Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan Give $100K to their Favorite Bay Area Restaurants

Eight local restaurants got a $100,000 check from two of the Bay Area’s wealthiest residents

Palo Alto Online reports that Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder of Facebook, and his college sweetheart turned wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, sent $100,000 to eight local restaurants that a spokesperson characterized as among their “personal favorites,” in hopes that the money would help them stay in business as the coronavirus crisis continues.

The recipients include Palo Alto Japanese restaurant Dohatsuten (at which the couple are reportedly regulars) and Palo Alto Sol and Fuki Sushi (which, per the Washington Post, catered the couple’s 2012 wedding). Also getting the checks are Los Altos Chinese spot Chef Chu’s, Redwood City Bib Gourmand honoree Vesta, and notable San Mateo sushi spot Sushi Sam’s Edomata. In San Francisco, Noe Valley Sardinian destination La Ciccia and The Liberties Bar & Grill — both spots near the couple’s controversial Dolores Heights home — snagged $100K donations from the pair.

According to a spokesperson for Chan and Zuckerberg who reached out to Eater SF, “these funds came from the two of them as private citizens” and can be used at the restaurant owners’ discretion. The spokesperson says that despite characterizations to the contrary by the restaurants and media reports, the money was not a donation, but a large order of food from each spot. That said, the spokesperson could not speak to where that food order was eventually delivered, so the distinction might be mainly a semantic one. As of January, Zuckerberg had a net worth of $82.6 billion, Business Insider reports, making him the fifth-richest person in the world.

Update: May 12, 11:08 a.m.: This article was updated to include an additional response from a spokesperson for Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan.

Update: May 12, 1:45 p.m.: This article was updated with yet another response from a spokesperson for Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan.

And in other news...

• San Francisco-based Uber, which owns restaurant service Uber Eats, is reportedly in talks to purchase Chicago-based Grubhub in an “all-stock takeover that would see Grubhub — currently valued at $4.5 billion — be absorbed into Uber’s larger operation.” [The Verge]
• An Inner Richmond resident has created a website intended to use crowdsourced data to track line length at grocery stores. [Richmond Review]
• You might have heard the voice of Eater SF’s food editor, Luke Tsai, on the radio Monday: He joined NPR host Michael Krasny, Che Fico owner David Nayfeld, Calavera owner Chris Pastena, and several other industry insiders to discuss the post-pandemic restaurant industry. [KQED]
• California’s Office of Emergency Services sent a letter to counties that allowed restaurants to reopen dining rooms ahead of the state reopening timeline last week, saying that the regions could lose federal aid if they continue to flout the rules. [KPIX]
• Soufflés don’t work well as a takeout dish, which means that North Beach’s 39-year-old Cafe Jacqueline isn’t sure how if it’ll be able to reopen anytime soon. [ABC 7]
• The High Road Kitchens initiative, a public and privately funded effort to support worker equity and pay across California, now counts local spots like Flour + Water, Namu Stonepot, and Nopalito among its members. [SF Chronicle]
• Community members had stepped up to support the owners of Gilroy Donut House after their daughter suffered a brain aneurysm last month. She died Thursday, and on Saturday, one of her kidneys was transplanted into her dad, who has been on dialysis for years. [East Bay Times]
• Vintners in Napa Valley say that they’re ready to reopen tasting rooms, with a new plan that includes social distancing, reservations to avoid crowding, and temperature checks for workers. [KPIX]