Mayor Lurie launches another round of new grants for small businesses to fill vacant storefronts in San Francisco, Chinatown and Vis Valley included

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has launched another round of incentives and grants to stimulate new businesses to fill vacant storefronts in the city and help existing businesses improve services. The grants for newly-opened businesses have been expanded citywide with priorities in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods, including Chinatown and Visitacion Valley.

PermitSF portal unveiled

In the meantime, Lurie also announced the establishment of PermitSF. It is a brand new portal on the city's website which allows homeowners and business owners to obtain permits they need directly online that streamlines the process and makes it easier and faster than before.

In the beginning, the new PermitSF portal first handles several permit types such as door and window permits. For these permit applications, applicants no longer need to visit the Permit Center in person. Instead they have an option to log in, then submit permit applications, and make payments online.

“For a year, we’ve been getting rid of nonsense and bringing back common sense under PermitSF. With the launch of the PermitSF portal, we’re giving homeowners, small business owners, and event organizers a faster, more straightforward way to get the permits they need online, with fewer delays and more certainty,” said Lurie.

“This launch builds on a year of reforms to modernize our permitting system—saving San Franciscans valuable time and money," Lurie added. "In a city known for innovation, interacting with City Hall should feel just as modern, and PermitSF is an important step toward a fully digital permitting system and more responsive government.”

In October 2025, Lurie launched the Downtown SF Vibrancy Loan Fund which aimed to attract business owners to open new stores on ground-floor retail spaces in Downtown and the Financial District which both have had the highest vacancy rates since the COVID pandemic among all business corridors in San Francisco.

The citywide storefront retail vacancy rate was at a peak of 7.2% in 2024 and decreased to 6.5% in 2025. The Downtown and Union Square corridors had the highest vacancy at approximately 20% in 2025.

The $3.6-million Downtown SF Vibrancy Loan Fund, launched in October 2025 and administered by nonprofit Main Street Launch, has offered both the low-rate business loans and match grants to qualified small business owners who open brand new ground-floor stores at vacant storefronts within the designated areas in Downtown, including Union Square, Financial District and South of Market.

The program is still open for applications with a 4% loan rate for up to $100,000 and match grant amounts from $25,000 to $50,000 for each eligible applying business.

The Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) is the lead city agency to manage the grants for small businesses in coordination with the Office of Small Business.

OEWD announced on February 18 an additional $6.3 million in new grants offered to support citywide small businesses with a goal to reduce barriers to opening and operating storefronts and bring activity into neighborhood business districts across San Francisco.

The latest grant programs which benefit both new and existing businesses are part of Lurie’s initiatives to boost San Francisco’s economic comeback by making it easier to do business, fill vacancies, and support thriving neighborhood commercial corridors.

“Our office is committed to empowering our entrepreneurs at every stage of their journey. These new grants are strategic investments that stabilize businesses by covering essential operating costs, providing tools that support compliance and growth, and activate vacant spaces with new storefronts," said Anne Taupier, Executive Director of the OEWD.

The latest round of offering small business grants announced by Lurie in February 2026 included two major grants, SF Shines Equipment Grant and Storefront Opportunity Grant.

SF Shines Equipment Grant

Lurie has allocated $2 million to set up the SF Shines Equipment Grant for citywide small business owners to apply. The grant provides up to $10,000 to support equipment purchases that are essential to business operations with an application deadline on March 6.

The SF Shines Equipment Grant is expected to support approximately 200 businesses and is designed to help businesses make targeted investments that improve functionality, efficiency, and compliance, according to OEWD. Small businesses with storefronts in San Francisco are eligible to apply. However, businesses in designated low-moderate income neighborhoods will be given priority and will make up 70% of all awards. The other 30% of awards will go to businesses anywhere in the city.

17 neighborhoods are listed in the low- to moderate-income zones. Businesses located in the 17 neighborhoods can be prioritized to be awarded with the SF Shines Equipment Grant in buying new equipment.

The designated low- to moderate-income zones are primarily located in the east and south sectors of the city, including Chinatown, North Beach, Tenderloin, South of Market, Mission, Bayview, Visitacion Valley, Excelsior, Ingleside, Oceanview and Richmond.

Storefront Opportunity Grant

Lurie allocated $3.3 million to the Storefront Opportunity Grant that targets to support entrepreneurs opening sustainable storefront businesses in neighborhoods where vacancies and barriers to entry remain high.

Grant amounts are tailored to support a range of neighborhood serving uses, including retail and personal services, cafes, restaurants, bars, and essential neighborhood amenities.

OEWD has first introduced the Storefront Opportunity Grant earlier in the year focusing on three neighborhoods, Tenderloin, Excelsior, and Visitacion Valley, and supporting businesses that were preparing to open a storefront but did not yet have a lease. The grants amounts were between $50,000 and $100,000 based on business types.

The latest February 18 launch of the Storefront Opportunity Grant is expanding the program to businesses that already have a lease in place and are preparing to open a new storefront. This new program aims to offer similar grants ranging from $50,000 to $100,000 to eligible businesses opening in the following neighborhoods: Bayview, Chinatown, Downtown, Western Addition / Fillmore, Mid-Market, Mission, and the Port which is Port-owned properties only located on Hyde, Jefferson, Powell streets in the Fisherman's wharf tourists area.

Businesses, who are interested in applying for grants and learning more about eligibility, can visit the City’s webpage: https://www.sf.gov/information--find-grant-your-small-business, Find a grant for your small business | SF.gov.

__________________________________________________

Portia Li is the editor and publisher of Wind Newspaper. Prior to co-founding the Wind Newspaper in 2020, Portia was a senior and investigative reporter at the San Francisco Bureau of World Journal for over three decades. She was born and raised in Hong Kong, educated in Taiwan and the United States. She has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from National Chengchi University of Taiwan and a master’s degree in Mass Communication from Utah State University. In 2021, Portia was a recipient of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Northern California Chapter’s Career Achievement Award in Print. She can be reached at portia@WindNewspaper.com.