Three San Francisco dads who met dropping their kids off at the same preschool are turning that friendship into a restaurant. Bare Bones, a counter-service rotisserie spot planned for the former Bearing West space at 2325 Taraval St., is targeting a soft opening this Thursday, October 29, with chicken, porchetta, sandwiches and a short beer and wine list on the menu.
The restaurant is a partnership between Dan Levin and Danny Tasker, with chef Edwin Olsen rounding out the trio, according to Tablehopper. As Mission Local reported, Bare Bones is planning to serve rotisserie chicken and wine at the former space of the seafood joint Bearing West on Taraval Street, and the owners describe it as a family-friendly spot where all are welcome. Tasker has worked in San Francisco's restaurant industry for 30 years and still tends bar at Sunset Cantina, per the same outlet's reporting, while Olsen brings more than three decades of experience that includes stints at The Elite Cafe and Restaurant LuLu, plus a run as a butcher at Real Foods Russian Hill, the Tablehopper account notes.
From a Joke at Drop-Off to a Lease
The idea for Bare Bones traces back to the Sunset Co-op Nursery School, where Bearing West owner John Giuffre jokingly asked Tasker if he'd be interested in buying the restaurant, Mission Local reports. That offhand conversation eventually turned serious. Bearing West itself closed its doors on March 1, after nearly three years in business, under owners Giuffre and Jeff Hanford, as detailed by Eater SF.
Bare Bones will keep the same 49-seat footprint that Bearing West occupied, per the Tablehopper newsletter. The plan, assuming inspections clear in time, is a soft opening this Thursday, with the full launch to follow. That timeline has not been independently confirmed beyond the restaurant's own target.
Rotisserie, Porchetta and a Cauliflower Stand-In
The centerpiece of the menu is rotisserie chicken, sold whole or by the half, served with a choice of ranch, barbecue or aji verde sauce, according to the same Tablehopper report. Diners will also be able to order roasted porchetta served over green apple and shaved fennel, or get either the chicken or the pork tucked into a sandwich. For vegetarians, there's a dish the restaurant is calling its “not fish and chips” — crispy beer-battered cauliflower paired with hand-cut fries and house-made tartar sauce.
Rounding out the menu is a salad built from apple, shaved fennel, baby arugula, toasted pistachios and dates in a honey vinaigrette, the newsletter reports. To drink, Bare Bones plans a short list of local beers and wines available by the glass, carafe or bottle.
A Mixed Picture for Sunset District Businesses
Bare Bones is opening into a neighborhood economy that looks different depending on which stretch of the Sunset you're standing on. Mission Local reports that businesses in the Inner Sunset are reaching record-high sales volume, with merchants crediting restaurants that filled vacant storefronts and neighborhood groups that ramped up events in Golden Gate Park and along the corridor to draw foot traffic.
Taraval Street tells a different story. The same Mission Local reporting found that the Outer Sunset and Parkside have not reached pre-pandemic sales-tax levels and saw slight declines over the past two years, with a neighborhood representative pointing to the L-Taraval construction project as a factor that closed some businesses and discouraged drivers put off by lost parking.
Whether Bare Bones manages to open on schedule, and whether its hoped-for addition brings more traffic back to that stretch of Taraval, remains to be seen.
