San Francisco, reimagined

Downtown San Francisco has historically generated more jobs than any other neighborhood in the city. It has also generated the majority of the city’s tax base and revenue. In 2019, downtown’s offices, hotels, bars, restaurants, and retail served some 470,000 workers and a substantial share of the city’s more than 26 million annual visitors. Today, vibrant downtown businesses are key to powering San Francisco’s comeback—the backbone of both its economic and cultural life.

At this critical moment, JPMorganChase is helping the city’s small business owners to get started and grow—just as we’ve done throughout our more than 120 years in San Francisco. “We’re committed to Downtown’s ongoing revitalization,” says Tony Tolentino, JPMC’s Vice President of Global Philanthropy. “And we’re excited to see where this goes: What is the next iteration of Downtown San Francisco?”

A small business makes a big impact

Annie Leong and her husband, Gonzalo Del Cerro, nearly lost their restaurant during the pandemic. Now, with help from JPMorganChase, they’re among the dedicated San Francisco small business owners who are helping downtown to get back on its feet.

In March 2019, Annie and her husband, Gonzalo, opened their cafe, Chalos, in Outer Sunset—the San Francisco neighborhood she’d grown up in. Chalos’s authentic cuisine, including churros made to order and fried empanadas made exactly as they are in Argentina, quickly won an ardent local following. However, less than a year after opening, the onset of the pandemic and subsequent public health restrictions, followed by two and a half years of construction that impeded access to Chalos, Annie and Gonzalo faced an existential challenge: They had put their entire savings into the cafe.

They quickly remade Chalos as a takeout-only restaurant, streamlining operations so that Gonzalo focused on cooking while Annie managed all other aspects of the business. “Thankfully, we have a really loyal clientele that supported us,” says Annie.

After the lockdowns and construction finally ended, Annie and Gonzalo wanted to give back to the city—to be among the first wave of small business owners to bring back to life the millions of square feet of vacant commercial and office space downtown.

Main Street Launch (MSL) was working toward the same objective. For over a decade, the organization has provided small businesses in San Francisco with loan capital, technical assistance, and thoughtful guidance with such matters as leasing, business formation, budgeting, and marketing. In fact, MSL had provided support and guidance to Annie and Gonzalo twice before—first, at the time of Chalos’s opening, then during the pandemic, with a COVID recovery loan.

When she and Gonzalo began thinking of opening a second Chalos, Annie reached out for advice to MSL’s Executive Vice President, Karla De Leon, with whom she had a strong working relationship. Karla told her that MSL had just launched the Downtown San Francisco Vibrancy Loan Fund (DVLF).

Seeded with an initial philanthropic investment of $1.2 million from JPMorganChase, the DVLF targets entrepreneurs starting or expanding small businesses in designated downtown San Francisco communities. These investments provide essential working capital to sustain and expand operations, hire and retain staff, beautify spaces, and expand product offerings. JPMorganChase’s involvement in the initiative has played a key role in attracting additional investors, says Rohan Kalbag, CEO of Main Street Launch. “JPMorganChase is an absolutely critical supporter of our work—playing a leadership role not just in terms of financing but also in the community,” he says.

With a new low-interest loan from the DVLF and a grant from the city, Annie and Gonzalo were able to buy equipment and finance the new business. In March 2025, Chalos Express opened in a 200-square-foot space downtown, less than a block from JPMorganChase’s Mission Street headquarters.

Today, Annie says, foot traffic downtown is increasing, and more businesses are opening up. “San Francisco has been going through rough times,” she says. “It’s trending in the right direction. My husband always says we’re stubborn. We want to survive. The city will recover, and we want to be part of it.”

The business community steps up

JPMorganChase firmly believes in San Francisco’s future, and in the part we can play in it. We’re deepening our century-old roots in the city by renovating our offices at 560 Mission and One Front Street. Now underway, this project will trigger additional economic activity, in addition to the $1.2 billion we contribute annually to the local economy.

As a longstanding corporate citizen of San Francisco, we’re committed to helping its small businesses grow. We’re determined to help restore the vibrancy of Downtown—to help create the conditions in which those small businesses can thrive. We’re bringing together our fellow members of the business community in volunteer efforts to beautify Downtown’s streets.

Through the Downtown Volunteer Coalition (DVC), founded in May 2024 as a joint initiative with Hands On Bay Area (HOBA) and four other local companies, JPMorganChase has helped to directly mobilize fellow members of the city’s business community. Volunteers paint murals, pick up trash, and help to restore parks. By year’s end, the coalition will double in size to include a total of ten companies. “It’s contagious,” says Lou Reda, Executive Director of HOBA, which works with for-profit and nonprofit organizations to create high-impact custom volunteering events. “When people start making a difference, others want to get involved.”

The DVC’s four events to date have mobilized 700 volunteers from downtown businesses in four industries—clothing manufacturing, finance, climate tech, and media—in high-impact activities to beautify the neighborhood and boost morale. “This is a way for volunteers to get reconnected to the city, and bring joy back to it, and bring their pride back to being a part of that ecosystem,” says Elinore Robey, HOBA’s Director of Community Relations, Public Affairs, and Impact. “JPMorganChase’s commitment is real. For me, it sets a standard for corporate engagement.”

“I think that it sends an important signal to the city, to city leadership, and to the broader business community that JPMorganChase is committed to San Francisco,” says Tolentino. As we pursue both ongoing and new investments, including the renovation of our offices, we are readying ourselves for our next 120 years in the city.

The testimonials are the sole opinions or experiences of those featured and not those of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. or any of its affiliates. These opinions or experiences may not be representative of what all may achieve. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. or any of its affiliates are not liable for decisions made or actions taken in reliance on any of the testimonial information provided.