This Popular Italian Restaurant Says Goodbye to the Financial District After 13 Years

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.

September 27

FINANCIAL DISTRICT — Barbacco is closing its doors after 13 years of serving the Financial District. Owner Umberto Gibin told the Chronicle that “there are simply not enough people in the Financial District.” The last day to drop into the Italian restaurant is Friday, September 29.

FILLMORE — Scott’s Chowder House on Fillmore Street, known for its lobster rolls and chowder, is now closed as of Saturday, September 23, the San Francisco Standard reports. The fast-casual restaurant is part of the larger Scott’s Seafood restaurant group, with locations in San Jose, Oakland, and more. Of the fast-casual Scott’s Chowder House locations, one other restaurant remains inside Union Square’s Hotel Triton, with another branch on the way in Palo Alto.

PACIFIC HEIGHTS — Palmer’s Tavern is being forced into a temporary closure after a massive leak from an upstairs unit left the restaurant damaged, owner Sam Fechheimer shares. The restaurant will be remodeled, although Fechheimer is unclear how long construction will take.

MARINA — Izzy’s Steaks & Chops on Chestnut Street isn’t going anywhere, but it will undergo some “much-needed improvements” to the restaurant. The steakhouse is planning a temporary closure starting Saturday, October 21 and is expected to reopen in the summer of 2024.

OUTER RICHMOND — Concern over the potential closure of beloved tiki bar Trad’r Sam reached fever pitch as locals noticed a distressing “Closed until further notice” sign appeared on the door this week. There was even more concern given the news that the bar has been at the center of a legal battle between co-owners John Munguia and his sister Dorothy Riedel. Despite that, Munguia set the record straight on the closure, telling Eater SF that Trad’r Sam will return in a few weeks after some work to fix up the bar.

September 20

TENDERLOIN — Not long after the building housing Little Saigon’s iconic Turtle Tower went up for sale did the business itself close. Business owners Thao Pham and family told the Chronicle the last day of service was September 17. Turtle Tower is survived by its final location at 501 Sixth Street in SoMa.

OAKLAND — East Bay favorite Le Chaval has closed its Oakland location, though ownership says they’d like to reopen again someday. KPIX reports owner Son Tran put the blame squarely on crime in the area, not the pandemic’s impacts. “The lack of office workers did not kill us,” Tran told the outlet. “The crime, the criminals killed us.”

ALAMEDA — After much anticipation, Mama Judy Singapore Hawker opened in August, providing Singaporean comfort food to Park Street. But the restaurant is already closed “indefinitely,” according to an Instagram post from the restaurant. The outfit is taking a break to “reconfigure our business structure.”

SACRAMENTO — Apparently more time was needed for donut fiend Doughbot than a mere eight-year-long hiatus. The Bee reports the business is closed just a year after reopening at 10th and U streets in the Southside Park neighborhood, telling fans on Instagram in September the closure would be just two weeks. Doughbot had been closed since 2014 before its reopening last year.

September 13

SOMA — The last day for A5 wagyu beef at fine dining restaurant Afici is Wednesday, September 13. Executive chef Eric Upper told Eater SF the climate downtown, meaning the area’s slower return to pre-pandemic levels of business, contributed to the decision to close. “We are no longer able to sustain the restaurant,” Upper said in an emailed statement.

MISSION — Taking to Instagram to break the bad news, Dumpling Club owner Cathay Bi let fans know she’s closing the business on October 8. The business began in 2019 as a subscription-based delivery service with the Mission District storefront opening on 22nd Street in January 2023. There’ll be a number of send-off events in the coming weeks.

CASTRO — Market Street newcomer Los Amigos closed after just six months. Hoodline reports the Salvadoran restaurant’s second, larger location at 16th Street shuttered without a word in the early days of September. The Mission District location remains open on Valencia Street.

MARINA — Martini haven and Victorian era love letter the Dorian is throwing one final Halloween bash on October 27 before closing for good. The business has been purchased by restaurateur Kingston Wu who told Eater SF he hopes to preserve what made the Dorian a hit into an “updated wrapper reflective of our new concept.”

SUNSET — Irving Street fan-favorite Loi’s Vietnamese Restaurant closed after 35 years of serving belly-filling bowls of pho. Tablehopper reports owners Mr. and Mrs. Loi are simply retiring after decades in business; longtime customers flocked for farewell feasts in the final days of service.

ALAMEDA — Without a word, Wine & Waffles closed for good on Park Street. A tipster and fellow Alameda business owner wrote to East Bay Nosh to let the outlet know of the closure. Perhaps obvious from the name, the restaurant was well-loved for a robust wine menu, burgers, and sandwiches.

GILROY — The Milias owners Adam Sanchez and Ann Zyburra closed the doors to their 101-year-old restaurant on August 30. The Gilroy Dispatch reports the horseshoe-shaped bar and seafood pasta was a destination for old-school Hollywood elite including Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. “We noticed business was dwindling, and we noticed our ability to serve our guests was suffering,” Zyburra told the paper.

September 6

MISSION — Mission Street’s classic hangout Cha Cha Cha is due to reopen in the near future. But its replacement, a restaurant and bar called Kuba, is already closed. Mission Local reported the closure in mid-August, with Yelp users confirming. According to the outlet, Kuba’s owners never finished purchasing the space from Cha Cha Cha owner Irfan Yalcin.

OAKLAND — After Oakland restaurant phenomenon Hi Felicia’s implosion, owner Imana, who goes only by her first name, opened Jellybean the Wine Bar in the same space. Now, according to a series of distressing Instagram posts, Imana let fans know she is “exhausted and unwell,” so after six weeks of service, the moody lounge is closing on October 1. Sluts, Imana’s second business, remains open in San Francisco’s SoMa.

OAKLAND — Timeless Coffee, known for its all-plant-based baking facilities and punk aesthetic, is closing its Berkeley location after six years. In an Instagram post, business ownership let fans know that “in order for Timeless to continue we had to make this very hard decision.” The shop is survived by three Oakland locations.

OAKLAND — East Bay vegan Puerto Rican restaurant Casa Borinqueña will close at the end of September. Owner Lourdes “Lulu” Marquez-Nau says she’ll go back to popping up and catering once the Shattuck Avenue space shutters. The owner told Eater SF she never had the funds to address Department of Health concerns, which racked up toward $100,000 by summer 2023.

BERKELEY — Berkeley’s Blaze Pizzeria was, in fact, not just closed for the summer, as a sign posted to the door earlier this year indicated. East Bay Nosh reports Yelp and the business’ own website indicate the closure is for good. The slice shop was a hit with students, the outlet writes, so it’s hard to know why after two years the business moved on.

CAPITOLA — Anthony Kresge is closing his popular sandwich shop Reef Dog Deli on September 23. Lookout Santa Cruz reports it’s not the end for Kresge’s popular pastrami outpost, just a repositioning as the longtime Santa Cruz cook looks for a better location than his small shop in Capitola Village.

August 30

SOMA — Tiny coffee shop and roaster Cento Cafe has closed, and owner John Quintos is headed to the FiDi with a new operation. Tablehopper reports the new Système D will open in the Hallidie Building on September 8, while Cento Cafe already closed.

MISSION DISTRICT — After 14 years on 18th and Mission streets, vegan Mexican food haven Gracias Madre closed on August 27. General manager Joseph Donohue told Mission Local business was unpredictable in the last few years, with staff shrinking from 40 to four by the time the business closed.

OAKLAND — A tipster let Eater SF know of the closure of Cafe Umami’s Uptown Oakland outpost. While the Uptown location has already gone dark, the Dimond location will close at the end of September. The restaurants are well-known for powerful bowls and nori-wrapped gim-bop.

BERKELEY — Easy Creole reached out to East Bay Nosh to let the outlet know that after 10 years the team behind the New Orleans-style restaurant is calling it quits. The last day of service is August 31, and ownership is looking for a new business to take over the space.

SAN RAMON — Bay Area-born Chow, which at one point ballooned to five outposts throughout the region, will close its final location on September 10. The Mercury News writes owner Tony Gulisano opened this final San Ramon location in August 2022 after three years with zero Chow outposts, only to close the restaurant one year later.

SAN MATEO — Big-time brunch outlet Morning Wood will close on September 30, according to a post on the business’ Instagram. Speaking to the Chronicle, co-owner Chad Kaneshiro said he and his business partner and wife Monica Kaneshiro are “burned out mentally, physically, emotionally.”

SACRAMENTO — Tropics Ale House Midtown closed sooner than its anticipated August 30 date, going all dark by August 24, according to the Sacramento Bee. The business was founded in Honolulu in 2005 before sprouting into El Dorado, where the last NorCal location remains.

August 23

NOPA — Popular cafe Automat announced its unexpected closure via Instagram post on Sunday, August 20 sharing that the final day of business will be on Sunday, August 27. The restaurant opened in late 2021 from chef Matt Kirk and business partners David Barzelay and Colleen Booth, also behind two-Michelin-starred Lazy Bear. Despite being a neighborhood hit, the owners say the restaurant struggled to make a profit, resulting in its closure after less than two years in operation.

RICHMOND DISTRICT — A decades-old Italian restaurant located on Geary in the Richmond District has closed. SFGATE has the story of Mescolanza, described as “elegant yet unpretentious,” which served its final meals on August 12.

REDWOOD CTIY — Juicebox, a wine shop and tasting room on the Peninsula, will close at the end of August to “allow its co-owner, local restaurateur Zu Tarazi, to embark ‘on a new path,’” Palo Alto Online reports. The business shared the news via Instagram, ending the business’s two-and-a-half-year run in Redwood City.

PALO ALTO — After 12 years and two Michelin stars, Bruno and Christie Chemel have closed their Palo Alto restaurant Bistronomie by Baumé. The restaurant was previously named Baumé and earned its pair of Michelin stars for serving high-end French tasting menus on California Avenue. But as Palo Alto Online reports, the restaurant flipped into a more casual iteration of itself in 2022 and changed its name to Bistronomie by Baumé. The switch-up came after the restaurant lost both its stars the year prior, which prompted Bruno Chemel, the restaurant’s chef, to clarify that he’d asked to be removed from the highly regarded restaurant guide.

August 16

MISSION — Despite its tiny footprint and lengthy waits, Chome has earned its diehard customers who appreciate the restaurant’s excellent food and quirky personality. Now the restaurant is set to temporarily close on Sunday, August 27. In the announcement, the Chome team called the closure a “painful rebuilding process we must undergo to maintain future opportunities” and promises to return in late October “if all goes well.”

MISSION — Duc Loi has been a long-running grocery store favorite for the Mission neighborhood since 1998, but as of Tuesday, August 14, the business was taken over by the owners of Temescal Produce Market and renamed International Produce Market. Duc Loi was known for its groceries and produce, but it also was popular for its huge banh mi sandwiches that sold for $9.

INNER SUNSET — Cajun-Creole restaurant Craw Station has shut down in the Avenues after 12 years in town serving crawfish, crab, and shrimp in its house Cajun seasoning. It’s unclear when the restaurant closed, but Google lists the restaurant as closed and the restaurant’s phone number is disconnected.

OAKLAND — The Lumpia Company has been growing its lumpia brand, placing comfort food inside crisp lumpia wrappers and serving it from the takeout window they started from at 24th Street in Oakland. Now, the Lumpia Company closed its original location as of August 9 to prepare for a move to Brooklyn Basin at 288 Ninth Avenue in Oakland, East Bay Nosh reports. No opening date is set yet, but the company promises to announce the grand opening date via Instagram.

August 9

TENDERLOIN — Michelin Guide-recommended Korean restaurant Suragan will close on August 19. According to an Instagram post, chef Jongmoon Choi hopes to find a new home for his business, having already garnered plenty of praise for his menu which is comprised of dishes pulled out of ancient Korean cookbooks.

DIVISADERO — San Francisco’s first yakitori omakase restaurant Hina, on Divisadero and Fulton streets near the Western Addition, will close on August 31. In the final month of service, the restaurant will play host to visiting yakitori chefs including Blake King of ToriSumi Takitori in Washington, D.C.

MISSION — Philz Coffee’s original location, a cozy corner on 24th and Folsom streets, will close after 20 years. Mission Local let readers know the business confirmed an October 16 closing date.

DOGPATCH — Harmonic Brewing, a San Francisco go-to for beer on the east side, will close its “mothership” location at the end of October. According to an Instagram post, the brewery and its landlords at 1050 26th Street couldn’t come to an agreement regarding a renewal of the lease.

BERKELEY — Almost a year after opening, Nova’s Pizza wrapped things up to head to Oakland. East Bay Nosh reports the business moved in with Edible Happy Pizzeria at 1438 Broadway, while What Now SF reports newcomer Bigotes Pizzeria will take over the now-empty Nova’s space at 1706 University Avenue.

HALF MOON BAY — Ketch Joanne Restaurant & Harbor Bar closed in Princeton-by-the-Sea, right off of Highway 1, after almost half a century in business. The business shuttered for good on August 3 with a farewell note on its website and front door to fans telling patrons the family is ready to “set sail for a new adventure.”

FELTON — Just as Santa Cruz favorite Humble Sea Brewing moves into a historic Alameda space, the business closed its Humble Sea Tavern on August 8. Lookout Santa Cruz reports the business opened in February 2022 and announced the closure on Instagram; they’re looking for someone to move into the space, which the post describes as one meant for “a foodie through and through.”

SACRAMENTO — Even though it took three years to get Sacramento’s most popular ramen shop back in working order, Shoki Ramen is dark once again. In an Instagram post the business let its many fans know unforeseeable maintenance issues forced the restaurant closed again “until further notice.”

August 2

MISSION — Fans of Stonemill Matcha, the Japanese cafe and beverage destination on Valencia Street in the Mission, have just a few more weeks to pick up iced strawberry matcha lattes and Japanese pork katsu sandwiches. The business announced on Instagram it will close after Sunday, August 27. “After five amazing years of operation on Valencia Street, we will soon be closing our doors for good,” the post reads in part. “We are so incredibly grateful for our community and for embracing our vision. Your support and love for us has been appreciated since day one.” It’s the latest in a string of high-profile restaurant closures on the Valencia corridor in the Mission.

OAKLAND — Chop Bar, a popular bar and restaurant in Oakland, closed permanently after 14 years in business, East Bay Nosh reports. The owner tells the outlet the decision was “not made lightly” but closure seemed the best way to “preserve the integrity and memories created by everyone who loved Chop Bar.”

SACRAMENTO — A bar in the Sacramento area is closed after having its liquor license suspended by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, the Bee reports. Dolan’s Bar and Grill in Folsom was served a 15-day liquor license suspension stemming from an incident three years ago when a “customer who was intoxicated was served alcohol,” as well as for “violating its license conditions,” per the paper.

July 26

MARINA — Wacky cocktail bar Rendezvous is vacating 2030 Lombard Street after the space was sold to a new owner. Saturday, July 29 will be the last day at this location, but owner and craft cocktail wiz Shaher Misif is already looking for a new venue.

MISSION — Pizza parlor BrewVino will close on July 27. The San Francisco Standard reports the business owners, who opened the restaurant in 2021, did not give a reason for closure in an email sent to the outlet. The space was previously home to Almanac Beer Co. and Sous Beurre before BrewVino.

MISSION — La Ventana, the pop-up coffee window at Donajji, is soon to be no more. The Latin-influenced menu will move on as of July 29, according to an Instagram post from the owners, though the business’ coffee truck will continue selling cafe de olla and horchata lattes around the Bay Area.

OAKLAND — Jack London Square’s Chop Bar closed on July 9 after 14 years in business, East Bay Nosh reports. An initial note on the business’s website indicated a temporary closure, but in short order, the pause proved permanent. “In the end, we decided that closing would be best to preserve the integrity and memories created by everyone who loved Chop Bar,” management told the outlet.

OAKLAND — Slug Bar, the sister business to Michelin Bib Gourmand wine bar and restaurant Snail Bar, will close on August 4. The team wrote on Instagram that it seems like time to move on and that the space will be leased as “turnkey.” The natural wine bar was well-loved for hosting pop-ups and beloved parties.

OAKLAND — Pagliacci the clown has good reason to cry now that clown-themed bar Stinky’s is kaput. Bar staff took to Instagram to say a lack of funds as well as an insurance payout from severe water damage that never came means the bar, which opened in 2021, will close after about two years in business.

BERKELEY — After almost 20 years, Shattuck Avenue’s Sunnyside Cafe closed in July. East Bay Nosh writes the business never regained its pre-pandemic level of business, and newcomer Eggy’s Neighborhood Kitchen is already dealing breakfast in the same location.

SACRAMENTO — Pho Ivy’s Elk Grove location remains open, but its outpost Pho Ivy II at 501 Broadway closed a few weeks ago, according to the Sacramento Bee. Los Inmortales Taqueria Cocina Mexicana will open its fourth location at the same location.

July 19

TENDERLOIN — The major public-facing project from La Cocina, its Municipal Marketplace on Golden Gate Avenue and Larkin Street, will close on September 1. The Chronicle reports the nonprofit, which only had a four-year lease at the location before the site is razed to make way for an affordable housing project in 2025, was simply not capturing the downtown lunch market it hoped to. The nonprofit will still run its La Paloma bar and a lunch pop-up out of the space.

BAYVIEW — Run from a ghost kitchen at 90 Charter Oak Avenue, $6 Bowl Shop closed sometime in the last three weeks. Specializing in cheap bowls of donburi and ramen, the business’ website now reads “store permanently closed” and Yelp reviews petered out in late June 2023.

DOGPATCH — After more than 127 years in the Dogpatch, Anchor Brewing ceased operations on July 12. The company is selling its assets through a process called Assignments for the Benefit of Creditors (ABC), which has already brought a few hopeful speculators looking to purchase the company. That’s nothing new for the historic company as it has already gone through a few major sales in its lifetime, notably an acquisition in 1965 and a major purchase by Sapporo USA in 2017.

SAN JOSE — San Jose’s first and only Michelin star-holding restaurant Adega is closing after eight years of service. The Mercury News reports the business is folding in anticipation of spin-off sister restaurant Petiscos’ opening; that restaurant has already earned a spot on the Michelin Guide as a Bib Gourmand. Adega’s last day will be in mid-December.

July 12

MISSION — As of late June, Luna, the neighborhood restaurant and bar on Valencia near 18th Street, has closed. A spokesperson confirmed the closure to Eater SF via email but, at the time, the ownership team was unsure what they’d do next with the space. The restaurant debuted in the Mission in 2021 after taking over the longtime Luna Park location and reopened in January 2023 following a refresh of the menu and space.

POTRERO HILL — VinePair was first to report the sudden closure of legendary San Francisco business Anchor Brewing on Wednesday, July 12. The brewery, which is widely considered to be the oldest craft brewery in the United States, is being liquidated, per an announcement from parent company Saporro USA. Production of the company’s famous steam beer has already ceased though the company’s tap room in Potrero Hill will stay open until at least August 1.

BERKELEY — Poulet, a 43-year-old Berkeley restaurant and deli, will close at the end of the week on Friday, July 14, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The business owner made the announcement in an email newsletter and did not provide a reason for the decision.

PALO ALTO — The final Bay Area locations of Fish Market, a 50-year-old California business, will close later this year, per the Mercury News. The restaurants in both Palo Alto, the original location, and San Mateo will close in September along with the company’s fishery, Farallon, in South San Francisco, the company president shared in a blog post. Per the Mercury News, the restaurant chain once spanned nine locations; following the closure of the two Bay Area locations, two restaurants in Southern California — specifically Del Mar and San Diego — will remain open.

July 6

SOMA — Wicked Grounds, a groundbreaking kink-friendly cafe, art gallery, and boutique, closed its physical space at 289 Eighth Street in SoMa after 14 years, SFGATE reports. The cafe served coffee, soups, and sandwiches, as well as provided space for the “kink, queer and sex-positive communities,” per the business website. Owner Mir Bilodeau says “declining revenue amid decreased foot traffic downtown” precipitated the decision to close the cafe, though the organization will continue to host virtual events and in-person workshops and classes and other venues in San Francisco.

This is far from the first time the cafe has gone dark, however. In 2018, the cafe announced plans to close but raised enough money to soldier on. After opening in 2009, it also shuttered in 2011, despite a successful $50,000 fundraising effort. Then, seemingly all of a sudden, reopened in 2012.

PACIFIC HEIGHTS — Curbside Cafe, a longstanding French-style bistro in the Pacific Heights neighborhood, announced plans to close as of June 30 on Facebook. The restaurant’s lease ended and the owners were unable to renew, per the post.

SOUTH BEACH — HRD Coffee Shop might sound like a neighborhood beverage stop, but real ones know it was a destination for Korean-Mexican fusion cuisine. The restaurant, which was open for about 70 years and served kimchi and bulgogi burritos, closed as of Friday, June 23, owner Sydney Saidyan confirmed. “I lost faith in my partners, meaning the city and landlord, to really see us as their valued partner,” Saidyan says. “We realized that basically we cannot continue when we have done everything we can, and we couldn’t really come to that mindset to say we can last another year or two.”