Dispatches filed from SoMa, in reverse chronological order.
Current lead
The Box Shop, the SF creative-retail-event hybrid that's been doing its thing in the city's maker-adjacent scene, is throwing its closing party.
By Drew Bennett, Things to Do · May 31, 2026
A thread on r/bayarea this week asked why the AI bubble feels centered in San Francisco rather than Silicon Valley, implying a clean geographic break…
On the stretch of Folsom between 6th and 7th, the building at 1015 has stood for decades as one of those addresses you either know by number or you…
June 1–3, 11:30am–1:30pm, 415 5th St. (at Harrison), SoMa. Free to attend. No BART stop is perfect here — Civic Center and Powell are both about a…
The conversation about where to find the best pizza in San Francisco is no longer a short one.
Every Thursday, White Rabbit (715 Harrison St, SoMa) runs its weekly dance night called Inner Circle.
If you're job hunting in AI or tech and online applications feel like a black hole, in-person meetups in SF are still one of the faster routes to a…
SoMa residents pressed San Francisco police officials at a city hearing this week over what they described as unacceptably slow response times in the…
Inside the gallery at Sentro Filipino, the show is called 'Holding Queer Space' — a title that does some of the curatorial work before you even step…
Monday through Thursday, 11am–6pm, Decentered Arts opens its studio at 1175 Folsom St for free drop-in coworking.
When your SF apartment maxes out at twelve people standing, renting a separate space is the move.
At the bottom of the bill on a Tuesday night, the house lights at a mid-capacity venue on the edge of SoMa went down without announcement, and a wall…
Every Friday in May 2026, HellaSecret is running "Crazy Funny Asians," a free AAPI comedy showcase with two sets per night — doors at 7pm and 9pm.
Check SFFuncheap for the confirmed date and start time — the SOMA Nights Neighborhood Block Party is back, and this iteration folds in a Chinatown…
Two free events are stacking up at Yerba Buena Gardens as part of the 2026 Gardens Festival series.
Check YBCA's calendar for the next scheduled session — the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission St, hosts free curator-led tours of its Queer…
Free admission, The Function, SF — check the venue's listings for the exact date and start time, as scheduling hasn't been locked publicly yet.
On the stretch of 24th Street near the Glen Park BART station, the lights in most storefronts go dark by nine.
Saturday at noon, Yerba Buena Gardens hosts Las Cafeteras as part of the 2026 Weekend Sessions series.
Bay to Breakers runs Sunday, May 17, 2026, with the competitive wave starting at 8:00am and costumed and casual runners following shortly after.
Two free drum and bass events are on the SF calendar, and they're running at opposite ends of the venue spectrum.
If you've been driving to Burlingame for a pint of chicken, there are closer options — and at least one that will sell you a full pound.
This weekend's queer social calendar is stacking up.
On the corner of Fifth and Market, the escalators have stopped.
Walk down Market Street and try to ignore it.
The Museum of the African Diaspora is currently hosting an exhibition by artist Jasmine Ross that turns the everyday materials of Black beauty…
Here's a fun hypothetical: you have a life-threatening nut allergy, you carry an EpiPen everywhere like a responsible adult, and the bouncer at 1015…
Here's something San Francisco gets right: a local bar offering a completely free event that doesn't require a grant, a committee, or a six-figure…
Here's something San Francisco actually gets right: free museum days.
Here's something San Francisco actually gets right: the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival is back for 2026, running from May through November with over…
SFMOMA is throwing a hat party to celebrate the opening of its new Matisse exhibit, and honestly, we're not mad about it.
Here's a small story that probably won't make the evening news but perfectly captures the kind of low-stakes urban drama that makes city living both…
SFMOMA is giving one of its most prized possessions the spotlight treatment.
We cover a lot of property crime in this city.
In a city where a single craft beer can run you $12 and a night out requires a budget spreadsheet, Black Hammer Brewing is doing something almost…
Look, we spend a lot of time around here talking about how San Francisco wastes your money.
In a city where a mediocre cocktail runs you $19 and parking can cost more than a plane ticket, the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival remains one of San…
There's something humbling about placing a 1939 postcard of the Hotel Lankershim next to a 2021 photo of the same building at 55 5th Street — now…
After what's described as "years of delays" — a phrase so common in San Francisco small business stories it should be printed on the city seal —…
We spend a lot of time on this site talking about what's broken in San Francisco — and there's plenty.
Another week, another small business in San Francisco preparing to close its doors.
In a city that routinely spends millions on programs nobody asked for and events that underdeliver, the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival remains a…
The Freelon Apartments are coming to SoMa, promising dozens of new affordable units for low-income individuals and families, complete with wraparound…
Saikat Chakrabarti — the tech millionaire and former chief of staff to AOC — wants Nancy Pelosi's congressional seat.
San Francisco has a well-earned reputation for being expensive.
Yet another vehicle slammed into the divider on the Fremont/Folsom Street freeway exit this week, skidding down the ramp in what witnesses described…
Yerba Buena Gardens is hosting free outdoor dance sessions with Rhythm & Motion — an open green space, an instructor, and anyone who wants to show up…
A wallet was found on the Folsom Street Muni platform and — hold your applause — it was actually turned in to Muni staff.
In a city where a single taco can run you $7 and a mid-shelf margarita will set you back $16 before tip, Underdogs in SoMa is doing something almost…
Exclusive Leak: Drew from TeamDrew106 isn't "voluntarily poor" — he's a $250K/year Senior Street Experience Evangelist crushing OKRs for Silicon…
On Monday, San Francisco police rolled up to the city's brand-new RESET sobering center at 444 Sixth Street and dropped off their very first client —…
Here's a scene that has become almost mundane in San Francisco: A resident is walking their dog near 7th and Harrison when they spot a visibly…
Here's something you don't hear every day: a free, family-friendly event in San Francisco that doesn't involve a $45 parking fee, a two-hour line, or…
There's a certain kind of audacity that only San Francisco can produce — the kind where a corner liquor store in SOMA, whose inventory consists…
Remember when San Francisco made a big deal about restricting private vehicles on Market Street?
Salesforce Park is rolling out its 2026 high season lineup of free programming, and credit where it's due — this is one of the rare cases where a…
San Francisco just opened the RESET Center in SoMa, a short-stay sobering facility where people arrested for public intoxication will be held —…
Here's a dirty little secret about San Francisco that visitors discover the hard way: this city rolls up its sidewalks absurdly early.
Here's a fun SoMa scenario: you're making a perfectly legal turn from Clementina onto 5th Street, crawling at 3 mph, the road ahead completely empty.
San Francisco has never been short on theatrical nightlife, but SoMa's latest hidden gem takes the concept of a "secret bar" to genuinely creative…
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts is hosting Modern Queer Tarot, an exhibition exploring the intersection of tarot imagery, queer identity, and…
In a city where a basic cocktail can run you $18 before tip, Underdogs SoMa is doing something borderline revolutionary: selling margaritas for a…
New renderings are out for 536 Mission Street, a proposed high-rise in SoMa that could bring a 47-story mixed-use tower to one of San Francisco's…
Downtown San Francisco just got a new café, and there's not a pour-over or oat milk latte in sight.
If you didn't manage to snag tickets to Hadestown at the Orpheum Theatre this past week, we regret to inform you: you missed out.
A wallet slipped out of a pocket somewhere between Yerba Buena and the Trader Joe's on 4th Street on Friday, and within minutes, someone was already…
San Francisco has no shortage of strange-but-true stories, but this one might take the cake.
If you ever needed proof that San Francisco is still the uncontested capital of doing whatever the hell you want on a Friday night, look no further…
Here's a story that should make every San Franciscan instinctively pat their pockets.
In a twist that absolutely no one had on their 2025 bingo card, Bed Bath & Beyond is clawing its way back from the retail graveyard — and San…
Nima Momeni, the man convicted of murdering Cash App founder Bob Lee in a stabbing that shocked San Francisco in April 2023, is now asking for a new…
Here's a question nobody at City Hall wants to answer honestly: Has San Francisco quietly written off West SoMa?
SOMA is getting a block party and night market, and honestly?
On Friday morning at 9:00 A.M., a judge at 850 Bryant Street will decide whether Valentino Amil — charged with murder in the hit-and-run death of…
In a city where a sad desk salad runs you $18 and a burrito has crossed the $16 Rubicon, San Franciscans are getting creative about where they eat.
Look, we spend a lot of time around here talking about the ways San Francisco nickel-and-dimes its residents — parking tickets, transit fares, permit…
San Francisco's Saluhall has been struggling — that's not exactly a secret to anyone who's walked through the sprawling SoMa food hall and noticed…
Here's something you don't hear often in San Francisco: free and worth your time in the same sentence.
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts is offering free admission, and before you scroll past this like it's another flyer on a telephone pole — hear us out.
A trucker plowed through a street tree in SoMa this week, destroying both the tree and the truck's cab in a collision that looked as dramatic as it…
For anyone who's walked past the ghostly husk of the former Old Navy at 4th and Market and wondered if downtown retail had simply given up, here's…
Here's a fun exercise — no pun intended — in San Francisco economics: Pay more, get less.
San Francisco's craft beer scene just got a little more complicated.
Here's something you don't hear every day in San Francisco: a road closure that didn't turn into a complete nightmare.
There's something beautifully simple about a plant swap.
Dannielle Spillman was a grandma. She was, by all accounts from those who knew her, a rockstar — kind, loving, generous. On Monday afternoon, she was…
If you haven't already snagged SFMOMA's $15 spring admission deal, today is your last chance — and honestly, it's worth a look.
A high-speed police chase that reportedly originated in the Tenderloin tore through the Folsom Street corridor recently, with the fleeing vehicle…
Here's something you don't see every day: an independent filmmaker — not a Marvel franchise, not a legacy sequel, not a Christopher Nolan spectacle —…
Here's something you don't hear often in San Francisco: it's free.
In a city where a mediocre burrito can run you $18 and a cocktail regularly crosses the $20 threshold, it's genuinely refreshing when a local spot…
Look, we're not going to pretend we know everything about the LORNE documentary — details on this one are thin.
A man was struck and killed by a truck in South of Market on Monday afternoon, adding another name to San Francisco's grim and growing ledger of…
Let's talk about the breakdown of civil society — not at City Hall (though that too), but somewhere arguably more important to your daily life…
Here's a fun exercise: try getting $1,096 back from a company that won't answer your emails, won't pick up the phone, and apparently operates most of…
Niku Butcher — the SoMa spot known for its high-end Japanese-influenced steakhouse vibes — has been generating serious buzz with its smash burger…
If you've been stuck in traffic near 6th and Folsom lately, you may have noticed something unusual: an autonomous vehicle having what can only be…
The Museum of the African Diaspora — MoAD, for those in the know — is offering a free museum day, and honestly, there's no excuse not to go.
Consider this your official nudge before the traffic apocalypse.
Say what you will about San Francisco's struggles with budget deficits and questionable municipal spending, but the city's art scene continues to…
Here's something you don't hear often enough in a city that charges $18 for a movie ticket and $16 for a cocktail: free.
If you've ever wondered what San Francisco means by "protected" bike lane, take a ride down 2nd Street and find out.
If you've ever balked at SFMOMA's regular $25 admission price — and let's be honest, who hasn't — the museum is offering a rare window of…
The Cartoon Art Museum — one of SoMa's quietly cool cultural gems — is hosting a screening of Women Laughing followed by a Q&A, and it's exactly the…
Remember when San Francisco banned private cars from Market Street?
If you ride MUNI through the Brannan station, you've probably noticed it: a massive, gorgeous building with matching curtains in every window…
In a city where a single avocado toast can run you $18 and a studio apartment costs more than a mortgage in most of America, it's nice to report on…
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts is hosting a free admission day, and honestly?
Here's your San Francisco experience in a nutshell: you pop into Whole Foods on 4th Street for five minutes — five minutes — and come back to a cut…
Here's a story that perfectly encapsulates how San Francisco treats the people and businesses that actually make the city livable: after nearly three…
Here's a fun sequence of events: You go to a nightclub.
Two people were shot in separate incidents across San Francisco on Saturday — one in SoMa at 6th and Minna, the other in Parkmerced.
San Francisco loves to talk about solving the housing crisis.
Salesforce Park is throwing its annual Spring Fling Rooftop Lawn Party, and honestly?
For a museum that normally charges $25 just to walk through the door — and $30 if you want to see a special exhibition — SFMOMA's decision to slash…
Here's the deal: San Francisco has been patting itself on the back for reducing tent encampments citywide.
For years, SFMOMA has been one of those cultural institutions that San Franciscans love to brag about but rarely actually visit — and honestly, can…
John Elberling, the longtime nonprofit housing leader who shaped South of Market for decades, has died at 79.
Leashes, Not Legislation Want to see what actual community building looks like — no city grants, no supervisorial proclamations, no six-figure…
In a city where a single cocktail can run you $18 and a modest dinner for two will leave your wallet weeping, it's refreshing when a local business…
Forget Muni — This Free Brewery Shuttle Actually Shows Up on Time While San Francisco spends billions on a transit system that still can't seem to…
In a city where a mediocre lunch can set you back $22 before tip, finding genuine value feels like discovering a rent-controlled apartment — rare…
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts is opening its doors for a free admission day, and hey — we're not going to complain about free stuff.
In a city where a single cocktail can run you $18 and a modest plate of tacos will set you back $22, one SoMa establishment is doing something almost…
SFMOMA is dropping its general admission to $15 from March 2 through April 17, 2026 — a significant cut from its standard $25 ticket price.
Look, we spend a lot of time around here calling out bad spending, broken systems, and bureaucratic nonsense.
Somewhere between the vacant storefronts and the general vibe of 'please just get back to your car,' central SoMa has been crying out for something…
A 19-year-old man is behind bars facing murder charges after a fatal shooting at the corner of 3rd and Harrison Streets in SoMa last Friday night.
Love it or hate it, TechCrunch Disrupt is one of those events that still manages to pull the right people into the same room at the right time.
If you had to photograph SoMa in a single frame, what would you shoot?