One of San Francisco’s Most Interesting Omakase Restaurants Is Closing

On Friday, San Francisco’s first omakase yakitori restaurant, Hina Yakatori, announced its upcoming closure after four years on Divisadero. The restaurant, which is owned by the same team behind Michelin-starred sushi restaurant Ju-Ni, serves a multicourse tasting menu comprised of various skewers grilled over binchotan coals.

An Instagram post shares the restaurant’s final night of service is set for Thursday, August 31. In its last month, the restaurant will host a weekly chef collaboration series with fellow yakitori chefs Blake King of ToriSumi Takitori in Washington, D.C.; Ozzie Mendoza of yakitori pop-up Fowlmouth in New Orleans and San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Pete Ho of Sumibiyaki Arashi in Vancouver.

Already the owners are hinting at another project in the works. In a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle, Hina’s owners say a new restaurant is set for the space at 808 Divisadero with chef Tommy Cleary once again running the kitchen, adding that the reason for closure is unrelated to San Francisco’s publicized issues downtown. “As a team, we are all optimistic about our city’s future,” the restaurant owners stated.

112-year-old Liguria Bakery temporarily closed following a fire

The San Francisco Fire Department put out a blaze at North Beach’s famed Liguria Bakery on Friday, August 4, the San Francisco Standard reports. The fire started in the bakery’s brick oven, which can reach up to 1,000 degrees. Firefighters were able to keep the flames from spreading to the apartments above the bakery. No injuries were reported, though the bakery will be closed until further notice.

Destructive algae bloom returns to the Bay Area

Sixteen dead fish have turned up at Bay Area beaches, and it looks like the cause is a repeat of the algae bloom that killed tens of thousands of fish in the bay and Lake Merritt last year, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The bloom, which has been detected near Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, Richardson Bay, Belvedere, and at Muir Beach, might be dissipating, according to satellite images of the bay. But scientists will continue to monitor the situation and hope this year’s algae bloom won’t be as extreme as the one seen in 2022.

Long-running Palo Alto restaurant gets evicted over late rent

Mike’s Diner Bar is allegedly facing eviction after owner Mike Wallau paid the rent on his Palo Alto restaurant one day late due to a family medical emergency, the Mercury News reports. With the rent due on July 17, Wallau was at the hospital with his disabled daughter and reportedly paid by July 18; a letter dated July 20 from his property manager of Ventana Property Services stated his rent check was being returned and that the owners are initiating the eviction process. The newspaper reports that the city manager’s office is “discussing the possibility of mediation” between the two parties, but in the meantime, Wallau’s lawyers look to halt eviction proceedings.

Tomato fanatics, rejoice — it’s Tomato Week

For those who excitedly await tomato season each summer, this one’s for you: SF Tomato Week highlights the city’s restaurants and their best tomato dishes from Monday, August 7 to Sunday, August 13. Organized by San Francisco’s restaurant industry lobbying group the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, the event means restaurants across the city will serve special items such as burrata-stuffed squash blossoms on fermented Early Girl tomatoes from Cassava in North Beach and an Early Girl tomato sandwich on a baguette with anchovy aioli at Automat. For the full list of participating restaurants, head to the Tomato Week website.