Story thread · 2 reports / 2 sources

Pop-up restaurant in San Francisco seeks new home after rent triples

nbcbayarea.com · 21h · first reportShare

A San Francisco restaurant that started as a pop-up is looking for a new home after the owner said he recently learned the rent for his space would triple to about $25,000. Al Pastor Papi owner and chef Miguel Escobedo opened the pop-up in July 2025 with the help of the Vacant to Vibrant program, which helped him find a restaurant-ready location. “They were hoping to find a strong local brand that could probably make some noise here,” Escobedo said. “We were connected and Al Pastor Papi pop-up was born.” Escobedo said it has been a fun adventure. The agreement was to do a pop-up for a year and a half through the end of 2026. Then the hope was to work out a deal to stay on a more long-term basis. “The typical agreement with Vacant to Vibrant is 10% of what you sell, which is amazing, unheard of,” Escobedo said. Escobedo said they worked out a deal with the landlord and the future looked bright. But now there are new owners and the asking price of rent changed dramatically. “Pretty much