Plans are being explored to demolish popular late-night eatery Grubstake in order to make room for a new seven-story mixed-use building at 1525 Pine St.
A Preliminary Planning Assessment (PPA) for the project was filed with the San Francisco Planning Department on July 31st by D-Scheme Studio with the permission of Nick Pigott, who is taking ownership of the restaurant this month. The plan proposes 28 residential units (17,704 square feet total), plus 1,955 square feet of retail space in two ground-floor storefronts. The proposed development would be 65-feet tall and include a roof deck.
As a reminder, a PPA does not represent a final plan or mean that a project is moving forward. The application is an early, exploratory step, and is meant to solicit the San Francisco Planning Department for feedback regarding large-scale projects.
Grubstake, which has been in operation since 1937, recently changed ownership. Fernando and Linda Santos, a husband and wife team who've owned the diner since 1989, sold the late-night destination to Nick Pigott, who also owns Mayes Oyster House right around the corner. The transfer of ownership is expected to become official on August 15th.
In a Chronicle interview published on July 15th, Pigott stated that “We’re going to take over and run it as is. Nobody is going to notice a difference.” In the same article, Linda Santos said, “We’ve had offers, but they all wanted to knock it down and put condos here. We really wanted to keep it Grubstake.”
We contacted Pigott and his business partner, Johnny "Love" Metheny, to learn more about their plans. "The plan is to keep The Grubstake," said Metheny. "There is a lot of uncertainty in the neighborhood and we're just keeping our options open. We intend to make vast improvements in the area, including the street front and the alleys." Metheny went on to tell us that he has a personal investment in the location as well as a professional one. "The first time I went to Grubstake was 30 years ago. I love the place."
When we asked what the next steps in the process would be, Metheny told us, "The next step is to get in there and operate The Grubstake."
