We've got a handful of updates on North Beach restaurants, bars, and shops that are currently in varying states of flux.
Original U.S. Restaurant
A sign posted last month on the door of Original U.S. Restaurant (515 Columbus Ave.) read, "We will be closed for remodeling April 13th-May 13th." So we headed over this week to check out the new digs.
Unfortunately, it'll be about another month before the restaurant re-opens, said Richard Wan, who's doing the construction. The delay is due to water damage which requires that the floor be replaced. Workers could be seen taking bags of Quikrete inside this week, and the space looked pretty torn up.
Wan told us that the restaurant bathroom is becoming ADA accessible as well. Building permits indicate that two existing bathrooms are being merged into one. The ownership of the restaurant won't change, Wan said.
Volare Trattoria Cafe
In other North Beach restaurant news, Volare Trattoria Cafe at 561 Columbus Ave. appears shuttered, too, and its windows papered over. An employee posted on the restaurant's Facebook page that it was his last day on the job because the place was closing to remodel. Meanwhile, a Yelp post from May 8th said the phone was disconnected and a lock box was on the door the previous weekend. We heard through the grapevine it's going to be a new restaurant, but haven't been able to reach Volare chef/owner Antonio "Tony" Fragale. If anyone has any information, please let us know.
Buyer's Best Friend
Buyer's Best Friend Mercato at 450 Columbus Ave. also plans to close, but not because business is bad, said CEO and co-founder Adam Sah: it's actually the opposite. He said the company's snack delivery service to about 150 mostly tech offices has "gone bananas."
"It’s the equivalent for us of opening a new shop every two weeks," he said, and they still also run a wholesale business. They're up to 40 employees, Sah said, and have a 16,000-square-foot warehouse. At that kind of speed and scale, he added, they couldn’t give their retail stores the attention they needed. They closed their first shop at 1740 Haight St. on April 30th, but their Ferry Building kiosk will remain.
The North Beach shop has a "for lease" sign in the window, and Sah said he and the landlord are both interviewing potential tenants. There's been a flurry of interest, he added. "We’d like to give the location to someone who’s going to give it the same kind of passion we did,” he said. Sah and co-founder Joyce Guan opened all three physical locations throughout 2012.
Update, 5/26: A liquidation sale is on."Woot! the new tenant signed the lease and starts June 1, so we're having a 50% off sale to clear stock at Mercato. Spread the word! Killer deals!!"
...And More
This adds to other recent restaurant closures and changes: O'Reilly's Irish Pub & Restaurant at 622 Green St. closed last year, Cafe Divine at 1600 Stockton St. closed Nov. 30, 2014 and is now Acquolina, Capp's Corner at 1600 Powell St. closed in April, Dell'Uva at 565 Green St. closed and is becoming Belle Cora, and Pisto's Tacos at 1310 Grant Ave. closed, with a sign that's been on it for months saying it's going to be the new home of Chubby Noodle – by the same owner of Don Pisto's, Pete Mrabe.
In other business changes, Park & Pond at 1422 Grant Ave. closed in early May, with founder Jessica Herman saying she'll sell her inventory of locally-made products online until she finds a new location. Moving in will be Jack's, a casual men's clothing store (its first shop was Jack's on Chestnut in the Marina). The Emerald Tablet creative space at 80 Fresno St. announced it would close at the end of May, too. Finally, Yone SF bead store at 478 Union St. has been open on a limited basis since Feb. 21st due to a water leak in the building. They're taking appointments to show finer items. Co-owner Sandra Fish said they're hoping to fully reopen and are in negotiations with a new landlord.
Any other recent or upcoming North Beach business changes we missed? Let us know in the comments.
