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Ferment Drink Repeat Brewing Shutters, and More Bay Area Restaurant Closings

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A running list of notable Bay Area restaurants and bars that have announced permanent closures

Portola beer destination FDR will close for good on December 31, 2020
FDR/Facebook

This is a curated list of the Bay Area’s most notable and permanent restaurant and bar closures, with new updates published once a week. See a closing we missed? Then drop us a line.

Seeking the Bay Area’s spring and summer restaurant closures? Look no further.


December 30

SAN FRANCISCO — FDR Brewery (its full name is “” but most folks use the initialism), a Portola District small-batch craft brewery that also sells home-brewing kits and offers classes to DIYers, will close for good on December 31. The seven-barrel brewery confirmed the closure via Instagram, saying that all their remaining homebrew supplies are available at a deep discount, and that its beers will be available for pickup until 5 p.m. on New Year’s Eve.

BERKELEY — Tharaphu Burmese Street Food’s temporary closure this fall has become a permanent one, Berkeleyside reports.

SAN FRANCISCO — SoMa fast casual spot Chili Lemon Garlic has shuttered, the SF Chronicle reports.

LAFAYETTE — El Charro Mexican Dining, a 73-year-old East Bay institution, announced via Facebook that December 31 will be its last day in business. Owners of the spot, which is known for its garlic blue cheese dip, tell the Bay Area News Group, say that “irreparable financial loss due to the coronavirus pandemic is the main reason” for the closure, and that they plan to put its building on the market.

SAN FRANCISCO — Neighboring FiDi spots Ramen Underground and Udon Underground have both closed, the SF Chronicle reports. Both spots were owned by chef-owner Ken Matsumura, who opened Ramen in 2011, and Udon in 2018.

BERKELEY — Mexican restaurant and juice bar La Capilla closed on December 27, Berkeleyside reports, but its owner says that its most popular menu items — like a notable kale taco — will be available at sister restaurant Taqueria Monte Cristo.

OAKLAND — Afro-Caribbean restaurant Miss Ollie’s will end its conventional restaurant operation this week, and will evolve into a nonprofit food venture called Sanctuary. Get all the details here.

OAKLAND — 15-year-old dim sum spot Gourmet Delight has apparently closed for good, Berkeleyside reports, as its windows have been papered over and its phone line disconnected.

December 23

OAKLAND — Woods Bar & Brewery, the Uptown Oakland location of locally-based Woods Beer Co., will close on December 23, the company announced in an email to patrons. “Our original 7-year lease expires at the end of the year, and unfortunately we were unable to reach an agreement with our landlord for the terms of renewal,” the company writes. According to a post on Instagram, fans can say their goodbyes from 2-7 p.m. on the 23rd, and after that, visit the company’s SF locations, all of which remain in business.

SAN FRANCISCO — Far East Café, a 100-year-old Chinatown restaurant, will close on December 21, Wind Newspaper was first to report. According to the SF Chronicle, it was one of only two large-scale banquet halls (New Asia is the other one) remaining in the area, with a menu of American Chinese and Cantonese dishes that’s changed very little in decades. It’s only had three owners during its century in the business, and its most recent, Bill Lee, says “I love Far East Cafe. I don’t want to give up. But I have no choice. We can’t afford to keep the restaurant up for running without any revenues from the business and resources from the city.”

OAKLAND — Soul Provisions, a Filipino/Thai spot in Uptown, announced their closure via Instagram this week. “It was a hard decision but it’s the right one for now,” they write. According to the SF Chronicle, the restaurant was as well known for its food as it was as a venue for live music, including popular events like its Beat Boutique.

SAN JOSE — Downtown Mexican spot Chacho’s will close after 28 years in business, NBC Bay Area reports. “It’s hard, its devastating” owner Jorge Sanchez says. “It’s nothing but hurt.”

SAN FRANCISCO — The SF Chronicle reports that Ozaoza has closed for good. The nine-seat Japantown restaurant “offers one of Japantown’s most intimate dining experiences, as well some of the neighborhood’s loveliest plating,” Eater SF’s Luke Tsai wrote in February of 2020. According to an Instagram post, its last day in business was December 20.

REDWOOD CITY — Chain pasta spot the Old Spaghetti Factory has closed its downtown doors, the Bay Area News Group reports. This iteration of the mizithra-heavy company had been open for nine years, but “the latest shutdown” proved to much for it, a spokesperson says.

MANHATTAN — Eater NY reports that Finnerty’s, which the McCovey Chronicles characterizes as “the most renowned Giants bar in the world, and a staple of Bay Area sports in New York City,” has permanently closed after 11 years in business. According to a bar spokesperson, a landlord dispute combined with a pandemic-induced drop in business prompted its closure.


December 16

SAN FRANCISCO — Mission Cheese, which since mid-2011 has been serving cheese flights, mac and cheese, and paninis to the lactose tolerant of Valencia Street, will close at the end of the year, Tablehopper reports. Via Instagram, the restaurant and shop says “operating as we have had to since March, with little relief, is a major component” in the decision to shutter, “but by far not the only one.”

SAN FRANCISCO — High-end Indian restaurant August 1 Five will serve its last meal on December 20, owner Hetal Shah says. The Van Ness Avenue restaurant, which opened in 2016, has endured years of traffic-crushing construction its street was repeatedly torn up by various crews from the city, and the pressure of the coronavirus crisis was the last straw. Read the full story here.

SAN FRANCISCO — The Stonestown location of the Olive Garden has permanently closed, Hoodline reports. That was the only spot in SF to enjoy the chain’s wares, including its bountiful breadsticks and unlimited soup and salad servings.

SAN FRANCISCO — The operators of the Cliff House, a 157-year-old restaurant perched at Lands End above Ocean Beach, say that they won’t be reopening the venue's restaurants when the pandemic ends. According to Dan and Mary Hountalas, who’ve run the business since 1973, the National Park Service (its landlords) have mismanaged the process to assign the rights to the spot, so they have no option but to close. Learn more here.

PACIFICA — Devil’s Slide Taproom, an expansive restaurant and beer bar specializing in West coast brews, will shut its doors on Friday, December 18. In a message on its website, the six-year-old coastal destination says that “due to the long list of restrictions and limits on our business, we have been forced to make the very tough decision to close our doors,” but that “the easy, comfortable environment we have created has brought us so much pride, and the relationships we have forged have touched our hearts.”


December 9

SAN FRANCISCO — The Taco Shop at Underdogs, which since 2006 has plied the Sunset with beer, sports, and a menu surf Mexican dishes, will permanently close on December 20, as its tiny kitchen isn’t workable in pandemic times. Its staff will all move to Underdogs Tres, a restaurant owner Doug Marschke is planning inside the former Nopalito space at Ninth Avenue in the Inner Sunset. That spot is expected to open in early 2021.

SAN FRANCISCO — The SF Chronicle reports that DNM Hot Pot, a Clement Street Mongolian spot popular with large groups attracted to its lamb-centric barbecue menu, has posted a sign on its door announcing its permanent closure.

SAN FRANCISCO — As expected for nearly 18 years, since condo development was first proposed at its address, 27-year-old dive bar Lucky 13 has closed for good. Area residents were notified in late 2019 that a nine-floor, 90-unit building was officially planned where the bar and its parking lot stood, and the project started its journey through SF’s Planning Department. A year later, its owners say that the plan was to close at the end of 2020, but the city’s stay-at-home order prompted an earlier closure. Its last day in business was Sunday, December 6.

OAKLAND — El Gusano, the seven-year-old sister spot to SF’s margarita destination Tropisueno, has papered over its windows and diverted its mail, Hoodline reports. It’s phone is disconnected, its website is down, and Yelp lists it as closed. Tropisueno is also closed until indoor dining is allowed at 50 percent, its owners have reportedly said, which is unlikely for the foreseeable future.

BAY AREA — The Organic Coup, which when it opened in the Bay Area in 2015 was the country’s only USDA-certified organic fast food restaurant, has closed all 13 of its its locations, the SF Business Times reports. The company boasted millions in investments from folks like Costco founder Jim Sinegal and the SF 49ers, but has abruptly shuttered all its restaurants “for an undisclosed time.” It’s unclear which spots will reopen, but it confirmed via Instagram that a dispute with its landlord will close down its Pleasanton location for good.


December 2

SAN FRANCISCO — Guerra’s To Go, the takeout and catering spin-off of Parkside butcher shop Guerra Quality Meats, will permanently close on December 5, the business said via Instagram. in an email to Eater SF, owner John Guerra said that “the shifting economic landscape just took its toll,” prompting them to shutter the business, but fans can still find many of their takeout items at the original butcher shop and deli.

BERKELEY — Sack’s Coffee House, an 11-year-old coffee shop popular with students, has closed for good, Berkeleyside reports.

SAN FRANCISCO — The SF Chronicle reports that Castagna, a nine-year-old Marina District French restaurant, has been in the process of closing for over a year, and that December 5 will be its last day.

SAN FRANCISCO — Cento Coffee, a 12-year-old Ritch Street coffee shop and cafe from the folks behind Cafe Lambretta and Vega, has permanently closed, Tablehopper reports. owner John Quintos says that his “amazing landlords helped out adjusting our rent since April [but it] wasn’t enough.”

BERKELEY — the Snack Shack, a five-year-old craft beer and burger spot known for its waffle fries, has permanently closed, the Daily Californian reports.

OAKLAND — Instagrammable brunch destination the Gastropig has permanently closed, Berkeleyside reports, after four years in business.


November 23

SAN FRANCISCO — MY China, a Michelin-recommended, luxurious and expensive restaurant from TV personality, restaurateur, and occasional Iron Chef judge Martin Yan and partners Ronny and Willy Ng (Koi Palace), has closed for good, a spokesperson for the Westfield San Francisco Centre confirms to Eater SF. The spot, which was located on the fourth floor of the downtown mall, had closed at the onset of the pandemic, saying at the time that the shuttering was only temporary. But according to Westfield spokesperson Christina Mendez, “Unfortunately MY China will not be returning to the center” once the pandemic ends. Efforts to reach MY China management were not successful as of publication time.

SAN JOSE — Tacolicious, the California mini-chain of taco bars, has permanently closed its Santana Row location, SF Gate reports. Its locations in San Francisco’s North Beach and in Chico are closed only temporarily, marketing and branding director/partner Sara Deseran says, and are expected to reopen “when we have the bandwidth and capital to operate.” Its other four locations “are doing well, though it’s been a tough and humbling year.”

SAN FRANCISCO — Mozzeria, a 9-year-old Mission District pizzeria known for Neapolitan-style pies and its all-deaf management (it’s one of just a few deaf-owned and operated restaurants in the country), has closed its San Francisco location, less than four months after it opened a second location in Washington, DC. KQED reports that the restaurant will continue to operate its food truck at Off The Grid and private events, and its CEO says that the restaurant will “explore the idea of doing a traveling “Mozzeria Food Truck Tour” across the Pacific Northwest or even southern California where we could also test new markets for potential brand expansion down the road.”


November 18

SAN FRANCISCO — Coin-Op Game Room, a SoMa’s arcade bar that was once termed by Eater SF as the spot with “SF’s coolest menu,” has closed for good, SF Gate reports. Its two-story space is now available for rent at an undisclosed rate.

PALO ALTO — Tam Tam, a casual spin-off of upscale Vietnamese restaurant Tamarine, has closed after a little more than a year in business, the Bay Area News Group reports. Its owners, sister-and-sister team Tammy Huynh and Tanya Huynh Hartley, opened the spot in September of 2019.

NAPA — The SF Chronicle points us to an Instagram post by izakaya-style restaurant Miminashi, which says that its last day in business is November 23. The spot opened 4.5 years ago, owners Jessica and Curtis Di Fede say, and though “with each new restriction and the ever-changing business climate of 2020, we tried to quickly adapt in order to survive,” they have now made the decision to close.

WALNUT CREEK — The Chron also spotted this post by Guisell Osorio, the owner of South American restaurant Sabores Del Sur, which announces that after seven years in business, she’s closing the business as of November 28.

November 11

BERKELEY — Corso, a 12-year-old Tuscan spot popular with diners from North Berkeley and beyond, has closed for good, Berkeleyside reports. Co-owners Roscoe Skipper and Wendy Brucker, an amiably divorced couple who also owned 26-year-old Cal-Mediterranean restaurant Rivoli until its sale this fall, say they’ll launch a meal kit and catering business in early 2021.

BERKELEY — Berkeleyside was also the first to report that the Albatross Pub, a 56-year-old bar on San Pablo Avenue, has permanently closed. While a GoFundMe for the restaurant was successful, their landlord reportedly withdrew “a 50% rent discount offered since March” and charged the bar owners “immediate back rent for the entire year,” so a closure was the only option.

November 4

BERKELEY — 34-year-old Little Hunan, a Chinese takeout go-to for downtown Berkeley workers, has permanently closed, Berkeleyside reports.

SAN FRANCISCO — Rosa Mexicano, a Mexican-style chain with locations along the East Coast, only had one outpost on this side of the country, a spot at 30 Mission Street that has permanently closed, the SF Chronicle notes.

BERKELEY — The University Avenue location of Pedro’s Brazil Cafe has closed for good, but Berkeleyside reports that its other location, inside the Westbrae Biergarten, remains open.

OAKLAND — Chopsticks Express, a Chinese takeout spot in the Laurel District, has permanently closed, Berkeleyside reports.


October 28

SAN FRANCISCO — Town’s End, a 29-year-old restaurant in South Beach known for its power breakfasts and lunches, will permanently close mid-November, owner Mary Sperber tells Eater SF. “We’ve tried to endure the pandemic, but have found that we can’t fight the battle on all fronts,” Sperber says, saying “We will miss our friends and guests but are hopeful that we will all remain healthy as we move forward.” The current plan is to remain open until November 8 for sure, “and, weather permitting, through the 15th.” (Galen Abbot has penned a nice remembrance of Town’s End for Broke Ass Stuart, you can find it here.)

MOUNTAIN VIEW — Shalala Ramen, a 10-year-old ramen spot from chef/owner Nobu Iwahashi, has permanently closed, Palo Alto Online reports. Iwahashi says that business is down by 50 percent due to the pandemic, and even with a break on rent, he couldn’t make it work.

SAN FRANCISCO — Pesce e Riso, a Japanese/Italian spot in North Beach, has closed for good, Tablehopper reports. Co-owners chef-owner Joe and Sherry Lin opened the restaurant in 2017, and say in an Instagram post that “ this is the hardest decision we have ever made but it is the most reasonable due to all the complexity of ongoing and unforeseeable aspects.”

SAN FRANCISCO — The SF Chronicle reports that My Pot, a five-year-old Forest Hill hot pot known for its extremely spicy offerings, has closed for good.

SAN FRANCISCO — Nick’s, a vegan Filipino restaurant with locations on Mission Street in San Francisco and Grand Avenue in South SF, has permanently closed. Chef/co-owner Reina Montenegro is launching a vegan meal kit and faux meats business in its stead, it’s called Chef Reina.

SAN FRANCISCO — Celebrity chef Chris Cosentino kept fans of his meat-centric restaurant Cockscomb guessing last week, first telling the SF Chronicle that the SoMa restaurant was only temporarily closing, then a few hours later announcing via Instagram that the closure is permanent.

MOUNTAIN VIEW — Flights on Castro Street, a downtown area outpost of the Flights mini-chain, has permanently closed, Palo Alto Online reports. Owner Alex Hult, “a former professional hockey and poker player from Sweden,” opened the location in 2018, and follows a landlord dispute over back rent.

SAN FRANCISCO — Palio Cafe, a go-to lunch spot for folks at UCSF’s Inner Sunset campus, will permanently close on October 30, the SF Chronicle notes. In an announcement, SF native Bettie Scodel, who’s served as Palio’s owner since 2004, says “There simply weren’t enough people around to support the business. Our story is similar to so many small businesses across the globe.”

SAN FRANCISCO — Longtime SF sports bar Lefty O’Doul’s is closed for good. It’s been a rough few years for the hofbrau, which in recent years was booted from its Union Square digs, reopened at Fisherman’s Wharf, and saw owner Nick Bovis admit to a slew of crimes as part of a federal corruption sweep. Bovis has just filed for bankruptcy, the SF Business Times reports, and according to Bovis’s bankruptcy attorney, “the San Francisco Department of Public Health’s ordinance prohibiting self-serve and buffet-style service in restaurants has led Bovis to close his restaurant,” not his legal troubles.

SAN FRANCISCO — Internos Wine Bar, a Geary Boulevard spot known to longtime San Franciscans as the scene of a 2009 “kiss-in” after a gay couple was allegedly ejected, is “in the process of closing,” the SF Chronicle reports. Co-owner Santokh “Sam” Sohal says that “the city should be doing more. They are responsible for the health crisis, not us.”

BERKELEY — Au Coquelet Cafe has shuttered after 46 years in business, Berkeleyside reports. The Cal Dining-owned spot was known for its early-morning and late-night hours, making it popular with studying students and power breakfasters.

SAN FRANCISCO — Francisca’s, a Mission Street Italian-Venezeulan restaurant from prolific restaurateur Manny Torres Gimenez, has permanently closed, the SF Chronicle reports. Gimenez says that he’s subleased the historic space (once the Palace Family Steakhouse) “because it was no longer sustainable,” especially after the business ran out of loan money. As of early 2020, Gimenez was also operating a pop-up of Francisca’s out of Nob Hill’s Early to Rise brunch restaurant, plans that were doubtlessly derailed by the pandemic, as well.

OAKLAND — Binney Park, an East Coast-style sandwich spot, has closed after a year in business, Berkeleyside reports. Owner Chris Silverman says that “ “We were only opened a little over 4 months and off to a great start. With downtown office traffic coming to a screeching halt we have no other option but to close down.”


October 14

SAN FRANCISCO — Alfred’s Steakhouse, the 92-year-old Financial District classic known as the city’s oldest steakhouse, has closed for good, the SF Chronicle reports. The restaurant has had a rocky few years: Open since 1928, in 2015, the Petri family (which had run the spot since 1973) sold a significant ownership stake to celebrity chef Daniel Patterson’s Alta Group. After a major renovation from the Alta folks, the spot reopened, then shuttered a few months later following a fire. It took a year to re-reopen, and when it did, then Chronicle food critic Michael Bauer pulled one of its stars. The spot quietly shuttered again in 2018, re-re-reopening a few months later with a revamped menu...and a few months after that, 75-year-old Al Petri returned to the restaurant after buying part of the restaurant back. It closed yet again in the summer of 2019, and rumors swirled that this time, the closure was for good. According to the Chron, its address at 659 Merchant Street is now up for rent, so it seems like those rumors were correct.

SAN JOSE — Cambodian refugee Chip Lim opened popular doughnut shop Sunny Donuts in 1982, and 33 years later, he closed it down, NBC Bay Area reports. Its location in Cambrian Park Plaza has been in the works for years, but the coronavirus crisis reportedly sped up plans the close the restaurant.

SAN FRANCISCO — A Hoodline report that the Rotunda restaurant at the Neiman Marcus department store has closed, perhaps for good, has been widely picked up by outlets like the SF Chronicle and Tablehopper, but so far no one’s independently confirmed the news (and Neiman Marcus has not responded to Eater SF’s request for comment). Diondre Davis, a former worker at the restaurant — known for its complimentary popovers and glam see-and-be-seen scene — says “we were furloughed in March 2020 and received word via conference call [in mid-September] that the Rotunda will be closing indefinitely and will be laying off all its staff ... We were told that they may reopen in the future and that they would reach back out, but that remains to be seen.” The luxury chain emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in September, and the rest of the SF store remains open for business, so hope remains that the Rotunda may, perhaps, rise again.

SAN FRANCISCO — Cafe Venue, a serviceable mini-chain with three locations across SoMa, has closed its spot at 67 Fifth Street inside the Pickwick Hotel, the SF Chronicle reports. Its two other spots, at 218 Montgomery Street and 215 Fremont Street, remain open.

SAN FRANCISCO — Hoodline was first to note that Orson’s Belly, a film-themed cafe in the Inner Richmond that opened in 2016, has closed for good. Via Instagram, its owners say that they are shuttering “with pride, heavy hearts, and excitement for what comes next.” Even prior to the pandemic, the restaurant was struggling to remain afloat, telling the Richmond Review that a 9 p.m. cut-off time for liquor sales mandated by the state Alcoholic Beverage Control “hamstrings their ability to stay afloat financially in the face of rising costs.”


October 7

SAN FRANCISCO — Jika Ramen & Sushi House isn’t a restaurant that’s ever relied on its dining room for a business. Located on a quiet block in the Outer Sunset, its location has been a restaurant going on three decades, but has never been “busy,” per se. Its most recent iteration, however, has been wildly popular with the delivery crowd (it’s also known on those apps as “Gold Curry” and “Crispy Chicken & Fries”), as the line of double-parked vehicles outside its storefront affirmed. A fire on September 25 started in its kitchen, neighbors tell Eater SF, and rapidly spread to the apartment above, displacing residents and significantly damaging the restaurant. Its website lists the spot as temporarily closed, but judging from the appearance of the charred and blackened building, it won’t reopen any time soon.

EMERYVILLE — The owners of the Broken Rack, a 22-year-old bar and billiards hall, have sold the business and sailed off into retirement, the E’ville Eye reports. Its buyer is a nearby pot club, so its future is unclear. (h/t to Berkeleyside for bringing this to our attention.)

MILPITAS — After 26 years in business, the McCarthy Ranch location of steakhouse chain Black Angus has closed, the Bay Area News Group reports. Two more of the chain’s local locations are temporarily closed, but the other three (San Jose, San Lorenzo, and Brentwood) are open for outdoor dining and takeout.

SAN FRANCISCO — Harrington’s Bar and Grill’s 85-year run in the Financial District has ended, writing on its website that (sic) “It is with a heavy heart, that we at Harringtons Bar and Grill are Announcing the sad news that we have closed our doors permanently. The decision was very difficult to make but with everything we have to do regarding reopening in an unsafe environment for each of us. To wait out this pandemic was financially unreasonable.”

BERKELEY — Kaze Ramen, a six-year-old restaurant near the UC Berkeley campus, has closed for good, Berkeleyside reports.

SAN FRANCISCO — Miyabi Sushi, a cozy, reliable, and always-bustling sushi spot at Church and Market Streets, has closed for good, Hoodline reports. The restaurant was known for friendly service, reasonable prices, and ample seats by its window, which looked out onto the bustling intersection. Reporter Steven Bracco notes that the restaurant’s furniture and fixtures have been removed, and that the location is available for rent at an indeterminate “below-market” rate.

OAKLAND — Kangnam Pho House closed quietly in August, Berkeleyside reports, after 13 years in Temescal.

OAKLAND — The SF Chronicle reports that New York-style pizzeria Slicer has closed after seven years in the game.

OAKLAND — Siam Bay Authentic Thai Cuisine, a buffet-style lunch destination in Old Oakland, has closed after a 23 year run, Berkeleyside reports.

BAY AREA — After 12 years of rainbow-colored sweetness, Bay Area macaron maker Chantal Guillon is closing its doors, the Bay Area News Group reports. Via email, Guillon told patrons that “all good things must come to an end” and that “it is not the time that passes, but the time left that counts.” Her shops in SoMa, Hayes Valley, and Palo Alto will close for good, and any orders placed before October 10 can be picked up at 1309 Howard Street.

BERKELEY — The spot that housed Solano Avenue sit-down spot Sushi 29 is up for lease, and the restaurant appears to be out of business, Berkeleyside reports.

EMERYVILLE — Kara’s Cupcakes owner Kara Haspel tells Berkeleyside that “our Emeryville location is available for lease assignment or sublease.” Its spot in the Bay


September 30

SAN FRANCISCO — Love N’ Haight Deli, ta popular Lower Haight sandwich shop that opened in 2000, will close for good on October 1, a sign on its door reads. According to a Hoodline report from 2014, the restaurant went all-vegetarian about seven years ago, a tradition that continued to this day. Attempts to reach owner Fey Chao for a reason behind the closure were unsuccessful.

ST. HELENA — A fast-moving wildfire burned the Restaurant at Meadowood to the ground on Monday, September 28, prompting a flood of grief on social media.

SAN FRANCISCO — Broke Ass Stuart reports that Wish, a two-decade old SoMa cocktail bar, has permanently closed. Via Facebook, owner Andrea Minoo writes that “Due to a combination of factors, and obviously Covid, we just can’t carry on.”

BERKELEY — Secret Scoop, a shop specialising in Thai gelato, will shut its dooes on October 17, Berkeleyside reports. Owner Funn Fisher says that “ she has sold the business, as she is planning to leave the immediate area.”

SAN FRANCISCO — The Cake Gallery, a SoMa bakery known for its X-rated (kids, ask your parents) cakes, has reportedly closed for good after 38 years in business. The news comes from local figure Marke Bieschke, who posted a photo of its closure sign to his (non-public) Facebook page. The closure was picked up by Broke-Ass Stuart and SFist, both of which posted a panoply of NSFW cakes to remember the bakery by.

OAKLAND — A fire in Oakland’s Chinatown destroyed 14-year-old Vietnamese restaurant Rang Dong and knife-cut noodle spot Huangcheng Noodle House, with other restaurants also rumored to be shuttered by the blaze.

BERKELEY — 17-year-old Piedmont pizza destination Dopo will serve its last pies on Saturday, October 3, Berkeleyside reports. Via Instagram, owners Kayta and Jon Smulewitz say “We are sad, frustrated, angry. The government has failed restaurants and small businesses; each one lost is a small ecosystem down, a network of people negatively impacted. Each one lost is heartbreaking & infuriating. We’re struggling with this loss & we’ll be processing it for a long time.”

SAN JOSE — South SJ’s location of the Fish Market chain of restaurants was unable to renegotiate its lease, the Bay Area News Group reports. “With no timetable to guarantee a return to full operations, a permanent closure has become our only viable option,” its owners said in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) letter, saying that the company will lay off 73 workers in the closure.


September 23

OAKLAND — Berkeleyside reports that SF-based former mini-chain Rosamunde Sausage Grill is down to one location, after its outpost at Swan’s Market closed for business. Via Facebook, Rosamunde’s owners say that its Oakland location “has fallen victim to the dramatic decrease in business that followed the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with widespread office closures downtown as people sheltered in place and worked from home.” This follows the 2017 closure of its Temescal location and last fall’s shuttering of its 20-year-old grill in the Lower Haight. Now its location on Mission Street stands alone.

SAN FRANCISCO — Rusty’s Southern, a five-year-old Tenderloin spot known for its pulled pork, hush puppies, and hefty breakfasts, will close on Friday, September 25, Hoodline reports. The restaurant’s lease was up for renewal in March, and with it came “a significant rent increase, which kicked in just as the pandemic struck.” Husband-and-wife ownership team Rusty and Cody Olson were able to extricate themselves from the new lease and close up shop, but haven’t ruled out a reopening elsewhere, after the pandemic ends.

CUPERTINO — Local Neapolitan-style pizza empire Doppio Zero has closed its doors near the Apple campus, the East Bay Times reports, after business dropped off as tech company workers shifted to a work-from-home model. That challenge was compounded when the landlord of the Wolfe Road space “was unwilling to reduce the rent until business returned to normal,” owner Gianni Chiloiro says.

OAKLAND — Beer Revolution, a craft beer taproom that opened in Jack London Square a decade ago, is closed for good, the SF Chronicle reports. According to Berkeleyside, owner Rebecca Boyles says “I am not gone for good, though, I’ll wait to come back when bars can be bars again,” and hopes for a Revolutionary revival in 2022.


September 16

SAN FRANCISCO — Cocktail pro Thad Vogler told SF Chronicle that he is permanently closing three out of his four restaurants, dramatically reducing one of the most prominent cocktail groups in the city. He’s shuttering Trou Normand, the handsome downtown lounge known for pairing pork chops and charcuterie with Calvados and other spirits, as well as Obispo rum bar and Nommo cocktail den. Vogler told the Chron that he grew too quickly, his spots became “mediocre,” and he simply didn’t have the savings to stay the course. He claims he is still planning to reopen his original Bar Agricole in spring 2021 in a new location with a bottle shop attached.

SAN FRANCISCO — Dosa Indian restaurant group closed its last San Francisco location in the Fillmore, ending a decade and a half of oversized pancakes and intimate cocktails. The group filed for bankruptcy at the end of last year. The owners are keeping their remaining fast-casual location in Oakland, and leaning into delivery.

SAN FRANCISCO — Southern Pacific Brewing, the massive brewery in the Mission, wasn’t able to survive on outdoor dining with only 13 additional tables. The brewery is now closed to the public and up for sale, although the beer may keep popping up in the interim.

SAN FRANCISCO — Ritual Coffee is closing its corner spot in the Castro, Hoodline reports. The Mission and Hayes Valley locations are currently open, and the Bayview location appears to be temporarily closed.

SAN FRANCISCO — La Boulangerie, the croissant mini chain that was acquired by Starbucks and then miraculously returned from the corporate ashes, now keeps closing locations. In addition to the Rockridge location closing a couple of weeks ago (see below), the Sutter Street location is also clearing out, SF Gate reports. Owner Pascal Rigo told SF Gate that he plans to hold onto as many of the remaining locations as possible, but isn’t sure how long they can hold out.

OAKLAND — Tribune Tavern, known for its pub fare and cocktails in downtown Oakland, closed on Friday, September 11. The owner says the landlord refused to negotiate, while the landlord said the owner has not paid any rent since March, Berkeleyside reports.


September 9

SAN FRANCISCO — Beach Street Grill, a Fisherman’s Wharf-area restaurant popular with tourists and locals for its friendly service and all-day breakfast, has permanently closed, the SF Chronicle reports.

OAKLAND — The only non-San Francisco location of La Boulangerie de San Francisco has shut its doors, Berkeleyside reports. The Rockridge storefront that once housed the bakery now boasts a “for rent” sign, and it’s been dropped from the chain’s website.

OAKLAND — The Uptown Nightclub, one of the Bay Area’s dwindling number of independent music venues, has announced its permanent closure. According to its owners, “with no date in sight when having live entertainment will be safe, we just cannot afford to continue to pay our rent and other expenses with no income in the foreseeable future.”

BERKELEY — Berkeleyside reports that 23-year-old Trattoria La Siciliana, a popular Italian spot along College Avenue, will shut its doors as of September 30. The family that owns it says that the menu will now be offered from another spot they also own, Sicilian-focused restaurant Agrodolce Osteria.

SAN JOSE — After 40 years at 2040 N. First Street, a location of fast food chain McDonald’s has lost its lease and will close at the end of September, the Bay Area News Group reports. “Despite our best efforts, we were unable to reach an agreement with the landlord, who intends to sell the property for redevelopment and therefore was unable to extend the lease terms,” the company said via statement.


September 2

SAN FRANCISCO — Bussaba, an Inner Sunset Thai restaurant known for locally sourced ingredients, a modern take on regional classics, and hard-to-find dishes like kanom jean pu (a Southern-style green chilli crab curry), has permanently closed, a note on its website says. “We have fought hard to remain open and viable throughout the last several months,” the restaurant writes, “but despite all our efforts and creativity, we now know it can not be sustained indefinitely. It has been a good 10 years, but now it is time to move on.”

SAN FRANCISCO — Chef Anthony Strong’s modern Italian, grill-heavy restaurant Prairie closed after a pivot to a retail model, which even then was not enough the sustain the business through the pandemic.

SAN FRANCISCO — Hoodline reports that 10-year-old mediterranean restaurant Pera has closed, but owner Irfan Yalcin is hanging onto its 18th Street location, and will move another restaurant he owns, Connecticut Street taqueria Papito, into the space.

BERKELEY — Three-year-old bistro and creperie Maison Bleue has permanently closed, the SF Chronicle reports.

SAN FRANCISCO — Mission Italian spot called Great Gold has closed after a year in business. The red sauce spot was a pivot for owners Brandon Kirksey and David Steele, who’d opened Korean snack spot Foxsister in the same space in 2017.

SAN FRANCISCO — House Rules, a Russian Hill bar known for its cozy fireplace and solid burger, has closed after five years.

SAN FRANCISCO — Pica Pica, a 14-year-old Venezuelan comfort food restaurant known for its arepas, has permanently closed its Valencia Street doors, Hoodline reports.

SAN FRANCISCO — After a 46-year partnership with the hotel that houses it, the Seal Rock Inn restaurant has closed. A rent increase while the spot was closed by the Bay Area shelter-in-place prompted the family that owns the restaurant to leave the business, but its landlord says they’ll find someone else to take over the space.

SAN FRANCISCO — Noe Valley cafe and corner store Douglas has shuttered, saying they lost their lease after two years in business.

SAN FRANCISCO — Laurel Village lunch standby Rigolo Cafe has closed after 16 years, Hoodline reports.

SAN FRANCISCO — The Creamery, a Caltrain-adjacent coffee shop known as a destination for Silicon Valley power-players, has closed after 12 years of crepes and Americanos.

SAN FRANCISCO — Dim Sum institution Ton Kiang closed on August 31, after 42 years of Sunday brunches and Christmases. Owner Richard Wong says that business has been good, even during the pandemic, but he’s ready to retire.

SAN FRANCISCO — Amasia Hide’s Sushi Bar, which for 18 years has served fish to the Duboce Triangle neighborhood, has permanently shuttered, Hoodline reports.

SAN FRANCISCO — Upscale seafood spot Farallon closed its Union Square doors for good, 23 years after its wildly-decorated dining room opened to the public. A letter to staff cited COVID-19 as the reason behind the closure.

SAN FRANCISCO — The Riddler, a sexy champagne bar with locations in Hayes Valley and New York City, has closed for good. “The way a restaurant like this works is if the bar and restaurant are packed and turning tables four times a night,” owner Jen Pelka says, a business model that isn’t feasible in the age of social distancing.

BERKELEY — Berkeleyside reports that both locations of fast casual Xi’an-style restaurant Famous Bao have closed, after landlords at both locations refused to renegotiate rent.

SAN FRANCISCO — Salt House, a 13-year-old downtown destination from restaurateurs Mitchell Rosenthal, Steven Rosenthal, and Doug Washington, permanently closed after negotiations with their landlord broke down.

SAN FRANCISCO — Local taqueria mini-chain the Little Chihuahua has permanently closed its Valencia Street location, but its Divisadero, Noe Valley, and Polk Street spots “are thriving and successfully positioned to make it through the pandemic business climate,” a spokesperson says.

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