Why Jollibee's first San Francisco location in 15 years still hasn't opened

In January, a high-stakes science experiment took place on a San Francisco rooftop.

An acoustical consulting firm had been hired to observe four pieces of nondescript equipment sitting on the sloped roof in the heart of the city's downtown: a heat pump, a condenser fan for an ice-maker and a pair of condensers for a walk-in freezer and cooler. Next to the four machines, the firm placed two Norsonic Nor-140 Type 1 sound level meters that would collect data for 46 hours.

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The results: The equipment, found in some form at virtually every restaurant, was too loud by San Francisco standards.

It belongs to Jollibee, the Filipino fast-food chain that's been trying to open a restaurant in a former Payless ShoeSource at 934 Market St. for nearly six years. The failed noise test, described in emails obtained by the Chronicle through a public records request, is the latest in a series of bureaucratic hurdles for the restaurant, located next to an apartment building and steps above the Powell Street BART and Muni stations. In addition to the typical building, planning and other permitting processes that local restaurateurs have long complained are too onerous, the Jollibee location had to seek approval from the city's Historic Preservation Commission to make minor exterior changes; from BART to operate a crane at the site; and from PG&E and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to add underground utility lines.

An international cult favorite known for its fried chicken, sweet spaghetti and peach-mango pies, Jolilibee operates more than 1,600 locations worldwide and more than 80 in America. It opened its first U.S. outpost in Daly City, the Bay Area's Filipino hub, in 1998. There are now a dozen Jollibees in the Bay Area, with many more coming, though San Francisco has been without one since 2011, when an outpost near Moscone Center closed.

The perpetually delayed restaurant, which was originally targeting a 2023 opening, has been an object of fascination for San Franciscans since the moment it was announced in 2021. Any indication that it might, maybe, possibly, actually could be firing up its deep fryers - from an "opening soon" banner that was later removed to the installation of a bright red Jollibee sign and a five-word job interview posting on the front door - has sparked a frenzy of speculation and breathless media coverage (including from the Chronicle). Most recently, a Reddit poster who claimed to have been hired for the restaurant a year ago posted a purported screenshot of a message from Jollibee stating that the opening "has been delayed due to causes not in our control."

It's notoriously difficult to open a restaurant in San Francisco, which requires navigating a maelstrom of regulatory minutiae - from the exact placement of a sink to waving a cloth napkin over a candle flame at a permitting office to prove it won't catch fire during a candlelit dinner service - and long-siloed city departments, including fire, planning, building and health. Yet many elements of Jollibee's case, including a Board of Supervisors vote and the involvement of non-city agencies like BART, appear unusual.

The saga underscores the tension between city regulation and economic recovery in a neighborhood that business owners and city officials are working to revive. Jollibee is across the street from IKEA food hall Saluhall, which has been plagued by high turnover, and a block away from the now-dark San Francisco Centre Mall. Kate Patterson, director of external affairs for the Office of Economic Workforce Development, described Jollibee as a "case study" for San Francisco and its complex permitting process.

Removing red tape for businesses was a major campaign promise of Mayor Daniel Lurie, who has positioned himself as business friendly, particularly to restaurants. He did not answer specific questions about Jollibee's delays, such as if there were permitting issues Jollibee faced that the city should address, or what the company's situation says about his commitment to make it easier for businesses to open in San Francisco.

In a written statement, Lurie pointed to PermitSF, his initiative to streamline permitting for small businesses, which is "eliminating unnecessary paperwork, speeding up approvals, and making permitting easier with a new 24/7 portal," he said. "Jollibee's commitment to opening in Mid-Market - even after years of delays - is a huge vote of confidence in San Francisco's recovery. As they open their doors, and as we continue to reenergize Market Street, we'll keep taking a hard look at how projects move through government so communities don't have to wait years for fried chicken."

Jollibee has remained tight-lipped throughout the half-decade opening process; the company did not answer questions for this article. "As with any major urban development project, we are working closely and diligently with all local city agencies to ensure our site meets all safety, regulatory, and community standards," the company said in a statement. "We are committed to being a great neighbor and look forward to welcoming the San Francisco community soon."

Jollibee filed its first permit for the Market Street restaurant in November 2020, with a lease that expires in 2034, according to city records. Representatives told press the restaurant would open in 2023, then 2024, or at the latest 2025. After that point, the company stopped sharing a specific timeline, even with some city employees.

Permitting for the 2,600-square-foot restaurant has wound through nearly every department in City Hall - and beyond. It's located in the historic Kearny-Market-Mason-Sutter Conservation District, which means that even though Jollibee proposed only minor exterior changes to the building, its planning permit had to clear the city's Historic Preservation Commission. After a public hearing, the commission found that because the building was completed in 1974 in a Brutalist style, it was "outside the district's period of significance," and gave approval for the permit.

Converting a former shoe store into a restaurant required adding gas and electrical infrastructure, necessitating approvals from PG&E. Because the restaurant is next to a public, city-owned plaza, Jollibee also spent about a year going through the city's Real Estate Division and the Board of Supervisors' Budget and Finance Committee before needing the full Board of Supervisors for approval to place the utility lines.

Last year, Jollibee contractors sought approvals from SFMTA, Muni and BART to operate a crane at the site. After months of back and forth, BART ultimately found that no permit was necessary. It still charged Jollibee the permit fees and review hours, according to emails obtained by the Chronicle.

Some delays have also stemmed from Jollibee, including miscommunication with subcontractors, according to the emails, and a permit application that was filed incorrectly.

In January, Jollibee applied for a health permit, typically one of the final steps before a restaurant is allowed to open. Inspecting newly installed equipment for compliance with the noise ordinance is a normal step in the permitting process, according to a San Francisco permit expediter. At that point, the noise compliance issue came to light, setting off Jollibee's latest permitting obstacle.

In San Francisco, the prohibition of "unwanted, excessive, and avoidable noise" is city policy. The ordinance, which is enforced by the Department of Public Health, is meant to reduce noise that can cause problems such as "persistent annoyance, sleep disturbance, physiological and psychological stress." Under city code, machines on commercial properties can't produce noise louder than 8 dBA above a given threshold of ambient sound. (Decibels measure loudness; A-weighted decibels measure loudness as perceived by human ears. Prolonged exposure to sound above 85 dBA can cause hearing loss.)

A public health inspector usually conducts the noise measurements but in this case, the department could not safely access the restaurant, so Jollibee was required to hire an acoustical consultant. San Francisco-based Vibro-Acoustic Consultants conducted its analysis across two days in January, according to a report prepared by the company. For the first 24 hours, the company collected baseline data with the rooftop equipment turned off, accounting for sustained ambient sound from Market Street - one of the city's largest arteries, which is full of buses, cars and other activity - as well as "transient noise sources such as car honks and door slams," the report states.

Then, for 22 hours, the company tracked noise levels while the machines were running. A microphone was positioned close to the condensing units "in order to capture the worst case during the nighttime condition where only the condensers are running," the report states. The sound meters were placed approximately 8 feet from the machines, "which characterizes the effect of the mechanical units on the ambient [noise], specifically for the residential units facing towards the rooftop of the property." Jollibee is bordered by an office building, One Hallidie Plaza, and a seven-story apartment building with about 30 units on Market Street, some of which overlook its roof.

Vibro-Acoustic Consultants found that the equipment exceeded the noise ordinance by, on average, four decibels during the day and five at night. The area noise limit is 64 dBA during the day and 59 dBA at night, according to the report. The equipment on average produced 68 dBA of noise during the day and 64 dBA at night, the consultant found. "Mitigative solutions are needed for reducing the noise," the report recommended, such as wrapping the units in insulated blankets.

Doug Parker of Design West Partnership, a longtime Bay Area food service design consultant, said it's preferable - though can cost as much as 50% more - to install heating and cooling equipment on a rooftop, rather than take up space and generate heat inside a kitchen. Parker, who has consulted on restaurant openings since 1992, said he's often worked with owners installing similar equipment or hood vents that generate noise or smoke and can become an issue for neighbors.

The specifics of the Jollibee location - a one-story building surrounded on two sides by higher buildings, including one with apartments - would have immediately been a red flag for him. "I would have definitely brought that up to the customer when I was inspecting the site," he said. "I would have said, ‘Don't do it.'"

Emails show that Jollibee team members frequently turned to Manish Goyal, a business development manager at San Francisco's Office of Economic and Workforce Development, whose charge, Patterson said, is to be a doula for small businesses. The department has worked with Jollibee since 2023, when the Union Square Alliance, a nonprofit leading the revitalization of downtown San Francisco, flagged the chain's permitting saga. Goyal has served as a conduit between its representatives and the web of city agencies, reaching out to the health department, PG&E and SFMTA for the company, emails show.

In early March, trying to troubleshoot the noise issue, Goyal wrote in an email to other OEWD staff that Jollibee had concerns "any correction may lead to significant delays." Potential solutions included requesting a variance from public health or a temporary certificate of occupancy from the building department. Shortly after, Jollibee contractor Angelo Ng Fung of Everstrong Construction asked the health department whether the city can grant the company an exception for hardship due to the many delays.

"We do not know at this time what can be done to reduce the noise of the roof equipment since they are approved equipment for this project and so far, I do not know if in this current market there is any equipment manufacturer capable of making such equipment that can meet the 8dbA noise requirement," Fung wrote in a March 3 email. "That is really going to take a hard hit on the owner due to the strict noise requirement."

In April, Jollibee wrapped and insulated the rooftop equipment, emails show. Another sound test was scheduled. "If this does not pass, we will probably need to request hardship as this is already our last resort," Fung wrote to Goyal.

The second sound study initially found that Jollibee was in compliance. But then, another step backward: The report was conducted incorrectly, according to the Department of Public Health. It measured the pieces of equipment operating individually, rather than together.

Jollibee submitted a hardship request in March, and the Department of Public Health offered to work with the company on a timeline for compliance. Until Jollibee's rooftop machinery is quiet enough to comply with the noise ordinance - or it's granted an exception, which is possible under city code - it cannot secure its health permit.

"SFDPH is committed to helping businesses successfully open and operate in San Francisco. We work closely with them to navigate health permit requirements and meet the regulations that keep our communities healthy, including Article 29 of the Municipal Code which sets standards for noise near residences," the Department of Public Health said in an emailed statement. "We are actively engaged with their contractor and will continue to provide guidance throughout this process."

The city is already scrutinizing Jollibee's case to identify any systemic permitting problems that should be addressed, such as how to remove more onerous requirements, like a full Board of Supervisors vote for certain permits. "This is now a case study that will contribute to additional policy work under permits," said Patterson of the Office of Economic Workforce Development. "This has not been the easiest of roads and the focus now should be to make sure this doesn't happen again."

Meanwhile, Jollibee has taken some small steps toward opening as other permits have been issued, including in April for relocating a suspended t-bar ceiling in the basement and last week, a fire sprinkler.

There is still no opening date for Jollibee.

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This story was originally published June 11, 2026 at 10:34 AM.