Welcome to our newest feature, On the House, wherein we hand over the floor to the owners and operators of the great dining and drinking establishments of our fair city. Today, your resident proprietor is Doug Washington, co-owner of Town Hall, Salt House and the recently-opened Anchor & Hope. We asked Mr. Washington how restaurant #3 has impacted things; his words follow.
If you had asked me 10 years ago what my plans were, I would have told you that I want to open a small restaurant and operate it alone. After opening Town hall five years ago, I would have told you I want to open 15 restaurants in different cities, I want an empire! If you ask me now after opening our third restaurant (and having our third child at home), I will tell you that three fine dining restaurants are as many as I'll ever do. A take-out place? A pizza place? Sure, maybe down the road ... but another restaurant? No way. We have a great thing going: three busy restaurants that I can walk back and forth to each night.
I will admit that having three changes something though. There are times when I walk into Town hall and a guest I have known for years is just finishing dinner and it kills me that I wasn't there for their entire experience. Or I run into someone and they say they had dinner at Salt House but I wasn't there. It's not that I need to be there for them to have a great experience — on the contrary — it's just that it feels like someone came over to your house for dinner on a night when you were at the neighbor's house.
What you see in the gallery above might be the only time you catch Anchor & Hope empty, so take it all in. Already a member of the "5:30 or 10?" resy club, the East Coast-style seafood shack is the third restaurant by Doug Washington and the Brothers Rosenthal, and like Salt House and Town Hall, it's safe to say that the place is livelier (err, louder) than your average restaurant. 80 seats, give or take, are scattered throughout the high-ceilinged space, an auto repair shop in the early 1900s. The ownership trio designed the look themselves, with Washington's wife responsible for the fishy Darwinian mural above the 35-foot zinc bar. Sarah Schaffer, formerly of Frisson, is in the kitchen, putting her twists on lobster rolls, bacon-wrapped oysters, fancy clams and the like. Further reading on Anchor & Hope can be enjoyed in the Eater Archives.
Anchor & Hope Local Faves, Ropes Aplenty, Shacktastic
83 Minna Street, SoMa; (415) 501-9100 Open for dinner nightly, lunch weekdays; website
SOMA—The alcohol is officially flowing at Anchor & Hope, which finally got its liquor license about a week after it opened. The lack of booze hasn't deterred the crowds though, and a heat check tonight reveals that walk-ins aside, the only available resy is after 9:30. In other words, out of the gate, Anchor & Hope is following in the Town Hall/Salt House footsteps. [EaterWire]
BERNAL HEIGHTS—It hasn't gotten a lot of publicity, but Beretta isn't the only local eatery to get robbed at gunpoint this week, as Bernal Heights was struck a day before the Mission resto: "One day earlier, another armed robber, who looked to be about 20 years old, burst into a Martha & Bros. on Cortland Avenue at 5:37 a.m., Gittens said. Two male patrons and two employees were ordered on the ground while a female employee was forced to give the robber money from the till. Nobody was hurt in either of the incidents." [SFE]
Now, the heavy odds are that Anchor & Hope continues the SoMa hit parade of Town Hall/Salt House masterminds Doug Washington and the Brothers Rosenthal, but in week one, Anchor & Hope has had to overcome a little stumbling block of the red tape variety that might be worth following as you head into the weekend: the liquor license hasn't come through yet. We've received notes from some disappointed diners/would-be drinkers, but the good news is that while there's no definite timeline for liquor license approvals, the A&H guys are hoping that it goes through this afternoon, meaning that in theory, tomorrow would see the booze flowing in Minna Alley. [EaterWire]
SOMA—Already with a date and menu in hand, a tipster sends along word that Anchor and Hope has recently erected—errr, technically painted—some new signage on its Minna Alley storefront. Also in place is a brand new door (lower right). Opening is currently still on track for next week. [EaterWire]
NOPA—Apparently, there have been quite a few name changes at work at the barbecue joint at 705 Divisadero. Originally known as Brother in Law's BBQ, it briefly became Lily's, and within the last week has swapped once again to Da Pitt BBQ, and rumor has it that ... they deliver. [Chowhound]
A date has been set for Anchor and Hope, the fish shack endeavor from Doug Washington and the Brothers Rosenthal (Town Hall, Salt House), and it's coming sooner than later; as of now, next Tuesday, April 22nd is the official public opening date. In the meantime, Sarah Schafer's full opening menu is up online, complete with items like "Angels on Horseback" (bacon-wrapped oysters), warm sea urchin in shell, Portuguese stew and a $34 lobster. For fun, we recommend comparing it with Waterbar's own fishy menu, and its $40 crab, $50 lobster or, um, its $160 one. Bonus: let it be known that Anchor and Hope is now accepting reservations. And away we go.
· Anchor and Hope [OpenTable]
· Anchor and Hope [Official Site]
· Full Coverage of Anchor and Hope [~ESF~]
Welcome back to the Plywood Report, your regular, all-encompassing chronicle of the next generation of restaurants to grace our fair city. Spot something in your nabe? Let us know. Bonus points and a shiny PlumpJack if you include photos.
1) SoMa: The beauty you see leading off our plywood gallery is none other than our first look inside Anchor & Hope, the third endeavor from the gang behind Town Hall and Salt House. We've already seen the exterior and the pre-ply shot, but with an opening hoped for in the next month, the interior is starting to come together. [PLYWOOD]
2) Outer Richmond: A reader sends along a shot of the Hard Knox Cafe location underway on 2448 Clement between 25th & 26th. Lady Hopstress has been all over the new soul food place, noting that the space will have about 85 seats (double the size of HK1) and will keep "the rustic roadhouse look." Work is still very in full swing, though; the new ETA is mid to late April. [Eater Inbox]
FINANCIAL DISTRICT—With a move down to the Embarcadero in the works, it seems only fitting that Perry's Downtown would go in another direction when it comes to its name, even though its location-to-be on Steuart Street might be able to be construed as downtown as well. Whatever the geography may entail, the liquor license application for the new location has the appropriate DBA being Perry's on the Embarcadero. See what they did there? [ABC]
SOMA—Venture the third from Team Rosenthal, Rosenthal and Washington might be closer than originally anticipated, as Anchor & Hope is alreadystaffing up and currently looking at a mid-April debut: "The new 'Anchor & Hope' - an oyster bar/fish house - from the same people that brought you Town Hall and Salt House will be opening in mid-April. Unique urban turn-of-the-century warehouse, stunning design and energetic vibe will be paired with personable and skillful service." [Craigslist]
All the day's news goes in EaterWire. Per normal, the tipline awaits your sightings, rumors and tidings, eagerly.
JACKSON SQUARE—The Scoop reports that Town Hall/Salt House crew has successfully landed current Frisson chef Sarah Schafer for its upcoming Anchor & Hope, but don't feel bad for the Frisson guys: "Schafer's last day at Frisson (244 Jackson) is Thursday. After that, according to Frisson partner Andrew McCormack, longtime sous chef Michelle Mathews will handle things. For a while, that is. McCormack and his partners intend to close Frisson in late spring, remodel it and reopen it a few weeks later with a new look, new name and - ta-da! - former Myth chef Sean O'Brien at the stoves." More on the remodel—"more restaurant focused"—is available at the Chron. [Scoop, previously]
FIDI—Camper English has the latest in the bartender shuffles around town, including a juicy little tidbit about personnel and projections at Gitane, the upcoming Claude Lane project from the same people behind Cafe Claude: "Speaking of consulting, Dominic Venegas from bacar, B&B, Range, etc. will be consulting on the forthcoming project Gitane- but you've got a long wait until it opens in May(ish)." [Alcademics]
If we had to make a wager, we'd say that the next project from the Town Hall/Salt House gang of Mitch Rosenthal, Steven Rosenthal and Doug Washington will only further the trio's domination of that stretch of SoMa. Since Anchor and Hope claimed the 100-year-old Minna Alley building (above) some months ago, we've touched on most of the details already—fish shack, communal table, 88 seats, etc.—but we're now happy to share a shot of the interior. As you can see, the building is old, industrial and high-ceilinged, but a look at the interior might intrigue you:
The third restaurant from the trio behind the uber-successful tandem of Town Hall and Salt House (Mitch Rosenthal, Steven Rosenthal and Doug Washington) has been rumored for some time now, both here and elsewhere. Today, the Chronicle broke some juicy tidbits on 83 Minna, the empty space that will house Anchor and Hope come spring 2008:
1) Hope/Good News: It will be in a gutted 100-year-old warehouse behind Salt House. Proximity and historic buildings always a plus.
2) Anchor/Nervous News: It will be "a California/urban fish shack" with "dishes with Asian flavors, a style that's different from the trio's other two spots." What have we learned about fusion, people?
Comments
If you had asked me 10 years ago what my plans were, I would have told you that I want to open a small restaurant and operate it alone. After opening Town hall five years ago, I would have told you I want to open 15 restaurants in different cities, I want an empire! If you ask me now after opening our third restaurant (and having our third child at home), I will tell you that three fine dining restaurants are as many as I'll ever do. A take-out place? A pizza place? Sure, maybe down the road ... but another restaurant? No way. We have a great thing going: three busy restaurants that I can walk back and forth to each night. 
SOMA—The alcohol is officially flowing at Anchor & Hope, which finally got its liquor license about a week after it opened. The lack of booze hasn't deterred the crowds though, and a heat check tonight reveals that walk-ins aside, the only available resy is after 9:30. In other words, out of the gate, Anchor & Hope is following in the Town Hall/Salt House footsteps. [EaterWire]
Now, the heavy odds are that Anchor & Hope continues the SoMa hit parade of Town Hall/Salt House masterminds Doug Washington and the Brothers Rosenthal, but in week one, Anchor & Hope has had to overcome a little stumbling block of the red tape variety that might be worth following as you head into the weekend: the liquor license hasn't come through yet. We've received notes from some disappointed diners/would-be drinkers, but the good news is that while there's no definite timeline for liquor license approvals, the A&H guys are hoping that it goes through this afternoon, meaning that in theory, tomorrow would see the booze flowing in Minna Alley. [EaterWire]
FINANCIAL DISTRICT—With a 
JACKSON SQUARE—The 
