Stonestown Galleria, Tuesday, August 5th, 2025
I hadn't been out to the Stonestown Galleria in probably 40 years. So last week, out of curiosity, I hopped on the M MUNI Underground at the Embarcadero station. 27 minutes later I found myself at the MUNI stop across from Stonestown. A very short walk took me into the Galleria. It was a Tuesday afternoon at 2:00 pm and the joint was jumping.
I’ve been to malls all over the world, and I was actually impressed by Stonestown. There are restaurants galore. Not KFCs, Burger King, McDonalds, Pizza Huts, etc. But rather a nice selection of restaurant representing a wide variety of cuisines and price points that seem to have been reasonably well curated.
Anchoring the Galleria at the south end is a Target and the north a Whole Foods. There’s also a Trader Joe’s, an Apple store, a cinema, and a ton of shops and stores, all attractively presented.
There is no high-end retail or fine-dining. The restaurants and shops target a customer base of real people and cater to what normal people want, use, eat, and enjoy.
The mall is immaculate and feels very safe. There are no whackadoodles in wheelchairs, pit-bulls, open containers, people smoking anything, no one ODing from heroin or fentanyl, drooling and laying on the floors, etc. In short, it’s a very pleasant experience on two levels and on every level.
I wouldn’t hesitate to include the mall on a walking tour, particularly with young people. Having shopped and eaten, you could then catch the #28 MUNI across from the mall and take it north. You would then have various options, including getting off at Fulton for Golden Gate Park and the Music Concourse or east to the Painted Ladies.
Getting off at Geary, you could pop on down to Japantown, which younger people would also love. It’s actually very similar in feel to Stonestown, safe, clean, lot of shops and restaurants, and very busy with great energy.
Or, you could continue on the #28 MUNI and 27 minutes from Stonestown be at the Golden Gate Bridge and then continue on to the Palace of Fine Arts and so on.
So, just a little something to add to your bag of tricks if you lead walking tours in San Francisco. And, of course, people 18 years old and under are free on MUNI.
Greg