After a prolonged legal battle to stay alive, Sinbad's restaurant at Pier 2 is finally being demolished to make way for a new ferry terminal.
The restaurant closed for good on November 23rd, 2015, after putting up a protracted fight against the Port of San Francisco. It was supposed to vacate by the end of 2014, according to a 2012 agreement in which the Port forgave more than $85,000 in back rent and interest. But it got an extension to continue operating through March 21st, 2015.
After that, the owners dug in and refused to leave, despite losing a court battle in May to toss the eviction notice. In October, Sinbad's filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy on the same day the San Francisco Sheriff's Department was scheduled to begin eviction proceedings against it, allowing it to remain open for business for another month before its November closure.
Chuck Stinson, who owns Sinbad's with his brothers Duane and Tom, told us previously that he and his brothers were "kind of" looking for a new location, so it's not clear if it'll reopen.
The Port evicted Sinbad's so the Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) can construct a bigger ferry terminal on the site as part of the $65 million Downtown San Francisco Ferry Terminal Expansion Project, which includes two new gates and a public plaza. The expansion will allow for increased service, and provide a new evacuation route in the event of an emergency.
WETA told us last October that construction would begin in late 2016. A sign on the fencing around Sinbad's doesn't mention a timeline.
