Grubstake Buyers May Tear Down the Diner to Build Condos

Bad news Grubstake fans: It appears the guys who are purchasing the iconic diner might not have been totally forthcoming when they told the Chronicle "We're going to take over and run it as is. Nobody is going to notice a difference."

Fernando and Linda Santos sold the 40+ year old restaurant to Nick Pigott (Mayes Oyster House) and business partner Johnny "Love" Metheny with the impression no changes would be made to the late-night destination. In that same Chronicle interview from June, Linda Santos (who is retiring with her husband) said, "We've had offers, but they all wanted to knock it down and put condos here. We really wanted to keep it Grubstake."

Unfortunately, Socketsite reports that before closing escrow "buyer Nicholas Pigott quietly engaged D-Scheme Studio to draft plans for razing the restaurant and constructing a slender seven-story building." The design includes 28 small residential units (around 400 square feet apiece) and 2,000 square feet of retail space. Socketsite also confirms "Pigott has since authorized D-Scheme Studio to act as his agent in order to obtain the necessary permits to pursue the development as outlined above and the required applications have started working their way through Planning."

Hoodline contacted the owners and were told by Metheny that "The plan is to keep The Grubstake" and that while he and Pigott are keeping their options open, they do "intend to make vast improvements in the area, including the street front and the alleys."

While we'll have to wait see what that means, anyone who's ever indulged in the pork chop and fries at 2 a.m. hopes those "improvements" don't include any changes to the beloved diner or the railroad car in which it's housed.