Weird Fish Shutting Down; Pera Owner Moving In

Dante's Weird Fish, the pescatarian restaurant at 18th and Mission, is calling it quits. As Mission Local reports, owner Peter Hood has decided, after two years of trying to get next-door sister spot The Corner reopened, to sell both properties. Hood, who will retain his stakes in St. Francis Fountain and Boogaloos, cited his own advancing age (and soon-to-arrive fourth child), navigating the vagaries of Healthy San Francisco, constant pestering from restaurant-related startups and discounters, and the superabundance of Mission restaurants as factors in Weird Fish's closure. "I've loved the Mission, but it's just not very friendly to small businesses," he said.

But while Hood may find Mission restaurant ownership too onerous to continue, another restaurateur has already signed up to take the reins. Irfan Yalçin, who owns Potrero Hill Mediterranean spot Pera, has snapped up both spaces. The Corner will become L'Emigrante, a wine bar offering bottles in the $20-35 range (presumably obviating the costly need to install a hood in the space). Meanwhile, Weird Fish will remain open until the end of 2014, then will be transformed into a French bistro called Le Bon Vivre, serving beer and wine. We'll have more on the changes and Weird Fish's official closing date as they arrive.