The San Francisco Chronicle reported that hundreds of people toured Tụ Tập before it served a dish. Through the spring and early summer, whenever San Anselmo Avenue closed for weekend concerts, co-owner Adam Block walked visitors through the unfinished two-story space at 625 San Anselmo Avenue. The rooftop deck, with its sightline to Mount Tamalpais, did most of the talking. The restaurant opened July 29, about four months after the March target some outlets had reported.
A four-month slip in a restaurant build-out is ordinary. The longer delay sits a few doors down at 639 San Anselmo Avenue, where Hilda's Coffee Shop served breakfast from 1960 until September 2025. What each downtown storefront needed before it could open explains the calendar better than any chef's résumé does.
Four storefronts, four starting points
Read the spring announcements together and they sound like one wave. The buildings behind them were in very different shape.
| Storefront | Address | What the space was | Status as of late September 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tụ Tập | 625 San Anselmo Ave | Former Kientz Hall, two stories with a rooftop patio | Open since July 29 |
| Pretti Platters | 810 Sir Francis Drake Blvd | Freestanding building near Red Hill Shopping Center, previously Auryn Thai Cuisine | Open since May 19 |
| Tasty Delicious | 639 San Anselmo Ave | The former Hilda's Coffee Shop, in operation since 1960 | Opening in stages |
| Maison Nico | Downtown San Anselmo | New second location for the San Francisco bakery | Slated for October |
Pretti Platters is the quiet success of the group. Four friends who bonded over their Thai heritage opened it on May 19, and the Press Democrat described a menu that runs from a Dutch pancake and a croque monsieur to a 16-ounce bone-in heritage pork chop. It occupies a building that already housed a restaurant, and it opened well ahead of everything else on this list. The Marin IJ coverage listed 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily when it opened, so a quick check of current hours before a Saturday visit is sensible.
Tụ Tập took longer, but its size alone does not explain the timeline. Its chef-partner, Justine Kelly, grew up in San Anselmo and spent more than 17 years working under the late Charles Phan at The Slanted Door. The SF Chronicle reported a copper-topped raw bar, a high-ceilinged dining room, and a menu that includes kampachi collar grilled over almond wood. Some of that work took months. It still finished before Hilda's did.
What a 1960 diner has to pass
Pat Townsley, who owns Creekside Pizza & Taproom directly across the street, bought the Hilda's business after longtime owner Sue Kirton retired it in September 2025. Her parents, Darleen and Brian Young, had bought the diner in 1978. Sue took it over in 2006.
Townsley has been direct about the building. The Archie Williams High School student paper reported that Townsley called the building "substandard in every way" and doubted it passed code 50 years ago. Creekside's own page describes decades of "grandfathered" operations and says bringing the space into code for environmental health, ADA compliance, and local and state regulations "comes with a very high price."
Grandfathering explains a lot. In this case, bringing the building into code meant replacing the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, redoing the electrical and plumbing, and getting sign-off from the Health Department, the Town of San Anselmo, and the Central Marin Sanitary District. Townsley named the permits as the hardest part of the turnaround.
The dates show the effect. In March, Townsley's team expected to finish by mid-May and open about a week before Live on the Avenue began June 20. Creekside's own goal was under six months from demolition to doors open. Live on the Avenue has since run its full season and ended, and the diner is still ramping up.
Pretti Platters moved into a building that had housed a restaurant, and Tụ Tập took over the former Kientz Hall. Reporting on both describes renovation. Creekside describes the former Hilda's as a rebuild of its core systems. That is the pattern to keep in mind when the next storefront announces a date. On this block, the question that predicts the calendar is what the building was doing before, and how long ago anyone last rebuilt it.
Tasty Delicious opens in stages
Creekside's community page lays out a phased rollout, and the phases are worth knowing before anyone plans a Saturday around them.
- First phase. Hours of 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., with burgers, chicken, fries, and soft serve leading the menu.
- Second phase. Hours extend to 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- Breakfast. An improved version of the classic coffee shop breakfast, including the original Hilda's pancakes, from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. "towards the end of fall." Creekside says breakfast may run only Thursday through Monday.
The pancakes are staying, and so is the diner's previous chef, according to the student paper's reporting. Interiors are by Ann Lowengart Interiors. Creekside's page announced an upcoming soft opening, and I could not confirm the date it actually happened. Anyone planning a first visit is better off checking Creekside's page or social feeds first. Anyone who misses the old breakfast counter has until late fall to wait, and even that date is a plan.
Maison Nico has a target, not a date
Maison Nico is the other name on downtown's list, and its timeline has moved more than once. The 7x7 profile of chef Nicolas Delaroque said late spring or early summer 2026. In January, co-owner Andrea Delaroque told the SF Chronicle they hoped to open in summer and declined to share the address. In July, the Chronicle reported the San Anselmo location was slated for October.
The reason for the move is one the Delaroques have stated plainly. They had outgrown the Jackson Square shop, which was never intended for baking, viennoiserie, and pâté-making under one roof. The San Anselmo space will offer laminated pastries along with new items such as sourdough loaves, baguettes, and ice cream. The reporting I found does not say what the San Anselmo space needed before it could open, so October is best treated as a target. When a specific date appears, it will most likely come from the bakery itself.
The fall calendar
Live on the Avenue ended September 12 with El Cajon and Le Minivans at Creek Park and F.A.T. Betty at Town Hall Plaza. The Town is now asking for feedback to plan next season. The dates below are the ones the Town and local businesses have published.
- Saturday, October 10. The last docent-led San Anselmo Historical Walking Tour of 2026 meets at Creek Park at 9 a.m. Members of the San Anselmo Historical Commission, including Dick Miner, cover the historic Hub, the railroad's role in the town's growth, and how the businesses and architecture on the Avenue have changed. It is free, needs no reservation, and ends at the Historical Museum with refreshments. It also covers the very buildings whose age this post has been describing.
- Friday, October 23. The annual Halloween BooTacular costume and candy crawl closes the Avenue to traffic from 4 p.m. Costumed kids and families have the street from 5 to 7 p.m., merchants hand out candy, and the 501st Legion Golden Gate Garrison makes an appearance as Star Wars characters. Creekside, Kuro, Baan Thai, Taco Jane's, Cucina, Tụ Tập, and Tasty Delicious are all listed as open that evening, which makes it a chance to see the new spots in one walk.
- Downtown Fall Clean-up. The Town's annual tidy-up of the Avenue and Creek Park is posted on its Recreation page. I did not find a date, so the Town's page is the place to check.
If you plan to visit Tasty Delicious on October 23, check Creekside's page a few days ahead for the current hours.
If you live near downtown San Anselmo and want a longtime local's read on how a block like this one changes storefront by storefront, Faber Real Estate Team is glad to talk it through. Let's Talk Real Estate.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.