After only six months in the Castro, Salvadoran restaurant Los Amigos on Castro (2295 Market St. at 16th) has permanently closed.
It was back in March when the Mission District-based Los Amigos opened its second location in the former Castro Republic space.
The restaurant appears to have quietly closed at the beginning of the month. Los Amigos owner Miguel Ramirez did not respond to Hoodline's request for comment.
Los Amigos at 2295 Market St. is now closed. | Photo: Steven Bracco/Hoodline
On a recent visit by a Hoodline reporter, the menu had been taken down from the front window while all the furniture remained inside the restaurant.
While an announcement about the closure was not made, Los Amigos' Castro location has already been removed from the restaurant's website.
Hoodline readers will recall Los Amigos was announced back in September 2022 but the opening was delayed until March.
Los Amigos' Mission location opened at 530 Valencia (between 16th and 17th streets) in 2019, replacing former Salvadoran restaurant Panchitas.
Inside the now-closed Los Amigos. | Photo: Steven Bracco/Hoodline
The restaurant's space at 2295 Market Street has a long history. The New York City Deli operated in the space from 1978 to 1990. It was replaced by 24-hour restaurant Bagdad Café, which operated for two decades and was a favorite among the neighborhood's queer nightlife scene.
But since Bagdad Café closed in 2011, the space has seen a fair amount of turnover. Soul food restaurant Criolla Kitchen briefly took it over before becoming SliderBar in 2012.
In 2015, the owners of SliderBar remodeled and rebranded as Ovok, hoping to evade bad publicity due to two Health Department closures. Ovok closed six months later, which is when Castro Republic moved in.
During Castro Republic's four years in the neighborhood, the restaurant experienced a variety of struggles. In 2019, the restaurant fell victim to a rash of smashed windows on Market Street.
The rear wall of the building at 16th & Market, home to "The Hope For The World Cure" mural, has been problematic for years, with frequent tent encampments and garbage dumping.
"The Hope For The World Cure" mural was restored last year. | Photo: Steven Bracco/Hoodline
While shuttered, the restaurant space was used over the summer to house supplies for the restoration of the "The Hope For The World Cure" mural along 16th St.
District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman worked on getting a derelict trash enclosure along the rear wall removed.
Los Amigos' closure adds another vacancy to the 2200 block of Market Street. The block currently has four vacancies: the spaces formerly occupied by Harvest Ranch Market (2285 Market), Trudy's Tattoo Parlor (2275 Market), vitamin and supplement store Active Nutrition (2275 Market), and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage (2258 Market).
Photo: Steven Bracco/Hoodline
An 8-story, 20-unit condo building at the other end of the block, at 2201 Market Street (at Sanchez), has been resubmitted by developer and Historic Preservation Commission board member Chris Foley.
Two more storefront vacancies along the block have been filled. The reopening of Café Flore has been delayed until the end of the year and European Wax Center opened at 2241 Market, formerly Fidelity National Title.
Last July, specialty market The Epicurean Trader was announced as one of the ground floor tenants in the new residential condo building at 2238 Market Street.
Thanks to Hoodline tipster Christopher V. If you've seen something new (or closing) in the neighborhood, text your tips and photos to (415) 200-3233, or email [email protected]. If we use your info in a story, we'll give you credit.
