The Cliff House restaurant, which first opened 157 years ago in San Francisco, announced Sunday that the restaurant will close permanently on Dec. 31, a victim both of the COVID-19 pandemic and, its owners say, delays by the National Park Service in reaching a long-term operating contract with the restaurant.
The announcement of the permanent closure was posted Sunday by Cliff House’s longtime owners, Dan and Mary Hountalas, on the restaurant’s website (www.cliffhouse.com). They said 180 employees will lose their jobs.
The Cliff House ended in-house dining in March due to the pandemic. The operators said they attempted to try takeout-only service in early June, but after 10 weeks of that, closed down completely in mid-July, saying the restaurant was losing too much money as a takeout-only operation.
The last long-term contract between the Cliff House and the National Park Service expired in June 2018, and the restaurant had been operating since then under a series of short-term contracts, the current one set to expire on Dec. 31.
photo credit: Cliff House Restaurant- Facebook
28 comments
Too bad they’re losing their jobs but a great opportunity for 180 families to relocate out of CA for a much better place…
What a rotten shame
Not the best food but not bad for lunch. Still my favorite place to eat in the city. They will reopen and maybe the food will get better. When bringing out of town guests there somehow always manage to get the far corner table. There you can see the beach and the ocean.
Heartbreaking to see. Wasn’t a hugh fan after the remodel, but the history and location beyond compare. Would walk from a friend of mine off 48th Ave many times. All too familiar now.. My brother in law owns homes along to he Peninsula and one of his renters had two restaurants in the heart of the Financial District now had to claim Bankruptcy then moved to Lincoln, CA.
It is always a shame when a local business has to shut down, but the Cliff House was one of our San Francisco favorites.
Another victim of the fakedemic.Maybe Gov. Nuisance can buy the place and put homeless there.
Rumor is Gav will open it as a Plumpjack…….For him life is just like a big Monopoly game. However he may have used up his “get out of jail free” cards…….
Shut up about “fakedemic”, you parrot. And Gavin Newsom doesn’t run the NATIONAL Park Service. That’s part of the Federal government. Guess who is in control of that.
I also know there was a Federal Govt lease issue as well since 2017.
One the other side of the same coin, there’s Scomas who rakes in 20 mil and hasn’t missed a beat, a friend of mine pointed out.
Sad, never got to go. Would have liked to have ordered a beer if nothing else and seen the place.
Excessive California countermeasures to the chinese virus kill yet another business, I’m sure dozens or hundreds folded on the same day this one did.
One of the best gift shop’s…criminal what newsom & his ilkers were able to devastate in less than a year…
A well known name and many other neighborhood restaurants will not be reopening. Too bad pelosi held up next round of Covid funds.
Money wold have made a difference to many small businesses.
https://www.dailyjobcuts.com/
That is very sad news. It’s iconic. Dan and Mary Hountalas hung in there a lifetime. I can imagine them not wanting to spend their life savings bridging the gap to better days. I saw it go through several Cliff House closures and versions before. Saw my first Egyptian mummy, and supposedly my first wild seals on the rocks out the window in the sea. There were supposed to only be about two or three at the time. My mom kept pointing them out to me saying, “Look! Look! Can you see them? there’s one right there!”. I couldn’t see anything but rock and whitewash. Someone new will take it on, and hopefully make it work.
Since mature you avoided answer me that last time you brought this up, You would support the United States Government doing exactly what Taiwan, New Zealand, Australia and China did to “control” Covid-19 in their countries.
Closing downs the approximately 7500 miles of US land borders with Mexico and Canada. Closing all airborne and seaborne ports of entry into the United States. Closing down the borders between states. Enacting a strict 76 day lockdown. Suspending all public transportation. Establish health checkpoints at public transport hubs. Assigning only one member of each household to leave the home every couple of days to collect necessary supplies. Using facial recognition software to review CCTV footage, track cell phone GPS and credit card usage for contact and trace. Immediately prohibit all protests and social gatherings. Take a zero tolerance approach with enforced by arrest for anyone not wearing a mask or not following guidelines.
That is how those other countries are handling Covid-19.
I’d like to hear@ iota maturity’s response too.
And I just love maturity’s heartless comment, “Someone will, eventually, reopen the restaurant. It wasn’t the same family running it for 150 years…” Yeah, who cares about all the people right now that lost their businesses, they’re all replaceable.
@iota, great response! Lol
What a shame. A SF classic. Good food, great views and SF priced, but always a good time.
And Cher do you realize how simplistic you sound with the mask is a panacea for covid?
I got married in 1974 and my ex husband was working for the wine division (Geyser Peak) of Schlitz brewery in Milwaukee Wisconsin. Thus we lived in Milwaukee however they decided to transfer my ex to San Francisco come January 1975. My ex made several trips to San Francisco, and the company paid for me to fly out for several days to look for an apartment. The first place my ex took me to the Sunday following my arrival, was the Cliff House (the second was Perry’s on Union Street and of course the Bueno Vista for Irish Coffee, all became favorites) I’ve been to the Cliff House many times, taking visitors there, and after my divorce would go with friends fairly often. I lived on the Peninsula. Have not been there in years, even so it is too bad it is closing, I have fond memories of the place.
That’s just sad – many good memories there.
Me too!
In the past the ignorant mobs blamed witches or religious minorities for pandemics. Today’s simpletons blame politicians.
@ an iota of maturity
You mean like closing downs the approximately 7500 miles of US land borders with Mexico and Canada. Closing all airborne and seaborne ports of entry into the United States. Closing down the borders between states. Enacting a strict 76 day lockdown. Suspending all public transportation. Establish health checkpoints at public transport hubs. Assigning only one member of each household to leave the home every couple of days to collect necessary supplies. Using facial recognition software to review CCTV footage, track cell phone GPS and credit card usage for contact and trace. Immediately prohibit all protests and social gatherings. Take a zero tolerance approach with enforced by arrest for anyone not wearing a mask or not following guidelines.
That is how those countries you hold up as being smart are handling Covid -19.
It was our special spot….
Always enjoyed our visits, great service.
Very sorry to see it go, won’t even get to make one last visit!
Here’s hoping it’s all posturing and will be resolved in 2021.
No lease, why not walk away for 6-9 months and avoid the outgoing expenses.
Joe
Sad to see the Cliff House shutdown. My Mom would take me there as a child to see the sunset and watch the seals. I also would take our family there to the same. Has anyone been to Fisherman’s Wharf lately. A Ghost Town. Sad.
The area to the right of the Cliff House with that tunnel to walk thru is a great place to get your freak on at night.
Old old Sutro Baths. My friends and I partied there like animals when we were students at SFSU. Friday nights were wild after Midnight. It’s a great location and SFPD mostly left us alone.
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