Unable to continue operating in the current economic conditions, a number of popular neighborhood restaurants have shut their doors in San Francisco. Bonta Ristorante at 2223 Union Street, near Fillmore, was a neighborhood favorite trattoria for 14 years. Neighboring restaurant Doiges, another local favorite for brunch, closed its doors several weeks earlier.

Although information is scare as to the reason for closing, Swiss inspired Luzern Restaurant, at 1429 Noriega Street, near 22nd Avenue closed after 26 years in business.

It looks like another casualty may be Montage in the Metreon. When I passed by today it was all closed up and some of the outside signage had been taken down. However it didn't look like anyone had started dismantalling the interior so it might be temporary.

I wouldn't be surprised if it shut down though, it almost always seems empty, though they seem to do a pretty good lunch business on their terrace overlooking Yuerba Buena Gradens. Putting a high end restaurant in a mall never seemed like a great pairing to me. If it is shut down, my guess that it will be replaced by a chain (like a Friday's or a retail shop).

I also sometimes wonder about Jillian's, but it seems to get a pretty good weekend crowd even though it is nearly always empty on weeknights. They also seem to get pretty frequent party bookings from the convention groups. It also helps that they are a chain so as long as they do reasonably well, chances are they stick around.

carlhaynes, well, it appears that your suspicions were correct. Montage, which could accomodate up to 260 diners, struggled at the Metreon for some time now officially closed on Wednesday.

Fellow Flyertalker dgolds and I had lunched at Montage 2 weeks ago only to find it void of a lunch crowd.

A menu change several weeks prior as well as a new chef did not seem to draw the crowds that management had hoped for with the new menu offerings. The Metreon and Sony management will be conducting a design review in order to determine what kind of restaurant they will opn in the 9,000 sqaure foot space.

[This message has been edited by raffy (edited 09-26-2001).]

Two prominent San Francisco restaurants close in the past 2 weeks.

After 12 years, the Pat Kuleto designed "Splendido" restaurant, located on the promenade level of Four Embarcadero Center, closed last Thursday, another victim of the souring economy and hidden location. Splendido had been rated as one of the best Italian restaurants in the city.

At Fisherman's Wharf, Gabbiano's Restaurant and Oyster Bar, located at One Ferry Plaza suddenly closed on Sunday.

[This message has been edited by raffy (edited 09-26-2001).]

Splendido's closing surprised me, they've been around quite awhile and I thought they had a pretty good following, though I admit I've never eaten there.

A restaurant that I though would be hurting pretty bad, but actually seems to be doing ok is Bacar. I stopped by about 9:00 last sunday evening for a quick bite and there was a 30 minute wait for a table. I ate at the bar which I like anyway. It's pretty pricey but I usually order just an appetizer (the mussels are pretty good, as are the salads) and that's usually enough for dinner for me. If they can ride it out for the next year or so I think they'll make it. There's several hundred housing units going in withing a two block radius which should help. In the same neighborhood, fringale seems to be packed every night (its rather small though), Bizou seems to be a little emptier than it used to be (I sure hope they survive, every so often I get a craving for beef cheecks that only they can satisfy). I can never be sure of Cafe Monk since its hard to see inside when you walk by, I've been surprised by the number of people who tell me they really like it though.

If I had to pick a place that will be hurting soon, its 24. They seem to have trouble getting people on non-baseball nights and now that baseball season is wrapping up, I have a hard time believing they'll survive until next year.

Now I'm getting hungry, maybe I should go get some dinner!

Owner Fred Halpert closed LiveFire (100 Brannan St., at the Embarcadero) a couple of weeks ago. It was reported that the restaurant underperformed and did not meet expectations.

Little City Antipasti Bar and Restaurant, located at 673 Union St. (at Powell) in North Beach for about 20 years, closed suddenly a couple of weeks ago. A sign on the door says, "Closed for remodeling," but all of North Beach is curious about what will open there next.

The ongoing terrorism and the effects of the Sept. 11 tragedies continue to impact San Francisco restaurants. Several restaurants, including MC2, are changing their concept to help increase their bottom line.

When the restaurant opened in 1988 under chef Yoshi Kojima, the menu was fusion. Now it's set to go in another direction under new general manager Joe Gerot, formerly of the now-closed Rumpus, and new chef Todd Davies, formerly of Lark Creek Inn. MC2 is located at 470 Pacific Ave. (near Montgomery) in San Francisco and is open Monday-Saturday for dinner. Plans are to resume serving lunch in December.

Here's a sad one for me, Enzo's a tiny neighborhood italian place near me is going to close next year as the building owners did not renew their lease.

The are located at 4th & Brannan (right by Bizou). This is one of those great neighborhood places with good food at reasonable prices and some of the friendliest service anywhere. They always remember me no matter how long its been since I last visited.

I stopped in this week and I was the only one there, he said that the dot.com bust really hurt since all the businesses in the area closed up. The sad part is that the place is literally surrounded by housing construction and in the next year several hundred housing units in the neighborhood will be on the market.

Not sure exactly when they're closing, I don't think it will be until next year sometime.


[This message has been edited by carlhaynes (edited 10-27-2001).]

[This message has been edited by carlhaynes (edited 10-27-2001).]

dup...

[This message has been edited by carlhaynes (edited 10-27-2001).]

A couple more restaurant closings to report:

NeO, at 1007 Guerrero Street (near 22nd Street) has closed. It was closed once before, after checf Lance Dean Velasquez left (he's now at JohnFrank on Market @ Church), then reopened with general manager David Madison and checf Ted Sandak. Now it's closed again.

"We were financially challenge from the beginning. After a good review in the paper, we were packed every night, but after 9/11, we hit bottom and we just couldn't recover," Madison said.

This is truely sad news indeed, PJ Corkery in the Examiner scooped the "Inside Scoop" at the Chronicle and has announced that the Cypress Club closed over the past weekend.

It was a lovely spot with a fantastic decor. It will be greatly missed!

John Cunin is the owner of Cypress Club and also owns the popular "No Name" restaurant 2223 in the Uppermarket/Castro neighborhood.

[This message has been edited by Leisuremiles (edited 11-16-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Leisuremiles (edited 11-16-2001).]

I had noticed a week or so ago that the Cyprus Club was put up for sale, I had wondered how long they were for this world. For some interesting facts about the restaurant check out:

Cyprus Club for sale listing (http://www.restaurants-for-sale-online.com/rro/ListingView.asp?ListingPK=1546)

Also noticed that Basque's windows were papered up (and saw a note about them closing in Wednesday's Chronicle). They were in a pretty foresaken area of town, especially with all the companies gone now.

On a brighter note, has anyone tried Le Petit Robert on Polk (at Green, I think), it opened a few weeks ago and looks to be a nice little Bistro.

More on the Cypress Club closing from the SF Chronicle;

After 12 years reporting on the volatile Bay Area restaurant scene, seeing restaurants open, stumble, blossom or close -- way too many of the latter this year -- I guess I should be hardened to its vagaries. But I'm very sad about the closing on Nov. 9 of the Cypress Club (500 Jackson St., near Montgomery).

Its splashy opening almost 12 years ago was one of the first high-style restaurant events I covered and I was a bit dazzled. It was the closest thing to a Hollywood premiere I had been to. Limos lined the block bearing well- dressed investors and bespangled guests who had flown in for the debut. Then there was the controversial restaurant design itself.

Over the next several months, I found myself defending Chicago architect Jordan Mozer's supporting ginger jar "columns," his risque light fixtures which looked like Madonna's pointy bra of the day, the 1940s mural that encircled the room, the custom-made velvet chairs and the copper-clad retaining walls.

It was a fun spot to sip an icy martini, schmooze with urbane owner John Cunin and try the food from his latest chef. There were lots over the years -- including founding chef Corey Schreiber, now kicking it at his Wildwood Restaurant & Bar in Portland. The Cypress Club fulfilled the fantasy of a 1940s supper club, like the ones we pined for from all those Fred Astaire movies.

Last Wednesday morning when I called Cunin, he was carrying out boxes. The sheriff was coming at noon to evict. How did it come to this?

Cunin says he had tried to renegotiate the rent with the landlord months ago, betting, as he had for so many years, that the end-of-the-year business travelers and holiday parties would let him catch up. But after the events of Sept. 11, tourism tanked, parties were cancelled and business went down 50 percent. The end was inevitable.

Cunin says he took care of his employees and will try to pay his purveyors, but is filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy, as well. He plans to take some time off after the dust settles.

Wa-Ha-Ka, the nouvelle Mexican food restaurant on 11th & Folsom served its last burrito when it closed its doors recently in the trendy South of Market neighborhood.

Source: sfgate.com

Desperate times often result in desperate measures … and that seems to have been borne out by the last days of the recently closed 12-year-old Cypress Club.

In my 10 years of writing the news about Bay Area restaurants, I've seen employers let employees go with 15-minutes notice when a restaurant closed. I've written about the stealth removal of equipment, the lockout of partners and the thousands of dollars lost by employees and suppliers when a restaurant sinks.

What happened in the last days of the Cypress Club is a cautionary tale for workers, purveyors and the dining public who, particularly in this season, celebrate in our restaurants.

As reported in the Nov. 21 Inside Scoop column, I reached Cypress Club owner John Cunin on Nov. 14 as he was carrying out boxes an hour ahead of the sheriff's arrival to evict him for nonpayment of approximately $200,000 in rent. He says he had stayed the eviction many times, but this time he let it go through. By then, all of his employees had left.

In that column, he said that that despite all the factors leading to his closure, the dot-com bomb, Sept. 11 and the recession, "I took care of my employees."

When his former employees read this in print, a firestorm of e-mails hit my desk. Charges and counter-charges flew over the phone lines as we spoke to Cunin, employees and patrons.

This part is clear. Several employees are owed paychecks. At least one veteran server says she is owed tip monies. The trickle-down from that is that other employees, who she would "tip-out" -- split tips with at the end of the night -- also got stiffed.

On the supplier side, checks written to purveyors had bounced, which meant several put the restaurant on a COD basis or refused to do business with the Cypress Club at all. And then there were the taxes. Cunin confirms that a sales-tax levy dates back to 1996-1997 and that payroll taxes are also involved. He also admits that, "I did leave some paychecks hanging out there."

General manager Pierre Chaltry, who had worked at the Cypress Club for 12 years, and Donna Nicoletti, special events coordinator of five years, say they are owed several thousands of dollars, and were told in so many words, "Call my bankruptcy lawyer and get in line with everyone else."

A couple of days before the closure, a few employees began grabbing equipment and liquor in payment, which Cunin confirms and says he stopped.

He says he is declaring personal and business bankruptcy and that he did not get paid $25,000 in management fees or cash his last two paychecks.

Although Cunin continued to deduct medical coverage from employees' checks, all three checks he sent Blue Shield between June and November bounced, according to a Blue Shield spokesperson. She also said that despite this, some employee claims were paid. But a Blue Shield letter dated Nov. 17, after the restaurant closed, states the employees' health insurance was terminated as of June 1.

One waiter, Bernardo Lopez, who worked there five years, recently got a bill for $1,200 for an MRI done on his knee. He didn't know that he didn't have coverage. "It also leaves open the question as to whether he paid the taxes, unemployment insurance and Social Security for us. I was so loyal -- I feel betrayed."

For his part, Cunin says in reference to any medical bills, "I'm trying to cover this."

Most relevant to restaurant-goers and to companies celebrating the holidays,

is that holiday parties booked at the restaurant had to be cancelled, according to special events planner Nicoletti.

Nicoletti, now at Harris' Restaurant, said she personally called the majority of the parties, telling the clients they would not get their deposits back and advising them to stop payment on the checks or cancel the charge with their credit card company. She says the deposits were approximately $40,000, Cunin says it's more like $14,000. "At no time did I take anybody's money with the idea of not paying it back," says Cunin.

But, some clients continued to make deposits on parties until almost the very end. A spokesperson at a law firm in the Embarcadero says that on Nov. 6 the firm sent in a $3,951 check for a Dec. 7 luncheon booked for 150 guests. The check was deposited on Nov. 7 and cleared on Nov. 8. The restaurant closed on Nov. 9.

Bill West, who scheduled his wedding rehearsal dinner there on Dec. 4, lost $684. A similar hardship befell Kensington Investments, which lost $1,588, also for Dec. 4 party at the Cypress Club. The firm only found out about the closure, according to Gina Westerman, when they called to inquire about valet parking service.


Michelle Vaughn of Wells Fargo bumped a luncheon for 100 people to MacArthur Park, after losing her $2,030 deposit at the Cypress Club.

This year, Scoop has seen more closures than at any other time and if the economy doesn't pick up we're sure to see more next year. It would be wise for meeting planners, corporate party planners and individuals to check and re- check the health of any restaurant they plan to use for functions.

As far at the injured parties, the employees we spoke to said they have or are planning to seek legal advice to explore their options. The companies that lost deposits are talking to their credit card providers.

The big question is how one of the golden boys of the San Francisco restaurant scene, who once had three restaurants, taught a class in restaurant management, and was a restaurant consultant, closed his dream restaurant, with so many people hurt and in such disarray.

Garen Staglin, of Staglin Family Vineyard, one of a dozen or more original investors in the Cypress Club, said about the closure, "We knew that he couldn't work things out with the landlord. Twelve years ago, we invested in the Cypress Club because we knew John, when he was the maitre d' at Masa's -- we didn't do it just for money -- the rewards were more than monetary."

In Hawaii, they wryly say the aloha spirit is a two-way street. The same might be said of employer-employee-patron loyalty, here in San Francisco or anywhere restaurants aim to thrive.


[This message has been edited by raffy (edited 01-04-2002).]

I just heard that a favorite hangout-The Buchanan Grill may have closed its doors for good the sign in the door has the all too familiar "closed for renovations" sign. If true, it certainly will be missed as it is one of the last true "gin joints" in the Marina. Michael McCourt (the youngest of the "Angela's Ashes" son's)was the daytime bartender there.

[This message has been edited by Leisuremiles (edited 01-24-2002).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Leisuremiles:
I just heard that a favorite hangout-The Buchanan Grill may have closed its doors for good the sign ...</font>

From the SF Chronicle:

Newsflash: San Francisco's Buchanan Grill (3653 Buchanan, near Bay Street) has been closed for nearly two weeks for repairs, according to a sign posted on the door. But, the word in the nabe is that it may not reopen. We went by several times and no construction was evident.


Edited for additional content



[This message has been edited by raffy (edited 01-28-2002).]

The future of the Buchanan Grill is once again rosy. It's no longer for sale and new partners are not being sought. Owners Bill Jamison and Kevin Danahy were able to find new financing and reopened last Thursday.

Legendary bartender Michael McCourt is walking the planks Monday through Friday. New hours include dinner Wednesday-Saturday, lunch weekdays, and brunch on weekends. The Grill is located at 3653 Buchanan St. (near North Point).

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by raffy:
The future of the Buchanan Grill is once again rosy. It's no longer for sale and new partners are not being sought. Owners Bill Jamison and Kevin Danahy were able to find new financing and reopened last Thursday.

Legendary bartender Michael McCourt is walking the planks Monday through Friday. New hours include dinner Wednesday-Saturday, lunch weekdays, and brunch on weekends. The Grill is located at 3653 Buchanan St. (near North Point). </font>

Thanks, raffy. That's really good news. http://www.flyertalk.com/dining/ftdining_forum/smile.gif

Cypress Club Alumni open new digs in Now Valley:

When the Cypress Club closed in San Francisco late last year, two veterans were among the many employees thrown out of work. But not for long. In January,

GM Pierre Chaltry and former bartender Pierre Letheule took over Bliss Bar in Noe Valley.

Bliss, located at 4026 24th St. (near Noe), was opened by Jim Kopp and Jim Ferguson in 2000. Chaltry and Letheule are continuing the basic concept -- a comfortable neighborhood lounge, open nightly, with DJs Wednesday through Sunday -- but have put their stamp on the cocktail menu with drinks like a Latin Cosmopolitan made with tequila.

Recent restaurant closings have included the venerable Gold Coast Restaurant, at 230 California St. (near Front) in San Francisco. Rumor has it that high rents and a dip in business were the culprits.

More recent annoucements:

Aqua Development Corp. (Aqua, Charles Nob Hill, Pisces, etc.), owners of Redwood Park, pulled the plug on the Transamerica Pyramid restaurant on Jan. 7 in a meeting with key personnel. The restaurant had been plagued with problems, including the firing of George Morrone, the only San Francisco chef to garner four stars at two different restaurants (Aqua and Redwood Park); the resignation and negotiations with corporate executive chef Michael Mina; and the filing of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Lack of business was the reason given for the closing.

Gordon's House of Fine Eats (500 Florida St.), is set to close after service on Saturday (1/18/03). The finale was in the stars long before chef-partner Gordon Drysdale left last month. Real Restaurant Group's Bill Higgins, a partner in Gordon's, says the future of the Gordon's space, in Multimedia Gulch west of Potrero Hill, is still uncertain. It could be leased for catering or events, or Real Restaurants might come up with a new concept, form a new company, and reopen in the future.

Source: sfgate

Meetinghouse restaurant located at 1701 Octavia St. (near Bush Street) will close, after almost eight years, citing the economic downturn as the reason.

The deal may take several months to complete; until then diners can enjoy dinner nightly and Sunday brunch.

I'm not sure how other San Franciscans feel about it, but I've always been put off by Jillian's big dress code sign at the front door...mind you, it's not a place I'd go anyway, but it always makes for good conversation fodder when I'm walking by with a group of friends.

What are they thinking? Not only is the restaurant basically a sports bar with tablecloths, it's in SF...probably the least dress code oriented cities in the country...

(Sorry, a little off topic)

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by carlhaynes:
I also sometimes wonder about Jillian's, but it seems to get a pretty good weekend crowd even though it is nearly always empty on weeknights. They also seem to get pretty frequent party bookings from the convention groups. It also helps that they are a chain so as long as they do reasonably well, chances are they stick around.</font>



[This message has been edited by snorkmaster (edited 05-19-2003).]

Noticed last night: Noi (on 24th Street) has been replaced -- I think it's now an Italian restaurant. (Bufa?)

Buchanan Grill is closed for good. Not a real shock as the food was overpriced (like so many places in SF) and just so-so.

Sad to lose a neighborhood bar, if not the kitchen.

Those who miss the atmosphere should head to the Brazen Head a few blocks away on Buchanan and Greenwich. Much better food, if not prices.

On Thursday (6/12) at lunch time, I went to Standing Room Only (between Montgomery and Sansome) to find the place dark and the doors locked. The shelves still had inventory. There was no sign on the door.

Add to the CLOSED list:

Meeting House (good food, if a bit overpriced, will close in August)

Pane y Vino - lost his lease. Love this place, a big loss IMO though you can always visit the sister restaurant Via Vai on Union Street.

Sears Fine Food will close after 60+ years of serving its famous Swedish pancakes on Monday 12/29.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Boraxo:
Add to the CLOSED list:

Meeting House (good food, if a bit overpriced, will close in August)

Pane y Vino - lost his lease. Love this place, a big loss IMO though you can always visit the sister restaurant Via Vai on Union Street.</font>

Pane y Vino has taken over the Via Vai space.

Via Vai and Pane e Vino are owned by the same people. I was a big fan of Pane e Vino and tried Via Vai last month after the closure.

Sorry to report that Via Vai has kept its old menu and while it does has its charms, is not the same as Pane e Vino was. Pane e Vino was a wonderful reataurant, very close to what might find in Italy, exceptional food and great service. The dishes we (4 of us) had at Via Vai varied in quality from pretty darned good to pretty darned mediocre and were not nearly of the quality of what the kitchen at Pane e Vino regularly put out. Looked like most people at other tables were ordering pizza, which looked great by the way.

We were told that the majority of the staff from Pane e Vino were not brought over to Via Vai; indeed, we did not see staff that had graciously helped us over the years.

For us, Pane e Vino was the only spot on Uniion Street worth the hassle of dealing with parking. Via Vai is not and while we liked it well enough, we probably won't be back anytime soon.

Can anyone report as to whether House in North Beach is still open?

I was searching for the address and noticed that it's Sunset location was now closed :-(

closed per zagat wire:

Atithi, BeauCoup, Cafe Cuvée, Cambodiana, Jocco's, Joubert's, La Table, Lisa Hemenway's Bistro, Misto, Powell's Place, Red Herring, 301 Bistro, Via Centro

apparently, powell's place will reopen at 1521 Eddy in July.

i'm disappointed about Cafe Cuvée -- it was pokey as hell, but it was a block from my old place, and a great place to grab brunch on the weekend.