Cheezy's Artisan Pizza Leaves Saluhall, Will Pivot to Pop-Ups

Cheezy's Artisan Pizza has ended regular service at Saluhall, the IKEA-anchored food hall at 945 Market Street in Mid-Market, after a rent dispute with management culminated in Ingka revoking the small pizzeria's license to operate.

Co-founder David Jacobson told the San Francisco Standard that the exit follows "months of issues with management" and a steady erosion of the conditions that made the Saluhall location viable. He said foot traffic "dropped with the bar and cooking school closures," two amenities that had drawn customers into the building. As those anchors disappeared, Jacobson said the venue also cut bussers, dishwashers, and events and management staff, a reduction he said "made it harder to troubleshoot problems" at the location.

The situation escalated into a formal dispute. According to Jacobson, Cheezy's stopped paying rent while attempting to negotiate a resolution with management. In response, Ingka, the IKEA parent company that operates Saluhall, revoked the pizzeria's license to operate. Ingka has not publicly commented on Jacobson's account of the sequence of events.

Cheezy's is not closing permanently. Jacobson said the business plans to continue through pop-ups, catering, and pizza-making classes while searching for a new permanent space. No timeline or specific neighborhood has been announced for a future brick-and-mortar location.

Saluhall has seen a series of tenant exits since opening in the Mid-Market corridor. The departure of Cheezy's adds to questions about the food hall's ability to retain independent operators as foot traffic and in-house programming have contracted.