Reem’s California - Mission

About this location

A few stories people tell about this place

1. One morning, a delivery driver arrived early with fresh pastries for Reem's. As he unloaded boxes, he noticed an old lady watching from across the street. She kept pointing and whispering something into her phone. Curious, he waved back—only to see her suddenly disappear behind a parked car. The delivery driver shrugged it off as just another San Francisco oddity. Later that day, while making sandwiches, he overheard two neighbors gossiping outside. They were talking about an ‘old woman who vanished’ near Reem’s. Smiling, he thought, 'Maybe she was just checking out our famous croissants!'

2. At closing time one day, a curious pigeon landed on the bakery counter and started pecking at an unusual pastry. The baker watched in amazement as the bird took flight, its beak full of something that looked like chocolate-covered sunshine. The next morning, when the baker opened up, she found a note stuck to the spot where the pigeon had perched: ‘Thanks for the surprise, human! Here’s my little gift.’ Inside was a tiny envelope containing a single golden seed. Word spread quickly among the neighborhood, and soon everyone stopped by Reem’s just to see if today would be their lucky day. A regular delivery driver even claimed he saw the same pigeon winking at him from across the street.

3. At dawn, when most shops were still locked tight, an old cat began appearing outside Reem’s California-Mission. It always sat in the same spot, watching customers through the window as they sipped coffee and nibbled on freshly baked treats. One morning, a delivery driver noticed the cat and decided to leave an extra pastry for it. From then on, every day after breakfast, the cat would gracefully accept its treat before sauntering off. Word spread quickly among locals who started calling it ‘the lucky cat’—and sure enough, everyone believed that eating one of Reem’s pastries brought good fortune.

4. One morning, as a regular was leaving Reem’s, he noticed something peculiar in the bakery’s trash bin—a tiny, handwritten note wrapped around a freshly baked croissant. Curious, he unfolded it and read: ‘Dear customer, sorry for the crumb on your shoulder—our new broom is still learning.’ Turned out, a friendly neighborhood cleaner had left it there with a smile.