Mike's Liquors has stood on Mission Street in the Excelsior since 1959 — more than six decades as a family-run shop in one of San Francisco's most enduring and diverse neighborhoods. The store has seen a lot. The Excelsior has too.
A Neighborhood Built by Generations of Arrivals
The Excelsior's story is, in many ways, San Francisco's story in miniature. The district's homestead was officially filed in 1869, and for decades the land remained mostly agricultural — orchards and dairies rather than houses and storefronts. The 1906 earthquake changed that. As displaced San Franciscans moved south and west across the city, new housing went up block by block in the Excelsior, and Mission Street became the spine of a growing commercial strip.
By the early twentieth century the neighborhood was predominantly Italian, Irish, and Swiss. Italian delicatessens, pasta factories, and social clubs lined Mission Street. Bank of Italy — later known as Bank of America — opened an early branch here. The Granada Theater, a handsome movie palace designed by architect G. Albert Lansburgh, opened at Mission and Ocean in 1922. By World War II, the Excelsior was a classic working-class San Francisco neighborhood: solid, close-knit, and proudly local.
1959: The Year Mike's Opened
When Mike's Liquors first unlocked its doors in 1959, the Excelsior was still a neighborhood of owner-operated businesses and longtime residents. The working-class character of Mission Street — modest storefronts, regulars who knew the proprietors by name — matched exactly the kind of shop Mike's was then and remains today.
A family-owned liquor store in that era was a genuine neighborhood institution: the place you stopped before a dinner party, called ahead to order for a fundraiser, or relied on for advice when you didn't know one bottle from another. Mike's grew into that role on this particular stretch of Mission Street and never left.
How the Excelsior Changed — and Stayed the Same
Few San Francisco neighborhoods have reflected the city's changing demographics as clearly as the Excelsior. By the 1970s and '80s, the neighborhood became home to large numbers of Latino families — many of them refugees from Central American conflicts — alongside longer-standing residents. In recent decades, the Excelsior has also welcomed Filipino, Chinese, and other Asian communities, making it today one of the most ethnically diverse districts in the city.
Mission Street itself changed with each wave. Italian delis gave way to taquerias; taquerias now share the block with Vietnamese restaurants, Filipino bakeries, and produce markets adorned with hand-painted murals. The overhead wires of the 14-Mission bus line are a constant; the faces along the sidewalk are always new.
What a neighborhood like the Excelsior asks of a local business is simple: know your people, serve them well, show up every day. Mike's has done that across six decades and several distinct versions of the neighborhood around it.
Still Here on Mission Street
Today Mike's carries what this neighborhood and the broader Bay Area need: a full selection of beer, wine, and spirits, plus one of the region's most complete keg operations. As the Bay Area's keg headquarters, we keep a wide range of kegs in stock for home parties, office events, and restaurants — with delivery available across San Francisco and beyond.
The address is still Mission Street. The ownership is still family. That consistency means something in a city that has lost so many longtime independent shops. The Excelsior has held on to more of its independent character than most San Francisco neighborhoods — and staying power like that doesn't happen by accident.
Stop By, or We'll Come to You
If you're in the Excelsior, the Outer Mission, Bernal Heights, or anywhere along the 14 line, Mike's is your neighborhood store. Come in on Mission Street any day of the week, or order online for delivery — same-day service in San Francisco for orders placed by 9 AM, East Bay on Tuesdays, and South Bay on Wednesdays; current fees and minimums are on our delivery page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Mike's Liquors located?
Mike's Liquors is on Mission Street in the Excelsior District of San Francisco — the same location since 1959. The 14-Mission Muni line stops right outside.
Does Mike's deliver outside the Excelsior?
Yes. Mike's delivers throughout San Francisco (same-day for orders placed by 9 AM), the East Bay on Tuesdays, and the South Bay on Wednesdays. Current delivery fees and minimums are on our delivery page. Free in-store pickup is also available on Mission Street.
Does Mike's carry local Bay Area beers and spirits?
Absolutely. Fort Point, Anchor, Almanac, Drake's, Calicraft, St. George Spirits in Alameda, and Distillery No. 209 are among the local producers you'll find on the shelves — part of what makes Mike's a genuinely Bay Area shop.