This week marks the long-awaited opening of Bi-Rite's second market, next door to Nopa at 550 Divisadero, at Hayes. The store was open briefly for a preview on Sunday from 4 to 8 pm, and they're repeating that today with a soft-opening this evening. Then, on Tuesday, it will remain closed, and be fully operational as of Wednesday morning, March 13. Below, we have a couple of fun facts you might not know about the new store.

1. There is an ice cream counter–Unlike on 18th Street, where the Creamery and the market are down the block from each other, the Divisadero store has an ice cream counter right at the front entrance which will likely also be inundated with fans. See the opening flavors right here.

2. Things are just a bit bigger–The new store is only 500 square feet larger than the original, but it makes a huge difference, as does the wider layout and double sets of automatic doors at the front, one of which will likely be used primarily for ice cream-seekers.

3. The tile facade is original–The cool tile work on the store's exterior dates to 1931, and was painstakingly restored after being covered with layers of paint. The space was formerly home to a liquor store, and you can see a shot of what it looked like via Haighteration.

4. Get your cheese cut to order–The new store has a cheese section that's just as diverse at the 18th Street store. But in addition to pre-cut pieces and pre-wrapped wheels of cheese, the new cheese counter will be constantly manned, and allow customers to get wedges cut to order.

5. Find house-made stock and Public Label pantry goods–Not new to the Divisadero branch, but available in wider quantities, are house-made Public Label items and frozen, homemade chicken and beef stock. Public Label products, which come from local sources like Happy Girl Kitchens and Full Belly Farm, include things like olive oil, jams, pickles, kohlrabi kraut (which was a finalist for this year's Good Food Awards) and rustic San Marzano tomato sauce.

Regular hours, starting March 13, will be 9 am to 9 pm for both the market and the scoop shop. See some more preview photos of the store at Grub Street SF.