Beloved Bay Area Bakery To Open Second San Francisco Location

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — The Inner Richmond can currently claim the only Cinderella Russian Bakery & Cafe in San Francisco, but not for too much longer. The business is branching out to another neighborhood: the Mission, where preparations for a second “Cinderella” are underway.

“We’re targeting early next year for the opening,” Marika Fishman, co-owner of Cinderella, shared with Patch.

Cinderella’s Mission address will be 2937 24th St., the former location of the bakery, La Victoria Panaderia. Right now, the corner store is boarded up, obstructing views of the work going on within the space. But the Cinderella sign – featuring a matryoshka doll smiling and holding a loaf of bread – is mounted high for all to see.

In 1988, when Mike Fishman moved from the Soviet Union to the Bay Area, he took over the business from two Russian women, who trained him and shared recipes. Twenty years later, he and Marika, his wife, became the sole owners of Cinderella. They renovated and redecorated the space’s interior, expanded the kitchen, and added outdoor tables, seating, and a parklet.

The Inner Richmond spot is now the product of those efforts — a gathering space in the community and a popular place for customers to work on their laptops with Cinderella treats and drinks at hand. It's not unusual to see a line in the doorway, with folks craning their necks to get a look at the edible offerings at the counter, waiting for their turn to order.

Cinderella’s menu at their Inner Richmond spot is full of Russian baked goods, including piroshki, pelmeni (Siberian meat-filled dumplings), numerous pastries (eclairs, blinchiki, almond cakes, apricot tarts, honey cookies, and more), Russian breads, and entrées like borscht, golubtsy, and chicken kiev, plus homemade kvass, a fermented grain beverage.

“The Mission location will feature the same menu as our Inner Richmond location,” Marika Fishman confirmed.

It will also include “more space dedicated to baking and wholesale operations,” she added.

Will Patch be there for the grand opening in 2026? The answer is a resounding “Yes.”

In the meantime, San Franciscans can head to Cinderella’s Inner Richmond location, at 436 Balboa St., open every day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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