The acclaimed Nopa specializes in organic wood-fired cuisine at its location near Alamo Square, where it’s known for its sourdough focaccia served in adorable miniature cast iron skillets—but only on Thursdays. Now, it’s about to set up a new seafood-focused iteration in the Ferry Building Marketplace.
Chef Laurence Jossel is joining with Joe Conte, owner of Pier 45’s Water2Table Fish Co., and Holly Rhodes (listed charmingly on LinkedIn as Nopa’s “restaurant person”; she’s also Jossel’s partner) to create Nopa Fish. This will be a casual counter seafood restaurant paired with a traditional fish market, all a stone’s throw from where you’ll actually find seafood being caught.
In early 2025, Nopa Fish will open in suite 31 of the marketplace, next to the Village Market and across the hall from the Mariposa Baking Company. In other words, if you enter the front door directly from the Market Street side, you’ll enter and turn right. (It’s fitting that the restaurant, whose originator occupies a former laundromat and Bank of Italy location on Divisadero, would set up shop in what used to be the Ferry Building’s baggage handling area.)
According to the group’s joint statement, Nopa Fish will feature “fresh, local and ethically sourced fish, emphasizing sustainability and simplicity” with seafood dishes, farm salads and chowders. There will be an informal counter-service format and the same community table seating arrangement as at Nopa. The market portion will also offer ethically sourced, traceable seafood for those who want to take it home and cook it—you can stay or go, or both.
“We support small-scale fishing and fleets who unload their catch at nearby ports, including San Francisco, Monterey and Bodega Bay,” say Jossel, Conte and Rhodes in the statement, emphasizing that the intent is to provide “an authentic San Francisco experience.” Conte will not only source fish, he will oversee and direct the fish market and manage day-to-day operations of the restaurant.
These are all impressive culinary hard hitters from San Francisco. Nopa’s been around since Jossel (who has four decades of experience in the food industry) opened it in 2006. Rhodes has a background in marketing and hospitality, while San Francisco-born Conte brings 25 years of restaurant experience and 40 years of recreational fishing expertise.