Inner Sunset’s Pomelo Permanently Closes After 24 Years in Business

The sign is down and the cute pomelo hanging over the doorframe is gone, so there’s no denying the news: Pomelo in the Inner Sunset has closed. Tablehopper reported the news last week; the nearly-25-year-old business closed on April 30, which the business owners announced in a post on Pomelo’s Instagram page. Pointing to the last two years during the pandemic as “financially devastating” paired with the loss of the restaurant’s lease — along with supply chain and staffing issues, and increased costs — the owners called their circumstances an “insurmountable challenge.”

“It was our great joy and privilege to take your palate around the world!” the post states. “We will miss all of you and want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the loyalty, friendships, and sense of family that we so generously received from you.”

Arsonist sets fire to San Francisco bar parklet

It seems an arsonist is afoot, as a parklet fire at the Blue Light last week sent bartenders scrambling to put the flames out, KTVU reports. Bartenders from neighboring businesses noticed the fire, which was set just before midnight on May 1, and used fire extinguishers and buckets of water to help squelch the flames before firefighters finished the job. There were no injuries, thankfully, but a quarter of the parklet burned. Surveillance footage shows a man wearing sunglasses bent down in the corner of the parklet and as he leaves, flames could be seen. “It gave me kind of an eerie feeling,” Blue Light owner John Metheny told KTVU. “First I felt violated, then I felt scared for more businesses than just me because this guy is still running around.”

Hard kombucha brewery and taproom opens in Rancho Cordova

If you like your kombucha with a boozy kick, a new taproom serving hard kombucha, seltzers, and teas. Shorebirds Brewing Co.’s Rancho Cordova taproom is now open, the Sacramento Bee reports, and comes from the owners behind Brass Clover Cold Brew Coffee Co., which is currently on hiatus.

Xanath Ice Cream confirmed to return this summer

There is never any delight in reporting restaurant closures, so imagine what a true pleasure it is to report when something isn’t closing. Such is the news from Mission Local, which discovered that Xanath Ice Cream in the Mission District will reopen in June, according to the owner. The store was temporarily closed in January due to COVID-19, but had yet to show any signs of reopening (despite a note promising to be back by spring).