Union Square Landmark Tad’s Steakhouse Rises Again

The last Tad’s Steakhouse in the U.S. closed in San Francisco last fall, but will reportedly reopen — in a new location — in the next few weeks.

For decades, a spangly sign reading “Tad’s Broiled Steaks” beckoned potential Union Square diners to enter and enjoy its offerings, which Eater described in 2014 as “rough-and-tumble” and “honkytonk.” Part of what was once a 28-location chain, in fall of 2017, Hoodline reported at the time, the 60-plus-year-old restaurant announced that it would be closing down, with a plan to reopen that March at 44 Ellis Street, a location just around the corner from its 120 Powell Street spot.

That didn’t happen, and the restaurant lingered on Powell, as every other location in the chain shuttered. The SF spot closed on October 14 of 2019, and said that they’d reopen in its new spot the next month. That didn’t happen, either, prompting slews of comments on its Facebook page from diners hungry for Tad’s meat. “I’m at the airport flying home after 2 weeks in SF,” disappointed city visitor Carole McRae remarked to Tad’s this week. “Originally thought you would be open in November then you said January, then early February.”

If only Carole’s visit had happened a month or so later! Per Hoodline, “undisclosed delays” held up its Ellis Street move, but the spot is now poised to reopen with tourist-friendly additions like all-day breakfast and a full bar. And, yes, it’s bringing its spangly sign, a post on its Facebook page reveals, behind which it will again serve “top quality meals at value prices” at some point in March.

And in other news...

• Oakland’s Red Bay Coffee, which is one of only a few black-owned specialty coffee companies in the country, has been available in SF at both locations of bagelry Daily Driver. Now it’s opening a standalone spot at 650 California Street, a small counter space inside the building’s lobby. [SF Chronicle]
• Wat Mongkolratanaram, a Berkeley Buddhist temple that serves Sunday brunch in its backyard, has occasionally run afoul of its neighbors. But reporter Grace Li says that its token-driven network of Thai food stalls is “one of those shared experiences that glow with good food and literal sun.” [SF Weekly]
• Farmers market meat purveyors Picnic say their long-planed Albany deli is still being built out, and now they’re trying to crowdfund an outdoor seating area for its 862 San Pablo Avenue location. [Berkeleyside]
• It’s been more than three months since Mission Guamanian spot Prubechu covered an exterior sign advertising long-shuttered “epicenter of crime” Hunt’s Doughnuts, but UC Berkeley journalism prof Lydia Chavez is still asking “did it really need to be painted over?” [Mission Local]
• Columnist Jaya Padmanabhan argues that Simileoluwa Adebajo, the owner of Eko Kitchen (the only Nigerian restaurant in SF) is a walking illustration of why the Trump’s administration’s newly-announced immigration restrictions for several African nations overlooks the history of success Nigerian immigrants have in the U.S. [SF Examiner]
• Former Camino pastry chef Marykate McGoldrick is opening a cake spot called “Sesame a Tiny Bakery” inside the upcoming South Berkeley location of (Camino sister restaurant) the Kebabery. [SF Chronicle]
• Eater SF readers likely know that SF’s Fillmore district was a jazz bar hot spot throughout the 1950s and 1960s, but writer and researcher Michael Flanagan says the spots also welcomed LGBT drinkers, with some even raided by the SFPD because cops “saw men dancing with men and women dancing with women.” [BAR]