This browser does not support the Video element.
Via Aurelia restaurant among major openings at fast-growing Mission Rock development
Via Aurelia, a modern Tuscan restaurant, is the latest high-profile opening at Mission Rock. It marks a new chapter in the neighborhood’s fast-growing food scene.
SAN FRANCISCO - Just a few years ago, the area across from Oracle Park in Mission Bay was little more than a parking lot for Giants fans. Today, it’s home to Mission Rock, one of San Francisco’s fastest-growing areas. It's quickly transforming into the city’s newest culinary hotspot.
Mission Rock is a mixed-use project with office, residential, and retail space. Several highly anticipated restaurants have recently opened, turning the area into a new dining destination.
Among the most notable is Via Aurelia, the first upscale fine-dining restaurant to open in the development. Located on the ground floor of the Visa global headquarters, Via Aurelia is the largest and most ambitious opening yet from celebrated Che Fico chef David Nayfeld and his team at Back Home Hospitality. The restaurant serves modern Tuscan cuisine across a spacious dining room, lounge and bar.
Nayfeld says planning for Via Aurelia began six years ago. Its debut represents a bold investment in the future of Mission Rock, which is co-owned by the San Francisco Giants and real estate developer Tishman Speyer.
"We really felt like doubling down on this neighborhood was the right thing to do. It's incredibly clean, it's beautiful, it's well organized. The city has done a tremendous job doing that. And I think that doing something here really makes sense, because it's a beacon to the city. That growth is still possible," Nayfeld said.
Food anchors a neighborhood transformation
Nayfeld added that the timing of the restaurant's opening coincides with a broader turning point for San Francisco.
"We had faith that San Francisco was going to come to this moment and it just happened to be really fortuitous that it just happened to be when we're opening this really, really special restaurant," he said.
The San Francisco Giants say that 80% of Mission Rock’s retail space is now open, leased, or in active lease negotiations.
Via Aurelia joins a growing list of food and beverage offerings in the area, including Sweetgreen and Flour + Water Pizza Shop.
Flour + Water Hospitality Group co-chef and owner Ryan Pollnow said the team expected to sell around 450 boxes of pizza Friday night, especially with an event happening at nearby Oracle Park. The Margherita, burrata and pepperoni pizzas are among the shop’s most popular selections.
"The thing about the guests that we're seeing here is it's everyone. We have folks that work in the Visa building coming in for lunch, people that work at the ballpark, neighbors across the way," Pollnow said.
More openings are on the way. Quik Dog and Blue Bottle Coffee are expected to launch in November.
San Francisco resident Gerardo Burgos said he’s noticed the changes firsthand.
"Not to fall into the doom loop conversation, but there were a couple years that it wasn't the greatest and we were probably a little lower than we wanted to be," he said. "But it’s really exciting that that’s changed and we’ve kind of turned things around and I think the city's up and coming."
The transformation of the area is not limited to restaurants. The Giants say programming at nearby China Basin Park is also ramping up. Later this month, the park will host a Mission Rock Movie Night on October 23. Next month, Cirque du Soleil returns with "Echo," and La Cocina is bringing back its popular street food festival.
Benioff says he'd support National Guard in San Francisco ahead of Dreamforce: report
As the countdown to San Francisco's signature tech event is on, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff told the New York Times in an interview published on Friday that he'd welcome National Guard troops in the city if President Trump decided to deploy them.