On Monday, San Francisco’s Planning Department gave the popular taqueria the go-ahead to open in North Beach at 1230 Grant Avenue, under the condition that it modifies the signage at some of its existing storefronts around the Bay Area, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. (SFGATE and the San Francisco Chronicle are both owned by Hearst but operate independently of one another.)
The details of those adjustments aren’t clear, but the city approval will make the forthcoming North Beach restaurant El Farolito’s 12th store around the Bay Area. Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who helped champion the deal, shared his felicitations on Twitter.
“Iconic burrito meet iconic neighborhood!” Peskin wrote on Tuesday. “We were delighted to be of assistance in welcoming El Farolito to North Beach.”
Taqueria El Farolito at 2779 Mission St. on Sept. 27, 2021. The famous Bay Area taqueria has been approved to open a new store at 1230 Grant Ave. in North Beach.
Nico Madrigal-Yankowski/SFGATE
We first heard that El Farolito would bring its famous Mission-style burritos to North Beach last August. But just a month later, El Farolito was provisionally denied permission by the San Francisco Planning Department when it argued that having another El Farolito taqueria went against the city’s “formula retail” rule, which prevents trademark businesses with 11 or more sites from expanding to certain SF neighborhoods.
At the time, El Farolito, which currently has 11 locations throughout the Bay Area, was challenged for its wish to open its 12th site in North Beach — a designated Neighborhood Commercial District. The city ordinance, “formula retail,” was established in 2004 with the intent of protecting small businesses from large chain conglomerates like McDonald’s and Starbucks. But since then, there have been exceptions that have allowed chains like Trader Joe’s to settle within zoning areas.
SFGATE reached out to El Farolito for comment on when the North Beach store will open, though it could not provide an exact date. For now, fans of the late-night taqueria can expect that it will “opening soon,” as indicated on a bright sign perched on its storefront.