After arts festival, San Francisco's Mid-Market businesses look for signs of a turnaround

A new $500,000 investment is betting on arts and entertainment to bring more people to the Mid-Market corridor in San Francisco — and encourage them to spend money at local businesses. 

The corridor has struggled with vacant storefronts and a slow downtown recovery following years of disinvestment and the COVID-19 pandemic.    

The Market Street Arts and Theater Festival, which took place last weekend, was the initiative's first major event, bringing live music, dancing, art installations and other activity to the street. Mid-Market business owners are waiting to see if it represents a bellwether of change for the declining corridor.

For Daniel Gonzalez, co-owner of De Dos Tierras on Market and Taylor streets, the early signs are encouraging. His six-week-old restaurant saw a boost during last Saturday's inaugural Market Street Arts and Theater Festival, and he's already welcoming at least one customer who returned with friends.

"I'm seeing the changes and it's coming back," Gonzalez said. "It's taking a little longer than most cities, but we're gonna get there." 

The San Francisco Downtown Development Corporation and Proper Hotel Group are among those backing the initiative, which will fund live performances, public art, improved lighting and activations in empty spaces over the next year. At first, the effort will focus on Market Street between Fifth and Sixth streets.

Vacant retail spaces remain a challenge for Mid-Market, and it remains unknown whether the arts initiative will produce a sustained increase in business. Supporters are betting that more street-level activity will give people a reason to stay in the neighborhood longer, including theatergoers who might otherwise head straight home after a performance.  

"So that it can over the years feel like how it feels today. fully lit, fully activated, and full of people," District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood said in an Instagram video taken at last Saturday's festival.

For Gonzalez, the festival was more than entertainment. He said it gave his restaurant valuable exposure at a critical time as he works to establish the business.

"For about two hours they didn't stop dancing and that brought a lot of customers into the restaurant as well, and so that was a positive festival for small businesses," he said.

The event also appears to have helped create a lasting connection with at least one customer.

Gonzalez said a woman who visited from Berkeley during the festival returned to the restaurant with friends. She recognized him from the weekend, introduced her friends to the business and praised its food, including its pupusas and burritos.

The woman told him she planned to come back again, Gonzalez said.

"Those things are worth staying open, it's worth the long hours that we put in," Gonzalez said.

Repeat customers and increased foot traffic could be important early signs of momentum in a neighborhood still working to attract visitors and investment.

"We're on the right path," Gonzalez said.

For merchants like Gonzalez, the measure of success will ultimately be whether those crowds translate into customers — not just for a festival weekend, but in the weeks and months ahead.