The last large vacant space in the Ferry Building has a taker, and soon the downtown SF food hall will be fully occupied again for the first time since the pandemic.

We know that the managers of the Ferry Building at the Port of San Francisco have been focusing on reviving the nighttime energy that hasn't been present at the complex since sometime in the last decade — specifically since the big restaurants that anchored either end of the building, The Slanted Door and MarketBar, closed their doors.

We know that Arquet, from the Sorrel team, is about to come alive in the former Slanted Door space, along with the more daytime-focused Parachute Bakery. But now we learn, in a story given first to the SF Standard, that A16 owner Shelley Lindgren has snapped up the former MarketBar at the building's south end, and will open a new southern Italian restaurant there, called Lucania.

The name means "land of light," and refers to the ancient people of Southern Italy whose culinary traditions still inform the food of the region — and it's a name that Lindgren found fitting for San Francisco, and the vibrancy of local agriculture.

"Lucania brings together nearly three decades of experience in San Francisco’s food and wine world, inspired by the traditions of Southern Italy and the rhythm of life here in the city," Lindgren says in a release, noting that some of the inspiration for the restaurant came from an Italian holiday food basket pop-up in the early days of the pandemic.

Lucania is aiming for an opening in mid- to late 2026.

MarketBar's closure announcement actually predated the city's pandemic shutdown by about two weeks — the owners said in late February 2020 that the 17-year-old restaurant would close in April, but then we all know what happened.

And the loss of Slanted Door, MarketBar, and the recent closure of One Market has meant that three major business-lunch and dinner spots at the foot of Market Street have all been sitting dark, waiting for new life.

Lucania will feature well prepared classics, focusing on pizza, pasta, and small-fish dishes like anchovies. And she told the Standard she's looking forward to reactivating this end of the Ferry Building Plaza, and to having a "front-row seat" for the city's planned renovation of Embarcadero Plaza across the street.

She likens the outdoor-focused format of OneMarket to dining al fresco on a piazza in Italy, and she's imagining very large umbrellas and plenty of heatlamps.

A16 already has a takeout- and sandwich-focused outpost in the Ferry Building, A16 La Pala, which will remain, down the hall.

On the north end of the building, Arquet is readying for its debut in August or possibly September, with an opening date still TBA. That restaurant, from Michelin-star chef Alex Hong, will reportedly focus on ingredient-driven California cuisine and wood-fired cooking, in a more casual format than Hong's other restaurant Sorrel.

The Slanted Door space has also sat empty since early 2020, and the late Charles Phan said he had intentions to reopen it until he decided instead to relocate back to the restaurant's original home on Valencia Street.

Also recently open in the Ferry Building is Nopa Fish, a new fish counter and casual eatery from Nopa chef Laurence Jossel, featuring fish and chips, a fried rockfish sandwich, and a smoked albacore tuna melt.

The Ferry Building managers also recently announced that, in the effort to liven things up at night, both Epicurean Trader and Red Bay Coffee plan to start offering cocktails soon at their spots in the Food Hall — with Epicurean Trader also serving Italian food items at their wine bar.

"Lucania will be an incredible addition to our sit-down dining offerings, especially with its beautiful outdoor patio space that will be designed to allow guests to enjoy the waterfront experience into the evenings and year-round," says Jane Connors, general manager of the Ferry Building, in a statement.

Previously: Arquet Is the Name of the New Restaurant Coming to the Slanted Door Space, From the Sorrel Team