all the AI companies and all the other companies down here that have brought so much energy down to the Mission Bay,” said Josh Leavy, owner of San Francisco Brewing Co. “We thought it would be a great thing for the neighborhood of Potrero and Mission Bay, and then also all the startups and the company legacy companies that have been down here, like Adobe, who’s above us.”

The demand comes at a price.

According to Zumper, the average one-bedroom apartment in Mission Bay now rents for $5,400 a month, more than $1,000 above the citywide average and up 25% from a year ago.

Businesses say they aren’t relying solely on special events to fill their tables and instead see Mission Bay increasingly becoming a destination of its own.

Still, another major event is just around the corner.

Dreamforce begins next week, with Dreamfest taking place at Oracle Park. Sergeant Ma and San Francisco Brewing Co. are already expecting a busy week that includes private events.

Betty Yu is a KTVU FOX 2 reporter. Follow her on Instagram and X at @bett_yu