In most other cities, it’d probably be considered a slow morning. But the three-person queue at Schlok’s Bagels & Lox at 8 a.m. on a Thursday is a reason for optimism. 

The shop opened this month in the heart of the Financial District, near the corner of California and Battery streets, joining the original Schlok’s in NoPa. Owner Zack Schwab says he and business partner James Lok hope to become the city’s “iconic bagel brand,” which is why they wanted to establish a presence downtown. 

Two weeks in, the morning rush may not be bustling, but it is steady — which is more than Schwab could’ve hoped for a few years ago, when he first dreamed of a FiDi location. “There was a time period where I was just walking around downtown, counting bodies, basically,” he recalls. 

Though downtown has been slow to rebound after the pandemic, there are green shoots everywhere. Cellphone data from location tracking firm Placer.ai shows that return-to-office rates are up, with 20% more visits than a year ago. Despite persistent vacancies, downtown welcomed at least 16 new ground-floor businesses between January and April. 

That optimism seems to be fueling a wave of restaurant debuts, including Tyler Florence’s Wayfare Tavern, cult-favorite pho specialist Turtle Tower, and Vietnamese fusion stalwart Crustacean — all of which relocated to new homes in FiDi in the past six months. Monique An, who runs Crustacean with husband Kenneth Lew, says the family spent five years renovating the Financial District space before opening in mid-July. “We love it,” An says. “I feel the energy and the revitalization. Everyone’s excited.”

The restaurant revival comprises more than places that serve power lunches and post-work drinks. Schwab says he knew the time was right to bring egg-and-cheese bagel sandwiches to the area in part because weekday mornings had started to slow down at Schlok’s original location, which had been busy serving people working from home. At the same time, the shop noted an uptick in demand for office catering. “It’s definitely ramping up,” Schwab says.  

The staff at Bar Sprezzatura on the second floor of the One Maritime Plaza office tower has also seen business shift in recent months. General Manager Danny Mastropierro, who has been with the coastal Italian-inspired restaurant since 2023 but has worked in FiDi since 2019, says the area’s dining scene right now is the closest he’s seen to pre-Covid levels. 

When Bar Sprezzatura opened in late 2022, it saw most of its business Tuesday through Thursday, when hybrid workers tended to be in the office. But in recent months, it’s seeing a steady lunch rush throughout the work week, plus workers coming in for happy hour. “For a long time, we were saying, ‘Thursday is the new Friday,’” Mastropierro says. “But now Thursday is Friday, and Friday is also back to being Friday.’” 

The restaurant has also been selling more high-end wines, he says — a sign that diners toting corporate expense cards are returning to FiDi. In the pre-pandemic days, he’d regularly see customers spend “good money” on rare vintages. “It’s taken us a while, but we’re starting to see that renaissance,” he says. To meet the demand, Bar Sprezzatura has expanded its selection available through a Coravin system, which allows it to pour pricey wines by the glass. It has also increased its selection of vintage Italian amari. “We’ve had to buy so much more,” he says. “We started with five, and now we have to have, like, 30 bottles.” 

Mastropierro credits the creation of the Front Street Entertainment Zone for revitalizing the FiDi dining scene. Events there, including First Thursdays Downtown Hoedown and Fridays on Front Street, draw visitors who may not work downtown, providing restaurants and bars with an extra boost. In response to demand, Bar Sprezzatura even expanded its operating hours to include weekends. Diners checking out one of the area’s newer restaurants often come to Sprezzatura for a cocktail before heading home. “In 2021, you were lucky to get a restaurant that was even open here, let alone a nightcap,” Mastropierro says.  

There’s even one restaurant betting on FiDi bars driving a late-night dining scene. After closing in the Tenderloin during the pandemic, beloved Vietnamese restaurant Turtle Tower made a much-anticipated return in March — this time to a new home on California between Battery and Front streets. Business has been steadily improving, says Kathy Pham, daughter of founder Steven Thang Pham. So much so that the restaurant has extended its nighttime hours to stay open until 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. “We hope to provide for the party-goers,” Pham says, “to give them some options for nutritious food versus just fast food.” 

Still, it may take some time for the optimism of restaurant and bar owners to catch up to customer demand. Pham says early-morning diners have been scattered here and there. “We’re not having huge consistency yet,” she says of the extended hours. “But we hope to continue to see a good flow of people coming back.”