business

Kiku Sushi Moves Into We Be Sushi's Old Valencia St Home

April 1, 2026🌉 San Francisco, California · District 9

Six weeks after We Be Sushi shuttered its beloved 40-year Mission District spot at 538 Valencia, a Bay Area vegetarian sushi chain has registered to take over the space. Kiku Sushi & Vegetarian Kitchen — with existing locations in Lafayette and Berkeley — filed its San Francisco business license on March 30. The Mission's loss of a neighborhood institution is now someone else's expansion opportunity.

A Familiar Address Gets a New Sushi Tenant

If you walked past 538 Valencia Street in late February 2026 and felt a pang of loss, you weren't alone. We Be Sushi — a Mission District fixture for nearly 40 years — quietly closed its doors on February 13 when owner Andy Tonozuka, 76, retired. "I really appreciate all the customer support for a long time. I miss them all," Tonozuka told local outlets. It was the kind of closure that doesn't make headlines until it's already over.

The Space Didn't Stay Empty Long

On March 30, 2026 — just six weeks after We Be Sushi's last day — Kiku Sushi & Vegetarian Kitchen filed a new business registration with the City and County of San Francisco, listing 538 Valencia Street as its address. The chain, which currently operates locations in Lafayette and Berkeley, is known for its plant-based Japanese menu: vegetarian maki rolls, nasu dengaku, mushroom miso soup, and a "spicy tuna" made from chopped tomatoes. It's a different vibe than the no-frills, neighborhood-priced We Be Sushi — but it's sushi, on Valencia, in the same footprint.

What It Means for the Mission

The Mission District has been watching its longtime neighborhood restaurants disappear at a steady clip, replaced by concepts with broader regional or national footprints. Kiku Sushi's move into the We Be Sushi space fits that pattern — a beloved local institution gives way to a growing chain, even if that chain is itself a Bay Area independent. For longtime Valencia Street regulars, the math is simple: the place where you could get a California roll for under $10 is gone. What replaces it will likely cost more and cater to a different crowd. Whether that's progress or loss depends entirely on who you ask.

The business registration data from the SF Treasurer-Tax Collector's Office shows Kiku Sushi & Vegetarian Kitchen's DBA start date as March 30, 2026. The chain's existing locations have earned strong reviews for their vegetarian-forward approach to Japanese cuisine, per KQED's Check Please. We Be Sushi's closure was reported by Patch and SFist.