Señor Sisig, a pioneer of the San Francisco food truck movement, will open the doors to its first brick and mortar location at 990 Valencia Street on November 7. Co-founders Evan Kidera (CEO) and Gil Payumo (Chief Culinary Officer) have worked carefully to translate the Señor Sisig experience into a permanent location, making sure every decision including layout, design, and even the location, ensured they were not losing the laid back, community-driven spirit they have built over the past decade.
Señor Sisig will be serving the same menu that fans have come to know and love with the exciting addition of rotating specials such as nacho-rrones (nachos with a base of housemade chicharrones) and a show-stopping Sisig Crunchwrap (pork, chicken, or tofu on a crispy tostada with monterey jack cheese, pico de gallo, lettuce, sour cream, and guacamole, all wrapped in a griddled tortilla and served with a side of spicy nacho cheese). The space will also boast a soft serve machine with an ube horchata flavor made in collaboration with Annabelle Topacio of Dogpatch favorite, Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous.
On the beverage side, guests can enjoy freshly made calamansi juice and or iced unsweetened green tea. Those can be mixed to create an Arnold Palmer-style calamansi green tea, or get a “freckled calamansi” (with fresh strawberries muddled into the juice). Beers by local favorites Woods Beer Co., and Fort Point Beer Co. will also be available, in addition to Filipino favorite, San Miguel. In the future, guests can look forward to a series of ongoing custom beer collaborations with local breweries. “It’s been a Señor Sisig tradition to partner with other Bay Area businesses,” explains Kidera. “We’re all about local businesses, restaurateurs, and artists. We’re taking that same ethos and applying it to beer, with Woods Beer Co. as our first partner.”
The Señor Sisig team worked closely with TECTA Associates to transform their 800-square-foot space into an organic extension and evolution of their food truck experience. “We want guests to feel like we drove a more spacious version of our truck inside and built around it,” explains Kidera. Orders will be taken by the entrance, beside a separate area for delivery couriers. “Online deliveries will be a big part of the space, and it was important to us that this didn’t interfere with the experience of guests who are coming in to dine.” Guests will be given pagers once they’ve ordered and then pick up their food once it is ready. They then have the option to dine at two outdoor spaces: the updated, sunny parklet on Valencia Street or in the spacious back patio, which accommodates 40.
“We spent years looking at different locations, but nothing ever felt quite right,” said Kidera. “Then this spot opened up, with its parklet and patio combination–which is rare on a street like Valencia–and we knew it was the place for us. As San Francisco natives it was important for us to be in the Mission, which holds so much personal history to us. It was also vital that we have a large outdoor space where guests could come in and socialize and enjoy their food outdoors, just like when they’re dining at one of our trucks.”
The enclosed patio will be adorned with vibrant art by Aaron Kai, who created a life-sized, custom mural that spans the entire southern wall and combines elements of San Francisco and Señor Sisig history. The center of the mural features depictions of Evan and Gil serving up Señor Sisig favorites to a group of Bay Area sportswear-clad guests from their first truck, framed by iconic San Francisco landmarks and Kai’s signature wave motifs. Astute observers may notice the now defunct 26-Valencia bus in the left–an homage to the bus line that Evan would ride growing up in the city–along with a row of colorfully painted Victorian houses across from an image of the Painted Ladies. The blue house is a depiction of Evan’s old home on Haight Street.
Señor Sisig will be open seven days a week from 11:00am-9:00pm. Visit https://www.senorsisig.com/ for more information, and follow Señor Sisig on Instagram @senorsisig.
About Evan Kidera
Evan Kidera is the CEO and co-founder of Señor Sisig. Evan grew up in San Francisco with a father who worked in the restaurant industry and introduced him to both the business and creative aspects of running a company. Evan double-majored in Asian American Studies and Business at San Francisco State University, where he later returned to get an MBA. By 2009, Evan quickly realized that street food was a national phenomenon that San Francisco wasn’t actively a participant of. Sure that Filipino food captured something unique about the culture of San Francisco, Evan called his best friend, Gil Payumo, with the idea to start Señor Sisig. 10 years later, Señor Sisig boasts a fleet of six trucks that serve up now iconic Filipino fusion classics in the Bay Area, and the opening of their first brick and mortar in San Francisco’s Mission District.
About Gil Payumo
Gil Payumo is the co-founder and Chief Culinary Officer of Señor Sisig. Gil was born in San Francisco and raised in Daly City. After studying computers and realizing he had no passion for them, Gil turned to cooking and enrolled at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco in 2003. After graduating worked in restaurant kitchens, but felt a growing urge to start a business of his own. When his childhood friend, Evan Kidera, asked if he wanted to buy a truck and be part of San Francisco’s new street food movement, Gil knew right away what he’d make: a slightly spicier version of his dad’s beloved sisig. 10 years later, Señor Sisig boasts a fleet of six trucks that serve up now iconic Filipino fusion classics in the Bay Area, and the opening of their first brick and mortar in San Francisco’s Mission District.
