By Momo Chang

Wang Fab: The former fish market on the corner of Mission and 18th Streets is a boutique outpost - and a symbol of the block's changing face. Guardian photo by Mirissa Neff

Craig Stoll, Delfina's co-owner and chef, sees the changes as a way for small-business owners to realize their dreams. "It's not like some corporation's buying these places," he says. "It's not like they got bought out. We're young and have different aesthetics, but we're family businesses. Some people see it as fancy and chichi, but it's anything but."

Stoll is opening a pizzeria in June where Quality Junk (3611 18th St.) used to be, next door to Delfina. But Delfina's expansion is old news. A few blocks further along, at the southwest corner of Mission and 18th, is where Duc Loi (2200 Mission, S.F.), an Asian supermarket, has been razed for a huge expansion. The new building will include basement-level parking and a supermarket that will be twice as big, at 10,000 square feet. Perched above it will be 23 residential one- to four-bedroom apartments.

Howard Ngo, co-owner of the building and the lot with his wife, Amanda Ngo, sees a need to efficiently use limited space. They've owned their business for more than 18 years. "We understand the housing in San Francisco is pretty short," he says. "It was a waste of land in the city, which is not right." The new apartment complex is slated to open in April 2006.

Of course, exciting plans for new places mean some turnover. Diagonally across from Ngo's lot is where Wang Fat Fish Market (2199 Mission) used to be. A local mom-and-pop establishment in the neighborhood for more than 20 years, it closed in January. The building's owner, Philip Bellber, says the market's owners retired and moved to the East Coast.

Bellber bought the building's six storefronts a year ago and wants to use the former Wang Fat space for a new art café. He says people have asked to use the space for smoke shops and liquor stores, but he wants the neighborhood to move in a different direction. "It's really in transition, that area," he says. "I would like to see more galleries and performance spaces."

How about boutiques? Fabuloid (3386 18th St. 415-355-0400, www.fabuloid.com), the upscale clothier around the corner that Bellber also leases out, overcame the fish smell and used the Wang Fat space in February for a fashion show. The boutique is temporarily selling its wares in that location – just until construction of the art café begins in two months.

Where a Chinese cafeteria used to be on the same block (2183 Mission), Balazo Gallery is happily moving into larger digs from its 24th Street location (2811 Mission. 415-550-1108) after years of struggling against eviction. The collective's director, Txutxo Perez, says it plans to expand the gallery to include classes for youths, a performance space, and possibly a restaurant.