This Is Your Last Week to Eat at Outerlands Before New Owners Take Over

On September 22 the owners of Judah Street restaurant Outerlands posted to their Instagram to let fans know they’re stepping away from the restaurant, which Robin Pecknold and many more have called their favorite restaurant in San Francisco. From September 22 until September 26, the restaurant will be open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., then the restaurant will “temporarily close, with plans to reopen, with all your brunch favorites, very soon,” the post reads.

Owners Dave Muller and Lana Porcello opened the restaurant in 2008 hoping for a business that could support their art projects. Instead, they built a thriving and dynamic restaurant centered on sourdough bread and simple, rustic dishes. “We are feeling all the love and support, and are so grateful for everyone who has touched our lives on this journey,” Muller said Thursday morning. “It’s been a magic ride.”

The post promises details about the upcoming transfer of ownership will follow shortly. As Muller and Porcello step back from Outerlands, they’re quick to remind their supporters that the business is going nowhere. For many in the Sunset District, Inner or Outer, the restaurant is a neighborhood go-to destination, a place to feel grounded while admiring dark wood floors and tables. Crabbe hopes the restaurant continues in some iteration, and it seems the owners are of the mind that Outerlands indeed will carry on. “Your belief in this little corner of the Sunset brought a crazy idea to life and kept it going,” the post reads.

Rachelle Derouin

Already comments are pouring in on the post. Elizabeth Prueitt and Chad Roberts, co-owners of Tartine Bakery, posted a congratulations and series of emojis, respectively. Rize Up Bakery’s Instagram commented a loving note, as did author and surf enthusiast Jaimal Yogis. (Muller and Porcello are avid surfers who chose their restaurant’s location in part due to its proximity to the beach.)

Lauren Crabbe, owner and founder of the Sunset coffee oasis Andytown Coffee, says Muller and Porcello were a “huge inspiration” for her and her husband and co-owner Michael McCrory when they were considering opening their business. “They gave us so much encouragement and even connected us with Working Solutions, the local organization that helped us get started when no traditional bank would,” Crabbe says. “Their legacy in the Sunset is so strong.”

Crabbe also credited Muller and Porcello for inspiring their community work, such as the documentary they’re sponsoring about Black farmers in America and screening at the Balboa Theater this weekend. Fellow Sunset coffee founder Buffy Maguire of Lady Falcon Coffee commends Muller and Porcello for their hand in the revitalization of the Judah corridor, including an upcoming art installation Maguire’s working on. “I will miss them and I am grateful for their love and support,” she says.