SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — There are some signs of improvement in San Francisco’s Union Square, which has seen a significant loss of retailers in the past four years.

The area is now seeing an uptick in new businesses moving in. Several big-name stores have just opened and more are expected by the end of the month.

If you are looking for a Rolex watch, you can now find it on Post Street in Union Square.

The new Rolex store opened last month.

Despite the many “for lease” signs in the Union Square area, Kazuko Morgan, executive vice chair for commercial real estate firm Cushman and Wakefield, says there’s a lot going on there right now.

MORE: SF’s Saks Fifth Avenue shifting to ‘appointment-only’ shopping, announces layoffs, report says

“There are several other tenants that have signed leases or are in lease negotiations in Union Square,” Morgan said.

Morgan helps find tenants for exclusive retail spaces in Union Square.

“Rolex opened a few weeks ago. Patek Phillip is opening this month. St. John’s relocated from the Four Seasons to Post Street,” Morgan said.

Christopher Clark gallery relocated from Geary Street to Post Street. Max Mara is under construction and will open by the end of the month.

Morgan says a lot of new businesses are expanding or moving into Union Square.

MORE: SF’s Union Square: How it’s doing 1 year after new zoning regulations went into effect

“A lot of work was done over the last year in terms of getting leases done,” Morgan said.

Downtown San Francisco continues to grapple with record-high office vacancy rates. During the second quarter of this year, it was nearly 37%.

In Union Square though, the vacancy rate during the same period was nearly 22% according to Cushman and Wakefield.

Morgan says spaces are leased or in negotiation, even though the signs have not been taken down.

Next year, a new Nintendo store will go up at 331 Powell Street in Union Square.

MORE: SF Union Square on path to economic recovery: Here are the signs and roadblocks

As for the San Francisco Macy’s flagship store, that’s expected to stay open until the property is sold.

Macy’s released this statement saying:

“Macy’s Union Square remains open as the Fall and Holiday Season draws near…We are working in close partnership with the Mayor’s Office and others as we explore options for this location.”

Morgan says people often think San Francisco is a challenging market to enter, that it’s expensive or that the best locations have been taken.

But not now.

MORE: SF’s Saks Fifth Avenue shifting to ‘appointment-only’ shopping, announces layoffs, report says

“For the first time in my career, there’s a lot of good opportunity for brands, and landlords are most flexible we’ve ever seen,” Morgan said.

Mayor London Breed’s Office released this statement Friday saying:

“Mayor Breed looks forward to continue to build on the momentum we are seeing from businesses and corporations that are investing in Union Square and in San Francisco’s future, including Breitling, Nintendo, and Visa.”

Morgan and others hope the momentum continues for business to survive and thrive in Union Square.

On the cusp of being officially eliminated from the 2024 MLB postseason race, the San Francisco Giants are going to just be playing out this final stretch in what has been a very disappointing campaign.

The most important thing for the team over the final few weeks of the year will be getting their young guys as much experience as possible at the Major League level.

That will improve the team’s overall outlook heading into 2025, and potentially fill some holes that may need to be addressed.

One of the players who will be looking to finish the season strong is pitcher Hayden Birdsong.

The starting pitcher had a great start to his Major League career, recording a 2.97 ERA over six appearances. Unfortunately, he has spent the majority of the second half trying to find his way again.

In six conseucitve starts beginning on July 27, he failed to complete five innings. His ERA was a ghastly 8.31 and he went 0-5.

Lack of command with his fastball was dooming him. Self-inflicted damage was piling up as he walked 20 batters over 21.2 innings. Giving the opponents scoring opportunities and rapidly building up his pitch count led to an inability to work deep into games.

That was something he wanted to change, and quickly.

Ahead of his start on Thursday against the Milwaukee Brewers, Birdsong revealed the goal he had for the rest of the 2024 season.

“I just want to eat innings and stop killing the bullpen,” he said last week per MLB.com.

Not many people were expecting that to happen against the Brewers, who are running away with the National League Central and are closing in on clinching a playoff berth.

But, that is exactly what happened.

Against the strong opponent, Birdsong had the best start of his career. He was able to find a rhythm, tossing five shutout innings and needing only 68 pitches to do it.

Four strikeouts were recorded as he scattered two hits and one walk. Getting ahead of batters was key to his success.

He threw a first-pitch strike to 11 out of 17 batters. That 65% clip was a major improvement from the 46.7% he had over his last six outings.

A first-pitch strike is essentially what determines the at-bat for Birdsong.

As shared by Maria Guardado of MLB.com, “… opposing batters entered Thursday with a .642 OPS when they’ve fallen behind 0-1 against him, compared to a .910 OPS when they’ve gotten ahead 1-0.”

If the young righty can get ahead in the count, he is putting opponents at a distinct disadvantage.

“It was nice to actually just be in the zone from first pitch to last pitch,” Birdsong said. “Obviously, I had a walk, but it didn’t bother me at that point because I was in the zone for the whole game. That’s all I really wanted to do. I want to keep doing that and keep showing that I can pitch through five and beyond. Today, I was really happy with what I did. Hopefully, we keep that going.”

The Giants were unable to take advantage of the strong start, as they lost the game 3-0, but the most important takeaway was that Birdsong showcased his immense talent against a very good opponent and could have built his confidence going forward after a rough stretch.

“That level of insecurity in their home lives makes it really difficult for them to concentrate on whatever amazing instruction the teachers have in store for them once they get here every day,” Moran said.

As principal of a community school, Moran said her job is to make sure that students’ basic needs are met so they can learn better. That means partnering with local food, health care and housing organizations and turning the campus into a hub for easy access to services its immigrant and low-income student population needs.

Giving kids a safe place to sleep and a predictable routine can help lessen their anxiety. The shelter also focuses on the parents’ mental health by connecting them to social services and job training programs to help them get back on their feet.

To boost their morale, parents at the shelter are able to cook a meal together twice a month.

Cooking gives the parents agency and helps lift their self-esteem, said the shelter’s manager, Jacqui Portillo.

“They feel relaxed, they feel connected, they’re accomplished, they did something,” Portillo said.

“The parent has to be okay in order to support their kids,” she said. “And this little moment is helping them to really be more engaged with the kids.”

On a recent visit, several shelter residents volunteered to make red pozole – a spicy and hearty Mexican soup. Reporters Daisy Nguyen and Carlos Cabrera-Lomeli spoke with two moms at the shelter, who explained what cooking does for them.

Maria Figueroa

Figueroa migrated from Tijuana, Mexico, in July 2023 with her 18-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son. She said it was too dangerous to raise her children in Mexico and is seeking political asylum in the U.S. When she arrived in San Francisco, she enrolled her kids in school and went back to school herself to train to be an in-home caregiver for sick and elderly people.

Figueroa said her kids often ask when they will get to taste her cooking again.

“I tell them, ‘God willing, when we have our own little place’ because, to be honest, we just can’t cook like that here [all the time] … only when an opportunity like this comes up,” she said.

She decided to make her signature dish – pozole – because it reminds her of home.

When we met, Figueroa had been staying at the shelter for nine months and said she saw the place as home and the shelter residents, her neighbors.

“Regardless of how you see the situation, we’re all here for the same thing. We all need a home, we need a place to sleep, a place to eat while we figure out our situation and here, we all see each other and what we’re going through,” she said.

Analy Padilla

Analy Padilla is from Honduras and has been living in this country for 21 years. She also came to this shelter nine months ago after her husband lost his job, and they couldn’t afford the rising cost of rent in San Francisco.

She said she, her husband and their two sons spent several nights sleeping in their car. They called everywhere for an open shelter space.

“And when they told me there was a spot for my family to stay here, I cried,” Padilla said. “I was so happy. I was finally going to have a home to be with my family.”

Padilla said it’s not easy sharing the bathroom, eating and sleeping spaces with strangers or packing up her stuff each morning. The experience hit her 15-year-old son Kevin hard, she said. At school, his grades dropped, he skipped classes, and he became withdrawn.