Our ongoing series, TOAST Guides, highlights the neighbourhoods that surround our shops, places where thoughtful craft and community shape daily life. For this edition, we visit Jackson Square in San Francisco, home to our newest TOAST shop.
Once the edge of the bay, the area saw tens of thousands of people arrive in search of gold in the 1850s. Jackson Square became San Francisco’s commercial centre, its brick buildings later housing merchants, wine houses, and a circle of writers and artists including Mark Twain and the Beat Generation. Today, these same façades hold galleries, studios and restaurants that continue a tradition of craft and making.
Gallery Wendi Norris
At 436 Jackson Street, Gallery Wendi Norris brings contemporary art into conversation with the historic fabric of the city. The space represents international artists whose work moves between painting, sculpture and installation, exploring ideas of memory and transformation. Concrete floors, pale walls and filtered light set the stage for pieces that balance material presence with imagination.
436 Jackson Street, San Francisco, CA 94111
William Stout Architectural Books
On Montgomery Street, William Stout Architectural Books has been a gathering place for architects and designers since 1974. Its tall timber shelves hold an extensive collection on architecture, interiors and design history.
804 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CA 94133
Gallery Japonesque
Further along Montgomery Street, Gallery Japonesque showcases Japanese art and craft with a focus on form and material. Ceramics, sculpture and painting are displayed with clarity, each chosen for its purity and restraint. The gallery’s timber-lined interior and considered curation reflect a long-standing dialogue between simplicity and precision.
824 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CA 94133
Cotogna
On nearby Pacific Avenue, Cotogna serves Italian dishes grounded in seasonality and tradition. The wood-fired oven forms the centre of the kitchen, where handmade pasta and slow roasts are prepared. Brick, linen and timber lend warmth to the space.
490 Pacific Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94133
Quince
Next door, Quince translates the same attention to ingredients into fine dining. A three-Michelin-starred restaurant rooted in restraint, it draws produce from its own farm and celebrates the subtlety of process. Within the soft glow of its dining room, each dish is a study in balance.
470 Pacific Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94133
TOAST San Francisco
Parallel to Pacific Avenue, our Jackson Square shop is a stone’s throw from Cotogna and Quince. Built circa 1865, it is one of the few historical buildings in the city tied to San Francisco’s famous chocolate companies, and will house our Womenswear, Menswear and Homeware collections.
407 Jackson Street, San Francisco, CA 94111
MMclay
If you’re ready to venture further in San Francisco, ceramicist MaryMar Keenan’s studio, MMclay is a fifteen minute drive from the Jackson Square neighborhood. Each vessel is shaped, glazed and fired in small batches, resulting in tones that shift from soft chalk to deep indigo. Their Hayes Valley studio doubles as a showroom, and sometimes an art gallery or event space, and is open to visitors who want to shop or see pieces in progress.
69 Gough Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
Visit TOAST San Francisco Jackson Square at 407 Jackson St, San Francisco, CA 94111.
Image 1: Max Ernst at Transamerica Pyramid Center, courtesy of Gallery Wendi Norris. Photography by Erin Garcia.
Image 2: Julio César Morales at Gallery Wendi Norris. Photography by Glen Cheriton.
Image 3: Courtesy of William Stout Architectural Books.
Image 4: Courtesy of Cotogna.
Images 5 and 6: Photography by Edgar Castrejón.
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