Find over 400 Legacy Businesses. Filter by business type, neighborhood, or business name.
Pick a neighborhood and experience San Francisco through its Legacy Businesses!
Collect 25 stamps by December 20, 2024, and claim your prize!
These casual "no-host" gatherings are held at a different Legacy Business each month. Find the next event!
San Francisco's Legacy Business Program is the first-of-its-kind program in the United States and is pioneering a new take on government's involvement in maintaining and promoting the small business community. Now, two dozen cities - and counting - have their own programs: Legacy business programs nationwide.
Join us at Specs' 12 Adler Museum Cafe located at 12 William Saroyan Pl. in North Beach for the next Heritage Happy Hour, a casual monthly “no-host” gathering of heritage professionals, young preservationists, aficionados, friends, and Legacy Business cohorts interested in safeguarding San Francisco’s unique architectural and cultural identity. Since 1968, Specs' has served as a cultural institution and watering hole for artists, activists, and travelers with its old-school charm and a sanctuary-like atmosphere. Let’s all raise a glass to the Legacy Businesses that keep our city special!
The Legacy Business Program is an important part of maintaining the city's cultural identity, which helps provide local residents with employment, a sense of place, and community involvement. The best way to support these businesses is to visit them!
A Legacy Business is a for-profit or nonprofit business that has operated in San Francisco for 30 or more years. The business must contribute to the neighborhood's history and/or the identity of a particular neighborhood or community, and it must commit to maintaining the physical features or traditions that define the business, including craft, culinary or art forms.
The registration process for the Legacy Business Program includes nomination by Mayor London N. Breed or a member of the Board of Supervisors, a written application, an advisory recommendation from the Historic Preservation Commission, and approval of the Small Business Commission.
Inclusion on the Registry provides Legacy Businesses with recognition and support as an incentive for them to stay in the community. The program also provides educational and promotional assistance to encourage their continued viability and success in San Francisco.
Richard Kurylo, Legacy Business Program Manager
City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 140
legacybusiness@sfgov.org | (415) 554-6680