San Francisco, CA
AI startups are snatching up San Francisco offices, using Zoom fatigue to recruit talent
Mithrl is among a wave of startups coming back to San Francisco and working in person four days or more each week.
Courtesy: Mithrl
When Noah Jackson began his search for a new software engineering job at the start of 2024, there was one quality he knew he wanted in his next employer: office culture.
Jackson, 27, has spent almost his entire professional career in the post-Covid world of remote work. While many tech companies eventually brought employees back on a hybrid basis, others got rid of their leases altogether. For Jackson, all but the first nine months of his first real job involved working out of his home in San Francisco or at his company’s office, which tended to be mostly empty.
“Coming out of school, I overlooked how much work is really a part of your life and not just a box to check off,” said Jackson, who previously worked at an enterprise software company. “Being fully remote, it feels like it’s just like a thing that you have to do.”
In May, Jackson got his wish, taking a job at Tako, a visualization search engine startup that requires employees come to the office four days a week. Tako is among a growing crop of early-stage tech companies in San Francisco attempting to return to the pre-Covid days, when startups took pride in their digs and limited their use of Zoom.
“We’re not trying to build a culture that works for everybody,” said Tako CEO Alex Rosenberg, who launched the company earlier this year. “We’re just trying to make it work for Tako.”
The recruitment success enjoyed by Tako and its peers speaks to a growing remote work fatigue, particularly in San Francisco, where housing conditions are often cramped and where a high concentration of young, ambitious techies are eager to comingle. The changing landscape also coincides with a boom in artificial intelligence that started after OpenAI’s launch of ChatGPT in late 2022. It’s one of the few areas where venture capital firms are showing an appetite for risk.
Rosenberg says he’s seeing a much more competitive real estate market in San Francisco as emerging companies duke it out for deals on office space after an extended stretch of high vacancy rates.
“When you’re trying to invent something new, it’s really hard to do that over Zoom,” said Rosenberg, whose company is run out of a co-working space in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights neighborhood, a couple miles from the downtown business districts.
Tako has been on the hunt for a bigger space, preferably in the Hayes Valley neighborhood, a hub for generative AI start-ups, or in downtown Jackson Square.
Noah Jackson, 27, and his colleagues at Tako, a San Francisco startup that works in person four days a week.
Courtesy: Tako
Overall, the San Francisco office market remains tepid, with the vacancy rate climbing to 34.9% in the third quarter from 29.4% a year ago, according to data from Cushman & Wakefield. However, AI startups OpenAI and Sierra AI accounted for two of the largest leases in the period, and the firm said, “artificial intelligence companies will continue as a driving force in the San Francisco market, fueling significant VC funding and leasing activity.”
According to Liz Hart, North America president of leasing at commercial real estate firm Newmark, tech made up 72% of all San Francisco office leasing in 2023 and 58% through the third quarter of this year.
Since the start of 2023, 62% of AI leases signed in the city have been for sublease space, Hart said, an indication of how the market has adapted since the pandemic. Rather than leasing entire floors to single companies, more offices are now being divided up to serve multiple startups, she said.
‘Screaming deal’
Still, office rents across the city are at their lowest since 2016, according to Newmark’s data.
“If you are talking to entrepreneurs who are just starting to scale, they’re likely taking a little bit more space than they know that they need and getting a screaming deal on it,” said Hart, who joined the firm almost 20 years ago.
How quickly the broader market bounces back depends largely on the decisions made by huge San Francisco tenants like Salesforce and Google. While Amazon, which is headquartered in Seattle, recently announced a five-day in-office requirement, most of its tech rivals have yet to implement such mandates.
Zach Tratar was able to snatch up an ideal space for his company Embra last year through sheer hustle. When his broker messaged him about a promising location, Tratar showed up 90 minutes later, beating another prospective lessee to the spot, which is by the Salesforce Tower.
“I immediately was like, ‘Cool, I’ll take it. Send me the paperwork right now,’” said Tratar, whose company is building an AI operating system. He estimates the office would likely have cost his company twice as much before the pandemic.
Tratar said that his plan from the start was to have employees come to the office four days a week, with Wednesdays reserved for remote work.
“In-person teams have a magic to them,” Tratar said. “When one thing is going well it adds energy to the system and people get excited.”
The AI renaissance has familiar qualities for veterans of the Bay Area. The app economy that followed the launch of the iPhone in 2007 sparked a wave of investment and a flood of new companies in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. There was also the boom in social networking and, before that, the internet bubble.
“We’ve seen enormous growth in the category, but we’re really just at the beginning,” Hart said, about the current state of AI.
However, in today’s world, companies have to earn their employees’ commutes to the office, Hart said, because of how dramatically the pandemic changed expectations.
Startups have to be thoughtful about access to public transit while also catering to people who drive. There’s also a benefit to being near restaurants and cafes.
Startup Mithrl moved into its office on San Francisco’s Market Street in July and does five days a week in office.
Courtesy: Mithrl
AI startup Mithrl is offering employees commuter benefits and free meals, said CEO Vivek Adarsh. Mithrl moved into an office on San Francisco’s Market Street in July.
Adarsh started the company with his co-founder last year after finishing graduate school at University of California, Santa Barbara. The pair moved to San Francisco for the nucleus of talent and because they believe in the future of the city, Adarsh said.
“There’s a lot of enthusiasm and energy,” Adarsh said. “People are taking more chances on the city.”
A few miles away, in the Mission district, robotics startup Medra has been in person five days a week since launching in 2022. CEO Michelle Lee said that when she speaks with her peers, many tell her that they’re thinking about switching to in-person work, but that moving away from hybrid is a difficult sell to employees who prefer the status quo.
Y-Vonne Hutchinson, a work culture expert, said when companies make drastic changes like that, “you’re eroding trust.”
Hutchison is CEO of Superessence, whose AI tool lets companies assess their cultures. She said that physical offices provide benefits for younger employees who may be looking for mentorship, growth and career opportunities.
There are limitations. A lot of people moved during the pandemic, and employers started catering to those who want to be fully remote. Being in the office for four or five days, especially in a city as expensive as San Francisco, is particularly tough for parents, people with disabilities and those with long commutes.
“You reduce your hiring pool significantly when you’re doing in person,” Hutchinson said.
Lee recognizes the challenge and knows she’s limited in her ability to hire talent from elsewhere in the country. But she said that being in person has ultimately helped with recruiting.
In November 2023, Lee visited the website Hacker News and saw a post by a senior engineer who said he was specifically looking to work for companies with in-person cultures. Lee looked at his qualifications and said she was shocked. She called the post a “green flag” and immediately reached out.
Within a month, the prospect had joined Medra.
“It would’ve been so difficult for us as a company to hire someone like this because we’re a small startup,” Lee said. “But part of it is there are some really amazing engineers specifically looking for in person because of that collaboration.”
WATCH: AWS says employees unhappy with 5-day office mandate can leave
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco Giants Offseason Moves That Already Look Smart, and Dumb
The San Francisco Giants didn’t make that “major” move in the offseason. They saved those for last offseason and last year’s trade deadline.
Still, San Francisco did plenty to position itself as a team that could be better than 81-81 last season. Not all moves are created equal. Not all moves work out the way the franchise hoped. The value of some of those moves have yet to be determined.
But, on their face, here are the moves that already look smart and already look, eh, dumb, going into opening day.
Smart
Signing Luis Arráez
The Venezuela native had a huge World Baseball Classic as his home country won the title for the first time. He had his second career multi-home run game in his WBC career. He returned to spring training and the bat kept cooking. He slashed .353/.389/.412.
While many envisioned him as a leadoff hitter due to his impressive ability to get contact and his three batting titles, San Francisco is toying with batting him later in the order. He’s one of the few contact hitters that could excel in that role, and he gives the lineup flexibility.
Signing Tyler Mahle and Adrian Houser
The Giants may get the best version of both pitchers. Before Sunday’s exhibition game in Sacramento, Mahle had thrown 10 scoreless innings in spring and showed no signs of the shoulder fatigue that limited him last season. Houser has thrown 11 innings and while he hasn’t been as effective, he looks like the innings-eater the Giants hoped they signed.
With the season-ending injury to Hayden Birdsong and the underperformance of the Carsons — Seymour and Whisenhunt — signing the two veterans to inexpensive deals looks smarter by the day.
Signing Harrison Bader
He’s day-to-day with a tight hamstring, but it’s a minor inconvenience this early in the campaign. San Francisco knew what they were getting when they signed him — a Gold Glove level center fielder with a resurgent bat who can make their entire outfield better. It allowed San Francisco to move Jung Hoo Lee to right field, which should improve his defensive numbers. San Francisco locked him into a cheap two-year deal. It should pay off handsomely.
Dumb
Not Signing Left-Handed Relief Help Sooner
San Francisco knew it was going to have some issues at left-handed relief. Erik Miller was going to need time to recover from a back issue. Sam Hentges won’t be ready after arthroscopic knee surgery. Then the Giants lost Reiver Sanmartin for three months to hip surgery. At one point the only healthy left-handed reliever in camp was Matt Gage.
San Francisco tried addressing it by signing Joey Lucchesi. But the Giants released him on Sunday after signing Ryan Borucki. But a bit more careful planning might have lessened San Francisco’s need to scramble this late in camp.
Not Adding Healthy Closing Experience
The Giants signed left-hander Jason Foley to bolster the bullpen. He had 28 saves for the Detroit Tigers in 2024. There was one problem. His recovery from shoulder surgery will keep him out of the lineup until the second half of the season.
That puts the pressure on Ryan Walker to not only be the closer but keep the job. He wants the pressure, he has said repeatedly in camp. He’s held the job before but not consistently. If he meets the moment, the Giants look smart for trusting him. If he can’t, San Francisco doesn’t have a healthy back-up plan until the All-Star break.
San Francisco, CA
SF crews investigate possible gas leak after person dies in St. Mary’s Park
Fire department units were dispatched to the 3900 block of Mission Street, near College Avenue, to assist PG&E crews in “a possible gas odor or possible gas leak.”
SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco authorities are investigating a possible gas leak in the St. Mary’s Park neighborhood on Saturday evening after a person died amid reports of a permeating odor.
Emergency crews called:
Fire department units were sent about 6:15 p.m. to the 3900 block of Mission Street, near College Avenue, to assist PG&E crews in investigating “a possible gas odor or possible gas leak,” the San Francisco Fire Department told KTVU.
“Upon entering the building, a civilian was discovered receiving medical attention but passed away on scene,” the fire department said.
The person’s identity was not released, but the San Francisco Police Department told KTVU that foul play was not suspected in their death.
However, the exact manner of their death was not immediately known.
What’s next:
The SFFD said it was investigating the scene, along with PG&E and the SFPD.
PG&E told KTVU that there were no gas leaks or “impacts from PG&E” located in the area, and that reports of a leak and odor came from outside the building where the victim died.
San Francisco, CA
5 Top-Rated Brunch Spots In San Francisco With Breathtaking Coastal Views – Islands
San Francisco is the definition of a dynamic destination. Although it’s known as a tech hub and for attractions like Alcatraz Island, a national park filled with history and mystery, this California city is also notable for its food scene. After all, San Francisco is home to renowned restaurants and is the “undisputed culinary capital” of America. What’s more, diners have the opportunity to enjoy many of the city’s offerings as they look out onto San Francisco’s iconic waterfront. For visitors looking to start the day with a meal complemented by coastal scenery, we’ve rounded up a list of San Francisco’s top-rated brunch spots with bay views.
Chosen based on ratings from Google, Yelp, and Tripadvisor, these five establishments come highly recommended for their brunch offerings and scenic San Francisco vistas. Not to mention that our chosen selections, serving everything from classic brunch dishes to seafood and German-inspired fare, highlight the city’s eclectic gastronomy. All that’s left to do is to decide which eateries to include on your San Francisco itinerary, but this will perhaps be easier said than done.
Mission Rock Resort
A short walk away from Chase Center, a stadium that hosts NBA games and concerts, is Mission Rock Resort. The eatery is located in Mission Bay, a vibrant, modern enclave with a walkable waterfront. Included in a list by Eater San Francisco highlighting the city’s best restaurants for views, this spot offers a heated patio overlooking the bay and docked boats. And as general manager Nick Osborne explained in a 2025 interview with the San Francisco Examiner, “Being on the water gives you a chance to take a moment to relax and enjoy our beautiful city.”
Mission Rock Resort, whose logo fittingly features a mermaid, primarily serves seafood-forward mid-morning meals. Forget pancakes; the brunch menu consists of oysters and dishes like Dungeness crab Benedict and grilled fish tacos (if you do happen to be craving something sweet, you can always opt for the French toast). On Yelp, Mission Rock Resort has a 4.0 rating, with one reviewer who dined here for brunch writing, “There were 7 of us so we truly explored the menu and no one was disappointed!! From appetizers to desserts everything was delicious.”
Mission Rock Resort is open every day except Monday, but brunch is only offered on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Reservations are recommended and can be made on Yelp. Diners may be able to find street parking. If you’re looking for more to do in the area, perhaps before your meal, Crane Cove Park is within walking distance and features onsite kayak and paddleboard rentals.
Eagle Cafe
San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf is packed with character and old-timey fun. Still, this wildly popular California destination has been called the “world’s worst tourist trap.” However, you shouldn’t necessarily write it off, as it’s here you’ll find what Tripadvisor calls one of the top restaurants in the city with a view: Eagle Cafe. The eatery, which features an outdoor patio with counter seating, has a 4.0 rating on the platform and earned a Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice award in 2025. “Eagle Cafe is one of those old school San Francisco spots that never really goes out of style. The location right on the water at Pier 39 is hard to beat and the views of the bay are amazing,” reads one diner review.
On top of this, some reviewers on Google, where Eagle Cafe has a 4.1-star rating, point out that on clear days, you can see Alcatraz and even the Golden Gate Bridge from the patio. But as one individual explained, “Not only is the view great but food is amazing and the servers are usually very attentive and excellent.” Dating back to 1928, this long-standing family-owned restaurant has nautical and diner vibes, and a menu reflecting its classic ambiance.
Eagle Cafe dishes up an assortment of traditional breakfast, brunch, and lunch fare. Popular items on Yelp include the avocado toast on Boudin Bakery bread and a breakfast burrito, filled with eggs, bacon, and cheese. Eagle Cafe is open daily from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. No reservations required; only walk-ins are accepted, and if needed, the eatery does validate parking.
Radhaus
For a combination of beer and brunch, check out Radhaus at the Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture, a former military site. This industrial-style beer hall with earthy elements features expansive windows that provide natural light and waterfront views. With a 4.2 rating on Yelp, one reviewer described Radhaus as a “beautiful place to have Brunch at with spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge.” While there is outdoor seating, you can take in the panoramic scenery and vistas of the marina from inside the dining room.
Even so, another reviewer who recommended this spot for brunch advised, “Come for views, stay for the great food and drinks.” As you might have already guessed, Radhaus offers German-inspired brunch fare — think dishes like a wurst sandwich with a fried egg and bacon jam, and a pretzel French toast (which does sell out) topped with berries and whipped cream. Of course, there’s plenty of brews, ranging from dark lagers to cider, on tap as well.
Radhaus is open daily but only serves brunch on Saturday and Sunday until 4 p.m., perfect for late risers. However, there’s more to do on the weekends at the Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture, situated in the Marina District, located between Fisherman’s Wharf and Golden Gate Bridge. For instance, SF Camerawork, a photography gallery, is open on Saturdays. Additionally, there is a farmers’ market held every Sunday.
Beach Chalet
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco’s most beloved attraction, is full of wildlife, museums, and gardens. And that’s not all; you can also have a scenic brunch within this famed green space, courtesy of the Beach Chalet. Housed on the second floor of a renovated 1920s-era structure, this restaurant features panoramic windows with views of Ocean Beach. “Sitting here watching the waves roll in while enjoying lunch or brunch never gets old,” wrote a Tripadvisor user. That said, this classy yet casual establishment with a modern coastal vibe serves a mix of seafood and classic brunch dishes.
At the Beach Chalet, you can dine on everything from clam chowder to corned beef hash, as you stare at the Pacific in the distance (plus, you could take a beach stroll after you’ve wrapped up brunch). If you’re feeling fancy, there is a champagne brunch option to consider, complete with a starter, entree, dessert, and mimosas, for a fixed price. On Google, Beach Chalet has a 4.1-star rating, with an individual writing that it has, “Great views, impeccable service, delicious food and reasonable prices.” They added, “This place really has it all.”
The Beach Chalet only serves brunch on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Reservations are encouraged, and bookings can be made on Yelp (be sure to request a window seat so you have an optimal view of the sand and sea). Parking is conveniently located at the front of the eatery and is free.
ATwater Tavern
Located a couple of blocks away from Oracle Park, ATwater Tavern on Pier 50 is an industrial-style eatery surrounded by urban scenery. However, this establishment’s rear patio offers waterfront and East Bay views. Although ATwater Tavern is open daily before noon, primarily offering seafood, sandwiches, and salads, brunch specials are served on Saturday and Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“One of our favorite dog-friendly places we go to regularly for brunch on the weekends. One of the best Huevos Rancheros I’ve ever had,” states a review from Google, where ATwater Tavern features a 4.4-star rating. Other brunch specials include pancakes and crab cake Benedict, but you could always order from the rest of the menu as well (the fish and chips are a crowd-pleaser on both Google and Yelp). While ATwater Tavern has a range of beverages, those who need a caffeine fix will be happy to learn that espresso-based coffee drinks are served here.
Guests highlight brunch on the patio with waterfront views. “Came here with a friend and it was super pretty looking across the water!” reads a review posted on Yelp. This individual went on to write, “The vibes are good for a lazy Sunday afternoon catchup.” Moreover, countless others say that they have stopped by for a bite to eat before catching a game at Oracle Park. Reservations for ATwater Tavern are available on Yelp, and a paid parking lot is available nearby.
Methodology
To find the five top-rated brunch spots in San Francisco with breathtaking coastal views, Islands utilized rankings from Google, Yelp, and Tripadvisor. We combed these platforms for reviews that frequently commended eateries for their waterfront views and brunch offerings. Once these criteria were met, we concentrated our search on establishments that featured a minimum of a 4.0 rating on at least one of these websites. To better showcase San Francisco’s beauty, we narrowed down our selections to restaurants with varying scenery.
Mission Rock Resort, Eagle Cafe, Radhaus, Beach Chalet, and ATwater Tavern checked all these boxes. For example, Beach Chalet overlooks the Pacific Ocean, while diners can catch a glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge from Radhaus. Of course, cuisine and ambiance were just as important, with this list including eateries for an ultra-casual quick brunch, a boozy brunch, or a more upscale-style experience. For additional Bay Area eats, read a local’s guide on the five tastiest restaurants they always take friends to when they visit San Francisco.
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