SAN FRANCISCO – Some small businesses in San Francisco are opening up and expanding, leading some residents to wonder if the city has turned a corner.

Cheers and smiles marked the grand opening of a new store on Thursday on Polk Street.

The Bi-Rite, a local grocery store chain owned by the same San Francisco family for half a century, opened its third location in Russian Hill.

“There’s always cycles. There’s always ups and downs. If anyone thinks it’s going to be otherwise, they’re fooling themselves,” said Bi-Rite owner Sam Mogannam.

Despite the rough post-pandemic recovery for San Francisco, Mogannam remains optimistic.

“There’s a lot of energy and momentum to bring this city back to life,” he said.

San Francisco resident Isabel Baer said she has noticed a significant change.

“I’ve noticed a quick comeback from COVID in the past 12 months,” Baer said.

New stores are also opening in the San Francisco Ferry Building, where 95 percent of the retail shops on the ground floor are leased out, according to their website.

“I have noticed it’s busier in the afternoons,” said Oakland resident Traci Lim.

Meanwhile, on Valencia Street, the famed Slanted Door is set to return to its original location for the first time in 20 years.

“We’ve been working with every landlord that has a vacant storefront,” said Manny Yekutiel, who owns Manny’s, an event center and café, and heads the Valencia Merchants Association, representing about 500 independent businesses in the neighborhood.

“There are four new art galleries that have opened up, that are doing gallery events in just the last six months,” Yekutiel said.

Yekutiel notes that while new businesses are opening, it doesn’t mean it’s easier to do so in San Francisco.

“It’s harder. We have fewer tourists, higher costs,” he said. “But we take chances, we take risks. We’re go-getters.”

This renewed sense of drive, hope, and hustle is echoed by Mogannam.

“I’m always optimistic about San Francisco. There’s no place more special than this,” he said.