Two years after La Cocina opened a bustling 7,000-square-foot marketplace at 101 Hyde St., the Tenderloin food hall is expected to close this fall and convert the space into a commercial kitchen.
Earlier this week, La Cocina announced that the change would begin on Sept. 1, when the food hall is slated to close to the public. Amid the closure, the existing seven La Cocina businesses, including Bini’s Kitchen and Teranga, may continue to operate from their kiosks for off-site sales only. By October, the space is slated to transition into a commercial kitchen, like its Mission District counterpart, which will be available for rent by La Cocina participants.
La Cocina’s marketplace bar, La Paloma, and a pop-up cafe with rotating La Cocina eateries will remain open for walk-ins once the space becomes a commercial kitchen, the nonprofit said.
The change comes as La Cocina struggled to draw foot traffic during the pandemic and battled dwindling sales. But fewer San Francisco events, remote office work, crime and issues with drug dealing in the area didn’t help either.
“La Cocina can no longer bear the financial weight of supporting these small businesses under these conditions,” the nonprofit organization wrote.
The nonprofit said this “tactical shift” would help La Cocina “refocus our limited capital and energy to support more businesses … and maintain our presence in the Tenderloin.”
Binita Pradhan holds some lamb momos at Bini’s Kitchen in San Francisco on Sept. 23, 2022.
Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATEMichelle Magat, head of advancement at La Cocina, told SFGATE that the nonprofit is currently working with the existing marketplace eateries to help them find the next phase for their business during the transition.
Though Bini’s Kitchen owner Binita Pradhan understands the reason for the shift, she can’t help but feel upset about the news.
“This was the first woman-led food hall in the country. … It’s heartbreaking,” Pradhan told SFGATE. “… It has been a great opportunity but making money is really hard. We hardly get walk-in clients and are hardly making ends meet.”
La Cocina Marketplace opened as an ambitious project in April 2021 almost five years after first announcing the food hall. But the timing played a significant role. Leticia Landa, executive director of La Cocina, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the lunch crowd never reached the volume it could have to make it a smashing success. (The Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but have separate newsrooms.)
“We just never got there,” Landa told the Chronicle. “It’s hard and sad, but it’s very real.”
Despite Pradhan also having a brick-and-mortar space at 1001 Howard St. and operating at Ferry Building Farmers Market events and Off the Grid, she said she worries about Bini’s Kitchen’s financial outlook. Pradhan said that her location on Howard Street has likewise seen less foot traffic since the pandemic.
For now, Pradhan isn’t sure whether she will rent a commercial kitchen space at La Cocina in the fall, but she’s rooting for her fellow La Cocina entrepreneurs who will be featured at the forthcoming cafe pop-ups, including her own business.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” Pradhan said.