True Sake has possible plans to move into a bigger space but customers won’t have to worry about the relocation. The shop will move right next door to a vacant 6,120 square-foot property at 556 Hayes St., according to a recent filing with the city of San Francisco. True Sake’s current location stands at 560 Hayes St. between Octavia and Laguna.
Owner Beau Timken originally opened True Sake in August 2003 with an inventory of over 90 sakes imported directly from Japan. Since then, the shop has been recognized as the very first dedicated sake shop in the United States. Over the years, True Sake has sold over a million sake bottles both in-store and online to sake connoisseurs and converts alike.
Timken confirmed the move to What Now San Francisco saying, “After nearly 20 years of doing retail sake business we have decided to expand our operations. We felt compelled and honored to stay ‘home’ on our block in Hayes Valley. We are very excited for the expansion, because our little shop has become a global leader and destination in the expanding sake world. We need more room to carry out our mission for both foot traffic and our ever increasing on-line component.”
With the move into a bigger retail space, which was previously home to fashion boutique Aiken, one might expect that True Sake’s already robust inventory will expand also. At the current location, they are open Monday through Thursday from 12 to 5 p.m., and Friday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Correction: A previous version of this article stated that owner Beau Timken declined to comment. He has since been in touch with What Now San Francisco to issue an official statement.
