In the 1970s, Egidio Giampaoli took over an accordion studio at 1668 Union Street, near Gough, and turned it into an Italian bakery. In 1980 his daughter Elvira took over and turned it into a deli, because customers kept asking for sandwiches. SFGATE reported that a third generation of the family, now running Corsagna Deli, set Oct. 2 as the day it would serve its last panini. Tablehopper broke the news first.
Corsagna's hours explain more about Union Street this fall than its menu does. The deli opened on weekdays and closed in the afternoon. The businesses that opened along the same corridor in recent months keep almost the opposite schedule.
A Deli Built Around the Weekday Lunch
For more than four decades, Corsagna ran on a simple plan. It made sandwiches for people who were nearby on a weekday. SFGATE named the pesto chicken panini and the Mr. Italiano, with salami, coppa, mortadella and provolone, as its most popular orders. The paper also described the little red bistro tables on the sidewalk. Manager Angie Denardo told SFGATE the weekday daytime schedule was part of the appeal for the family. It left evenings and weekends free.
That schedule worked as long as the street's busiest hours matched it. When SFGATE asked why the deli was closing, Denardo listed several reasons at once: "the economy changed, our clientele has shifted." She added that rising costs played a role but weren't the whole story. Hoodline also covered the Oct. 2 date.
"Clientele has shifted" could mean many things. Who is now on Union Street, and at what hours, comes into focus when you walk a few blocks west.
Who Union Street Is Feeding Now
The old Metro Theatre at 2055 Union is now an Equinox. In the same building, at 2055B Union, is Franko & Friends, a cafe that opened in early fall. Owner Iryna Nevozhai also runs Franko & Co. in Sausalito, which opened in 2024. She told The San Francisco Standard how she reads the foot traffic outside her counter: "Union Street is full of gyms and studios and people looking for something protein-style."
Her menu follows from that. It has Hedge Coffee, salads and syrniki, the Ukrainian farmer's cheese pancakes, which she serves as a high-protein dish. Corsagna made lunch for whoever was around at noon. Franko & Friends is planned around people leaving a workout.
Two blocks east, The Yard Strength Training opened its third Bay Area location at 1906 Union this fall. When it announced the move in June, the company described a 4,300-square-foot space. The Yard's Cow Hollow page lists the setup:
- 10 private strength-training pods you reserve, split between an upstairs studio and a primary studio
- 4 Pilates reformers you can book
- Small-group classes and personal training
- A coworking lounge for "a coffee and get some work done before or after your session"
- Discounted parking
The coworking lounge is the detail to watch. A gym that invites members to stay and work after training is betting that some of the people on Union Street in the middle of a weekday are there for a workout, a laptop and a coffee, and not for an office lunch break.
The Day Now Runs Late
Union Street's mornings belong to the gyms. Its evenings are where the newer money is going.
Franko & Friends opened on coffee and brunch. The Standard reported that from Friday, Oct. 30, it would stay open into the evening Wednesday through Sunday, serving wine and caviar. That means one storefront under a gym now covers both the post-workout breakfast and the evening glass of wine. Corsagna used to close in the afternoon.
At 1838 Union, Kaiyō Handroll Bar has the latest hours on this stretch. Eater SF reported that it opened Sept. 11 with these hours:
- Tuesday through Thursday, 4 p.m. to midnight, kitchen until 10 p.m.
- Friday and Saturday, 4 p.m. to 1 a.m., kitchen until 11 p.m.
- Sunday, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Kaiyō doesn't open for lunch on any day. After the kitchen closes, owner John Park plans to keep the room going as a cocktail lounge, with drinks from Danny Louie, small bites and DJs.
Park's reasoning adds one detail to the picture. He closed the original Kaiyo on this block about two years ago because he felt the city wasn't busy enough to support two similar restaurants. Eater SF reports that his group came back to Union Street "as office workers returned." So the weekday crowd hasn't disappeared. The business that opened to serve it chose to start at 4 p.m., after the workday, and to run past midnight on weekends.
Put Corsagna, Franko & Friends and Kaiyō side by side and the shift Denardo described has a schedule. Union Street gets busier at the edges of the day. The new businesses have arranged their hours around those edges.
Rebuilding a Union Street Routine
For anyone whose weekday included a Mr. Italiano, the new map of the street looks roughly like this, from east to west.
1668 Union, near Gough. Corsagna's corner, where SFGATE reported that the family invited longtime customers for a champagne toast and light bites on Oct. 2, its final day.
1838 Union. Kaiyō Handroll Bar, open from 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Eater describes a menu of Nikkei hand rolls, including lomo saltado with A5 wagyu and shoestring potatoes. Other dishes include aji gallina croquettes and scallop udon with mentaiko, plus cocktails such as the Deiji, made with tequila, shiso and sakura.
1906 Union. The Yard, where you book training by reservation and the coworking lounge is open to members before and after their sessions.
2055B Union. Franko & Friends, serving coffee and syrniki in the morning and wine and caviar Wednesday through Sunday evenings, under the same roof as Equinox.
2240 Union. Little Maison, which The Standard described as San Francisco's first play cafe for parents with small children. In August, the paper reported that construction was underway and the opening was planned for late 2026.
Little Maison follows the same logic as the others. A play cafe serves parents with young kids on weekday mornings and weekend afternoons. Like the gym lounge and the evening wine bar, it's built for the hours when Cow Hollow is home, and not for a quick office lunch.
What This Means for the Block Around You
What a street rents to over time shapes how it feels to live a block or two away. A weekday lunch deli made Union Street busy at noon and quiet by dinner. The current mix brings people early for workouts and keeps them out late, especially toward the west end, where Kaiyō stays open until 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Franko & Friends now covers both ends of the day from one storefront.
None of this replaces a three-generation family counter with red tables on the sidewalk. Corsagna's day ended in the afternoon, Monday through Friday. At 1838 Union, Kaiyō's day starts at 4 p.m.
At Erin Govoni, we track Union Street closely, from which storefronts change hands to when the street is busy, because those details shape daily life on the surrounding blocks. If you want to talk through how this corridor's changes affect your part of Cow Hollow, reach out and Contact Us. We're always glad to compare notes over coffee, or over a hand roll after 4 p.m.
