Noe Valley Restaurant Closes After 19 Years, Owner Blames ‘Tech People’

Savor Open Kitchen, a Noe Valley restaurant that’s served omelettes, burgers, and crepes to scores of customers since it opened in 2000, shuttered last Sunday. According to its owner, who spoke with SF Gate, the area’s changing demographics and influx of tech workers was the cause of its demise.

The neighborhood spot sported a wide-ranging menu of breakfast and lunch options seemingly geared toward both residents and tourists, as well as a tight list of dinner items. They also served beer, wine, and low-ABV cocktails. Though the spot frequently seemed busy (and the food, to be fair, was perfectly adequate), area residents noted that it began to struggle in 2017, with Noe Valley SF referring to the matter as a “sad, slow decline.” According to area resident Catherine Bergstrom, the owners opted to sell that year due to staffing issues, as well as the high cost of doing business in the city.

The buyer, Charlie Sirhed, remodeled the space and reversed a recent move to counter service. The expense of additional waitstaff was one of the first problems he faced, Sirhed told Hoodline, the news outlet that first reported the closure. Then, despite efforts like weeknight happy hours, lunch specials, and a kids-eat-free promotion, Savor continued to flounder, Sirhed says. “Unfortunately, business didn’t get better so we couldn’t catch up any longer with all the expenses, bills, and fees,” he told SF Gate.

Though all the signs indicate that the restaurant was in trouble before Sirhed got the keys, he still says that the problems Savor faced aren’t all internal. “I think the whole Noe Valley has changed,” he told SF Gate.

“All the regular customers have gotten old,” he said, and “a lot of new people have moved into the area. It’s all tech people. The new people aren’t loyal to the community. The loyal customers who are left weren’t enough to support the restaurant.”