Che Fico, the NoPa restaurant known for its California take on Italian cooking, will reopen its doors on Divisadero Street on October 18, more than four months after a fire tore through the building and forced it to shut down. Co-owner David Nayfeld announced the date on Instagram, telling customers the restaurant’s lights and iconic sign will be back on.
The closure traces back to a one-alarm fire on the 800 block of Divisadero Street, as reported by SFist. Staff at Che Fico evacuated after smelling smoke, and the fire ultimately caused significant damage to the rear of the building that houses the restaurant, though no injuries were reported and no damage was found inside the dining room itself, according to the same outlet.
Accounts differ on exactly where the fire started. An SFFD source cited by SFist said at the time that the blaze appeared to have originated in the flue connected to Che Fico’s grills and wood oven, while an SFFD lieutenant later told the San Francisco Chronicle that the fire instead began in the kitchen flue of neighboring Foghorn Taproom before spreading to the roof area around Che Fico. Foghorn Taproom sits on a tightly packed block near Alamo Square, a stretch of Divisadero where businesses share close quarters.
A Flood of Support From Across the City
In the aftermath, Nayfeld said the restaurant received tremendous support, hearing directly from Mayor Daniel Lurie and Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, among others who pledged their support. He said Che Fico received thousands of messages from people asking how they could help, the day after the fire.
The restaurant, which Nayfeld owns along with Matt Brewer, first opened at 838 Divisadero Street in March 2018 and built its reputation on handmade pasta, pizza, house-made salumi, and other rustic dishes rendered through a California lens. The business has since grown to include a second Che Fico location in Menlo Park and a Che Fico Pizzeria at Chase Center, per SFist’s earlier reporting on the closure.
Reservations Now Open Ahead of the Return
Reservations are now open for the October 18 reopening, and Nayfeld has urged customers to book tables and private events for the occasion. He also asked customers to come back once the doors reopen, framing it as a return for a NoPa institution that has weathered a long, uncertain summer.
Other San Francisco restaurants have faced similar setbacks in recent memory, with mixed timelines for bouncing back. Original Joe’s suffered a kitchen fire and was able to reopen quickly, SFist noted, while Niku Steakhouse also reopened following a fire, according to Eater SF. Mel’s Drive-In, meanwhile, remained closed for an extended stretch after a fire on Lombard Street, with owners telling the Chronicle it would reopen only after repairs were complete.
For Che Fico, the roughly four-month timeline lands between those extremes, closing the gap between a June blaze that sent staff fleeing the smoke and a mid-October return that owners hope will restore one of Divisadero Street’s most recognizable signs to the block.
