Sinbad's days have been numbered since 2012, but after a months-long series of legal battles between brothers/owners Tom, Charles, and Duane Stinson and their landlords, the Port of San Francisco, the Pier 2 restaurant is finally giving up the fight. According to the Chronicle, Sinbad's, which has been in business for just over 50 years, closed for good last night.
The Port needed to close Sinbad's so the Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) could construct a bigger ferry terminal on the site, which will allow for increased service and provide an evacuation route in the event of an emergency. In 2012, the Stinson brothers reached an agreement with the Port to close at the end of 2014, in exchange for the forgiveness of $85K in back rent and interest.
But when Sinbad's lease expired on March 21, 2015, the Stinsons dug in their heels, saying that they didn't need to vacate so soon because the terminal wouldn't start construction until spring 2016. The restaurant filed a lawsuit against the Port for "not acting in good faith," according to its attorney, Ivan Jen. However, the Port said it had no choice but to evict Sinbad's early, as it was incurring hefty fines from the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) for not emptying the space; as of October 14th, about $13,600 in BCDC fines had been accrued.
To proceed with the eviction, the Port also filed a suit, and though courts gave the go-ahead for it to evict Sinbad's, the restaurant played its trump card by filing for bankruptcy last month. But it lost that case as well, leading to Monday's closure.
Several longtime employees told the Chronicle that they were concerned about the loss of their jobs, including Jack Yip, who's been Sinbad's chef for 38 years, and Mary Ann Bostwick, who's waitressed there for 33 years and now plans to retire.
Though Sinbad's is viewed by many as dated (and has less-than-stellar Yelp reviews), it does have a contingent of regulars, some of whom turned out last night to say goodbye. Sinbad's fixtures are being hauled away today; it's unclear if the Stinsons will attempt to open another restaurant elsewhere. As for the ferry terminal, WETA told us last month that construction was now set to begin in late 2016.
