Tasty Delicious didn't have its flat-top installed yet, so chef Jackson Palmer tested burger blends across the street at Creekside, two patties at a time in a cast-iron skillet. He landed on a custom 80-20 Black Angus blend, and the restaurant opened in the last week of September in the space Hilda's Coffee Shop held for decades, according to the Marin Independent Journal.
The skillet story says something about the whole Avenue this fall. Nothing new downtown was built from scratch. Each opening moved into a room San Anselmo already knew, kept part of what was there, and is now being judged against the memory of the old tenant. The rooms still behind brown paper follow the same pattern, just on a longer clock.
Three addresses, three former lives
| Address | What it was | What it is now | Status as of early October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 625 San Anselmo Ave. | A bakery for 57 years, then Kientz Hall | Tụ Tập, Vietnamese restaurant and bar | Open for dinner nightly |
| 639 San Anselmo Ave. | Hilda's Coffee Shop | Tasty Delicious, burgers and shakes | Open daily, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., since October 5 |
| 121 Tunstead Ave. | Jack's Drug Store and Jack's Medical Supplies, starting in 1962 | Maison Nico, a San Francisco pastry business | Renovations expected to finish in early November, no opening date set |
At 639, a burger counter priced like the old one
The Tasty Delicious team drew directly on the history of the space. The IJ traces San Anselmo's burger-and-shake tradition to Jeep's Drive-In and Hilda's Coffee Shop in the late 1950s and early '60s, followed by Bubba's Diner in the mid-'90s. That nearly century-long run is what the founders cite as their inspiration. Hilda's closed last fall. The building had enough deferred maintenance that bringing it up to current building, health and accessibility codes took substantial work, handled by San Anselmo architect Bill O'Callaghan and the San Francisco builder Cookline.
The menu nods to the past by name. The Bubba's Burger is a smash burger with crisp edges, grilled onions, fresh jalapeños and firecracker sauce. Soft-serve comes from a mustard-yellow Carpigiani machine and is made with high-butterfat milk from Valley Ford Cheese & Creamery's Jersey herd. Local designer Ann Lowengart was asked to create a 1960s- and '70s-era burger joint in the spirit of Inverness.
The prices are where the old-diner idea shows most clearly. As of the IJ's September 29 report, burgers run $10 to $14, fries start at $5 and a 12-ounce shake costs $6. The team says it kept prices low so the place can be a frequent stop for all ages. Two more pieces are still to come. Hand-cut, twice-fried fries are due in late October, and a coffee-shop-style breakfast is planned for later this year. Creekside Pizza & Taproom, whose owner Pat Townsley is also the managing partner at Tasty Delicious, says on its Heard on the Street page that Hilda's pancakes will return in late fall.
At 625, the bakery building kept its bar
Six doors down, Tụ Tập took the opposite approach to its inheritance. It kept the bones of the room and changed the mood. Kientz Hall had already turned the 57-year-old bakery into a contemporary dining room before closing in late 2024. Tụ Tập's cocktail bar still sits on the Kientz Hall base, clad in century-old wainscoting salvaged from a New York church, now topped with copper. The parklet out front has a retractable awning repurposed from the Kientz Hall roof.
The chef has her own history with the town. Executive chef Justine Kelly grew up in San Anselmo and spent 18 years working with Charles Phan of the Slanted Door. She partnered with Adam Block, a hospitality consultant, and investor Bill Upson of Sausalito-based Real Restaurants. She told the IJ that the location was never really in question:
"But from my early 20s, I did know that if I were to open one someday, it would be in San Anselmo because my heart is there."
The building is now much larger than it looks from the street. Tụ Tập seats 114 downstairs and 48 on a fully weatherized rooftop facing Mount Tamalpais, with retractable glass panels and a louvered roof. The restaurant is mainly walk-in, with a limited number of seats held for reservations in the skylit back room. Its own website lists dinner from 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and 5 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, with the bar and rooftop open until 10 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and until 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.
October 23 brings both new rooms to the same crowd
Goblins' BOOtacular, the town's Halloween costume and candy walk, is the first big Avenue night both new restaurants will share since Tasty Delicious opened. Creekside's October 7 update puts it on Friday, October 23, from 5 to 7 p.m., a full week before Halloween itself. It describes a pedestrian zone on the Avenue starting at 4 p.m., with activity stretching from Fire Station 19 and Town Hall along the Avenue, from Creekside to Cucina. The same update lists Creekside, Kuro, Baan Thai, Taco Jane's, Cucina, Tụ Tập and Tasty Delicious among the restaurants open that evening, with participating merchants handing out candy. The town's event page has the official details. Treat the route and timing above as Creekside's account until the town posts its own.
The costumed guests have a local connection too. The 501st Legion Golden Gate Garrison, a group of Star Wars costumers, is scheduled to appear. Creekside ties the booking to George Lucas's San Anselmo years and to the early post-production work at Sprocket Systems on San Anselmo Avenue. For a costume on short notice, Creekside points to SeeSaw Children's Consignment at 722 San Anselmo Avenue.
The rooms still behind paper
The same pattern continues at the addresses that haven't opened yet, but those timelines run months or years.
121 Tunstead Avenue. Maison Nico's conditional use permit lets it sell bottles of wine to take home, on a site already zoned for on-site beer and wine with a state license. That makes it a bakery and café in a building that held a drugstore starting in 1962. As of the IJ's September 24 report, renovations were expected to finish in early November, and a spokesperson said no opening date had been set.
The Bank of America building. Creekside reports that the remodel is moving ahead daily toward two ground-floor retail units, an accessible ADU and two residential units upstairs. It estimates the project is at least a year from completion.
Two smaller storefronts. Creekside also notes brown paper in the window of the small shop next to the Creek Park bridge and San Anselmo Gelato, and a remodel at the former SF Running Company space next to Ludwigs. Neither has a named tenant yet.
Creek Park Plaza. This one moves slowest. On August 11, the Town Council unanimously chose RHAA's terrace concept for the plaza over Building Bridge 2, as the IJ reported. An anonymous donor covered RHAA's $83,000 revision cost. The town's staff report said county funding for the bridge's structural repairs had not yet been allocated. The town manager told the IJ that all the work could be finished by early 2028 if fundraising succeeds. Creekside adds that structural work can't start before June 15, 2027, because of seasonal creek-flow restrictions. The fence stays up for now.
October and November on the Avenue, by date
Several of the month's events take place around these buildings.
- Saturday, October 10, 9 a.m. The San Anselmo Historical Commission's last downtown walking tour of 2026 leaves from Creek Park. It's free, docent-led and ends at the Historical Museum, per the town. The tour covers the Hub, the railroad and the Avenue's changing businesses, which is the backdrop for every address above.
- Saturday, October 10, 2 to 6 p.m. The Creek Park 52nd Anniversary, listed on the Chamber calendar.
- Saturday, October 17, 9 a.m. to noon. The town's Community Volunteer Fall Clean-up meets at Town Hall Plaza and works along San Anselmo Avenue and nearby streets, per the town's notice. Creekside says Tasty Delicious is sponsoring a free lunch for volunteers.
- Tuesday, October 20, 6:30 p.m. Author in Conversation at Sugarfoot Books, featuring Mourning Has Broker.
- Friday, October 23, 5 to 7 p.m. Goblins' BOOtacular on San Anselmo Avenue.
- Saturday, October 24, 10 a.m. to noon. An open house celebrating the finished Fire Station 20 renovation at 150 Butterfield Road, per the town.
- Saturday, October 24, 7:30 p.m. As Above So Below, an ECHO Chamber Orchestra concert listed on the Chamber calendar.
- Monday, November 23, 10:30 to 11 a.m. Monday Storytime at Imagination Park, 541 San Anselmo Avenue.
By the time Storytime comes around, Maison Nico's renovation should be finished, if its early-November estimate holds. Tasty Delicious should have its hand-cut fries by then, with breakfast and the pancakes not far behind.
I follow these storefronts closely, because what opens on the Avenue shapes how the homes around it are valued. If you own near downtown San Anselmo and wonder how this fall's openings affect your home's value, Raquel Newman will walk you through it in person. Request your private market valuation.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
