City officials in Sausalito posted a pink unsafe-building placard on the waterfront landmark at 558 Bridgeway on Oct. 29, interrupting a private party for 40 Silicon Valley executives mid-event. The notice warned that entering or occupying the venue, its piers and its parking lot could result in serious injury or death. The sudden closure has since escalated into a legal standoff between the city and the property's owner.
According to the Marin Independent Journal, the building and its tenant, event-business owner Nikita Khandheria, were caught off guard when staff, local vendors and guests were escorted off the premises that evening. Khandheria scrambled and moved the gathering to the nearby Barrel House Tavern. She said she does not want people to think the building is unsafe, and she is worried about losing corporate clients going forward.
Khandheria rents the building's second floor from owner Bob Freeman for her special-event business, which the outlet reports has two other locations and 56 employees. She said the company has lost $153,000 because of cancellations as of last Thursday. The building's lower level sits vacant, and the structure spans three parcels — two owned by Freeman and one owned by the city of Sausalito itself.
What the Engineering Reports Found
The placard followed an engineering report that Sausalito officials received on Oct. 28, which found that localized timber and underdeck deterioration was severe and that the concrete structure required extensive repair. The same report stated that parts of the building's fire-suppression system had fallen or were being supported by ropes. Sausalito's chief building official, Bill Hansell, red-tagged the building within 24 hours of receiving that report.
Freeman had separately hired GFDS Engineers, a San Francisco firm, to assess the structure, and representatives from that firm toured the building on Nov. 2, after the red tag went up. GFDS issued a limited structural observation report concluding the building had deterioration requiring repair but was not in present danger of structural failure to occupants — a notably different read on the building's condition than the report the city received. A state fire marshal who inspected the premises on Nov. 4 found that all interior systems passed inspection, though sprinklers under the pier were broken; Freeman is reportedly working on those pier sprinkler repairs.
Owner Fires Back With Demand Letter
Attorney Laura Drossman sent the GFDS report along with a demand letter to the city on Nov. 3, threatening a lawsuit unless Sausalito lifted the red tag and retracted its public statements. Per the demand letter, the city knew the premises were leased and operating, yet posted the placard at 6 p.m. during the tenant's event instead of contacting the owner or giving him a day to respond. The letter also argued that lost rent, tenant claims and lease-defense costs all flowed from the city's decision, and that Khandheria's tenant business has asserted claims against Freeman arising from the closure.
City Attorney Sergio Rudin sent Drossman a reply on Nov. 5, stating that her positions were not well taken. Rudin wrote that the city has the authority and duty to red-tag unsafe buildings and is immune from resulting business losses, and he maintained that the property owner is responsible for remediation.
A Building With a Long, Storied Past
The structure at 558 Bridgeway dates to 1898, and the site has cycled through several identities over well over a century. The Marin Independent Journal reports that the Kingston Trio folk group bought the building and renamed it the Trident in 1960, though the San Francisco Chronicle has reported the band bought the club in 1960 but didn't name it the Trident until 1966. Earlier still, the Sausalito Historical Society notes the San Francisco Yacht Club built a clubhouse on the same waterfront site in 1873, before relocating to Belvedere by 1926 amid concerns over auto-ferry wakes and limited parking.
The Trident name itself has come and gone through the decades: the restaurant closed in 1980 and became Horizons, Bob Freeman took over the lease in 2002, and the Trident name was revived in 2012, per the historical society. The most recent iteration of the Trident restaurant closed last December, with owner Freeman telling the Chronicle that slow sales and rising costs drove the decision and that a prospective sale of the property had fallen through. Khandheria launched her business, Ditas, in the building's second-floor space in 2023, and told Eater SF she bought out the Ditas investors in January 2025, allowing for a name change; the venue has had private events booked through 2025 and 2026.
City Leaders Want the Landmark Reopened
Mayor Steven Woodside has said the city must close a property immediately once it learns it is unsafe, in order to prevent injuries. He described the building as iconic and said he wants it secured and occupied on both floors, adding that he wants the safety issues addressed so the building can reopen.
For now, the dispute leaves the landmark shuttered and the two sides at odds over who bears responsibility — and the cost — of getting it reopened.
