The beloved Berkeley brunch spot Rick & Ann's Restaurant is on the brink of closing, ending a 36-year run as a local favorite. Owner Ann Lauer shared the bittersweet news via KRON4, saying, "After 36 wonderful years, it is time for me to hang up my apron!" The closure, marked for Sunday, Aug. 3, comes as a blow to the community that has long cherished the spot for its potato-cheese pancakes, bright red flannel hash, and more.
Located just a stone's throw from the Claremont Resort & Club, Rick & Ann's Restaurant was a staple for tourists, locals, and University of California students. As SFGATE reports, the decision to close trails Ann Lauer's upcoming retirement and the end of the restaurant's lease. While the possibility of a new owner taking over looms, with prospects of retaining the beloved menu, the name "Rick & Ann's" will stay with Lauer's catering enterprise. Ann's Catering will continue to operate from a new commercial kitchen on 65th Street.
The restaurant, a labor of love that began in 1989 when Ann Lauer, her then-husband Rick, and partners John and Lois Solomon opened its doors, swiftly became a community hub. Known for taking childhood comfort dishes to a new level with fresh, local ingredients, Lauer expressed the sentiment behind their menu, saying, "We just started taking things we grew up with and making them with really fresh and local ingredients." According to SFGATE, there was always a pushback if they tried to change the menu, a testament to the loyalty Rick & Ann's garnered over the years.
Many are expressing dismay over the closing. A Rick & Ann's host, Megan Fernando, shared with SFGATE that generations of families have come through its doors. Customers who once were kids in the restaurant return with their children, ensconcing Rick & Ann's in their family traditions. Lauer echoes this sentiment, "That’s the hard part about closing. I’ve seen so many of these people since they were born. I used to carry them around the restaurant when I was working."
