Since January 2026, when SB 304 lifted Port of Oakland leasing restrictions, at least six food and drink businesses have opened at Jack London Square — but 60% of storefronts remain vacant.

At 468 Third Street in Jack London Square, Elvira Varela soft-opened Cenaduria Elvira on February 11, 2026, bringing to Oakland's waterfront a Jalisco tradition she had previously run from her East Oakland home: tostadas raspada, a regional preparation rare enough in the Bay Area that the Oaklandside noted her as the district's first practitioner of the form. Her grand opening followed ten days later.

She is one of at least six food and drink operators who have opened inside the district since early 2024 — a cluster made more legible by SB 304, authored by State Sen. Jesse Arreguín, which took effect in January 2026 and removed the state-level sign-off previously required for every new Port of Oakland lease. Before the law, a food operator couldn't sign and open without Sacramento in the loop; now the city handles it. "This will eliminate the state from having to approve any new lease and create a much more streamlined process for the City of Oakland to bring in new businesses," Arreguín said when the law took effect, per CBS News Bay Area.

The others in the recent wave: Kuidaore Handroll Bar at 431 Water Street (May 2024), Mia Comida Casera Mezcaleria (March 2024), 9JaGrills at 303 Broadway (August 2025), and Kitsch Coffee at 590 Second Street (May 2026), which operates inside Narrative, a vintage furniture store. Reem's California, the worker-owned Arab bakery cooperative, opened June 26 at 85 Webster Street — covered separately by The Dissent.

The Port of Oakland's chief real estate officer, Jonathan Veach, said the new arrivals were "helping to transform the Water Street paseo," per Zennie Report. Tobi Sobo, who founded 9JaGrills, chose Broadway partly because the waterfront kept him clear of residential blocks. "When Nigerians congregate, their voices tend to be loud," he told SFGate.

What the district still has, in abundance, is empty space. The Jack London Improvement District put the vacant-storefront rate at approximately 60% as of mid-2026, per CBS News Bay Area. Plank — the bowling, arcade, and bocce complex that had been among the square's larger draws — is set to permanently close August 2, per Bay Area Telegraph.

Walking the Water Street paseo now, you'd see early-stage flux: hand rolls and a Nigerian grill and Jalisco tostadas in occupied storefronts, more empty windows between them. These operators aren't filling Jack London Square; they're showing what a less-restricted lease environment can, slowly, produce.