Nice to see that they're populating those blocks of Powell with other than high-end retail. SFTGG President Emeritus Linda Reynolds organized an expedition to the Dandelion factory in October 2022. My how time flies.
By Mario Cortez, Staff Writer Sep 8, 2025
Dandelion Chocolate, known for producing its single-origin cacao treats in San Francisco, will bring its wares downtown.
A brown awning with the chocolate manufacturers’ branding has gone up at a Union Square space at 167 Powell St. Company spokesperson Jennifer Roy said the location will be a six-month popup in collaboration with the city’s Vacant to Vibrant program.
“We are currently building it out and hope to be open by the end of this week,” Roy said via email. The shop will stock Dandelion’s chocolate bars, bonbons and gift boxes made at the company’s Mission District facility.
Dandelion was established in the Mission in 2010, and has since expanded to several locations in the city, including the Ferry Building and Fillmore Street. Unlike its permanent locations, on Powell Street there will not be any café drinks like hot chocolate or baked goods such as its chocolate chip cookies.
The city’s Vacant to Vibrant program launched in 2023 and has brought local businesses into empty commercial spaces in an effort to reactivate San Francisco’s downtown core.
“It’s great knowing that our collective efforts will help to revitalize downtown San Francisco while celebrating the local small business community,” Roy wrote.
The strip of Powell Street to which Dandelion is headed, right along the Powell Street cable car line, is popular with tourists, but has recently been marred by empty storefronts. That is starting to change: The new Dandelion location will open diagonally across the street from a new location of Pop Mart, maker of the popular Labubu doll.
Union Square is getting a shop from a top S.F. chocolate maker
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