Big changes are planned for 528 Divisadero, as Ziryab is set to close its doors and make way for a new venture called "Horsefeather."
An alcohol license transfer application was filed yesterday by Justin Lew and Ian Scalzo, two high-level veterans of Future Bars (the team behind Bourbon & Branch, Rickhouse, Local Edition, and Tradition). They're also responsible for the cocktails at the recently-opened Hapa Ramen restaurant in the Mission. Horsefeather will be Lew and Scalzo's first full-fledged project since the pair left the Future Bars group.
Though they're still finalizing concept details for the new Divisadero project, Lew tells Hoodline that they plan to keep Horsefeather in the style of a neighborhood bar, as opposed to a high-concept destination. "It's important that we keep to the style of the neighborhood and make it approachable," said Lew, himself an 11-year resident of the neighborhood.
Affordable food which "doesn't price out locals" is part of the plan, and though details like hours of operation are still being decided, they're considering the possibility of late-night dining hours.
Ziryab got a full reboot back in 2013, with an interior remodel and a new cocktail program courtesy of Zachary Taylor. Taylor left the bar in July of 2014, but the newly elevated bar program remained, and Ziryab's late-night dining hours endeared it to neighborhood residents.
With the project in its initial stages, no timeline is yet in place for the changeover, so Ziryab will likely remain open for fans of the restaurant and bar's lamb meatballs, tagines and Mediterranean-inspired cocktails to stop by and say goodbye to the Divisadero fixture, which has been around since 2006.
We've reached out to Ziryab co-owner Salim Nasser to learn more. Nasser owns the business with brother Sameer, and the brothers have also owned New Star-ell, the corner store on Fell and Divisadero, since 1985.
Though we're still waiting to hear more about the circumstances surrounding Ziryab's potential closure, Salim did assure us that the Nasser brothers will remain a presence on Divisadero with the long-running New Star-ell.
