Ninth and Irving Is Becoming a Pizza Corner, and Its Pies Already Run on a Weekly Schedule

Two award-winning pizza operators have taken storefronts within steps of Ninth Avenue and Irving Street. Vincenzo Capuano, the Neapolitan pizza chef, is opening his first U.S. restaurant at 822 Irving St. Oakland's Mama's Boy Pizza has leased 801 Irving St. for its New York-style slices. Mission Local wrote in October that the intersection "may have the highest density of pizzerias outside of North Beach."

Neither newcomer is serving yet, and neither has a confirmed opening date. Meanwhile, the pizza already on the corner follows a schedule more than a menu. Which pie you get on a given night depends on the day of the week: one counter bakes a single pie a day, and the two longest-running sit-down places close on different days. The two newcomers will slot into that schedule.

The corner as it stands this week

Three pizza places in Mission Local's October count are clustered around the intersection. Each has its own style and its own closed day.

The closed days work out neatly. Arizmendi is dark on Mondays, the one day Cybelle's serves before Arizmendi reopens. Cybelle's is dark on Tuesdays, when Arizmendi is back to its 7:30 a.m. opening. Each of the two places on Ninth Avenue covers the day the other is closed.

The hours differ too. Arizmendi closes at 6 p.m. every day it's open. Cybelle's stays open until 8 p.m. Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, and until 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. If you want pizza after six on this stretch of Ninth Avenue, you're eating at Cybelle's.

Pasquale's is the oldest of the three. Mission Local calls it a neighborhood staple since the 1960s. Its online ordering menu lists pizza, pasta and other Italian-American dishes.

One pie a day on Ninth Avenue

Arizmendi is the reason the corner runs on a calendar. The co-op's pizza page describes a thin, organic sourdough crust with whole-milk mozzarella and seasonal vegetables, and "each day we have a different pizza." Pizza starts at 11 a.m. The bakery posts a monthly calendar of pies and notes that the menu is tentative.

The October 2026 calendar shows how much range a single daily pie can cover. Over the month it ran from roasted sweet potatoes with spinach and Erika's jalapeño spread, to a house-made masala curry with mushrooms, to roasted fennel with cherry tomatoes, goat cheese and sage oil. Every pie was meat-free. The mushroom pie with sesame-ginger-garlic vinaigrette came up twice, on October 11 and October 24. It's the slice the Mission Local reporter named as a personal favorite.

October was also a birthday month for the bakery. Arizmendi marked its 26th birthday with a month of returning old favorites and staff picks. Twenty-six years is a long run for a counter that changes its main item every day.

Cybelle's has its own long run. It has operated as Cybelle's Front Room since 2004, and its owner told the Bittersweet blog that the menu is Italian-fusion comfort food with a vegan menu added in 2017. Between the two of them, the Ninth Avenue side of the corner already covers vegetarian and vegan pizza.

The two styles the corner doesn't sell yet

The new arrivals bring the two styles missing from the schedule above: a Neapolitan pie and a New York slice sold by the piece.

Vincenzo Capuano SF, 822 Irving St. Capuano won the world championship of contemporary pizza at the Caputo Trophy in 2022. According to Mission Local, he runs 24 restaurants from Europe to Asia, and the Inner Sunset location will be his first in the United States. His partner is Osilio Florese, who owns Mona Lisa Ristorante and Steps of Rome in North Beach. Through Florese, one of the corner's new operators already runs restaurants in North Beach. Mission Local's report gave no opening date.

The storefront has a pizza history of its own. Patxi's once occupied 822 Irving. Most recently it was Inle Burmese Cuisine, the only Burmese restaurant in the Inner Sunset, which moved to Irving Street from Noe Valley in 2023 and closed in October. Co-owner Morgan Sue told Mission Local that Inle may return in a different form.

Mama's Boy Pizza, 801 Irving St. The Oakland pizzeria, open since 2023, sells New York-style slices for $5 to $7. 50 Top Pizza ranked them among the top 10 slices in the United States. Mission Local reported in September that the for-lease sign had just come down and the co-owners were starting on permits. Their hoped-for opening is spring 2027.

Its corner space has been empty since early 2025. It was home to Reliable Rexall Sunset, the neighborhood pharmacy, and Mission Local described the vacancy as having "baffled neighbors" because the site sits on the busiest corner at Ninth and Irving, with heavy foot traffic. Of the two new pizzerias, this is the more visible storefront.

Both new operators come with outside recognition. Mission Local notes that both restaurants have won awards from 50 Top Pizza, the publication that ranks pizzerias. Each newcomer adds a style the corner lacks. One of them ties the corner to North Beach, and the other fills a storefront that has sat empty for almost two years.

A week of pizza at Ninth and Irving, as it stands

Until either newcomer opens, here's how the existing schedule plays out over a week, based on each restaurant's posted hours:

1. Monday. Arizmendi is closed. Cybelle's opens at 11 a.m. and serves until 8 p.m.
2. Tuesday. Cybelle's is closed. Arizmendi's daily pie is ready at 11 a.m., and the bakery closes at 6 p.m.
3. Wednesday and Thursday. Both places on Ninth Avenue are open. You can pick up Arizmendi's pie of the day for lunch and eat at Cybelle's after 6 p.m.
4. Friday. Cybelle's stays open until 9 p.m., the latest of the week along with Saturday.
5. Saturday. Cybelle's opens at noon and serves until 9 p.m. Arizmendi's pie is available from 11 a.m. until the bakery closes at 6 p.m.
6. Sunday. Arizmendi is open its regular hours. Cybelle's runs from noon to 8 p.m.

Pasquale's on Irving rounds out any day it's open. Call ahead for hours. Arizmendi's monthly pie calendar lives on its pizza page, so you can choose your day by topping.

Another empty storefront on Irving gets signage

The pizza openings aren't the only change on Irving Street. On October 21, Mission Local photographed new entry tiles at 641 Irving St. spelling out Mayer's Delicatessen. The storefront was home to Tart to Tart, a cafe that ran for decades, and it has been empty for four years. The report gave no opening date.

If all three openings happen, a Neapolitan dining room, a New York slice counter and a deli will fill storefronts on this stretch of Irving that held a Burmese restaurant, a pharmacy and a cafe. Two of those spaces have been empty for years.

At The O'Lanre Collective, we track storefront changes like the ones at Ninth and Irving because they shape daily life on a block. If you want to understand what's changing on your own block, or how it compares with other neighborhoods you're considering, we're glad to talk it through. Start Your Legacy Journey.