The following is a list of Bay Area restaurants that closed in March 2023. Click here for the February 2023 list of closings.
Chef-owner Paul Canales of the popular Spanish restaurant Duende has closed his southern French Bistro Occitania after just nine months in the Kissel Uptown Oakland hotel. Eater SF first reported on the March closure. Canales called the restaurant unsustainable and said that he would focus on his existing restaurant nearby.
Elegant Marina neighborhood bar and restaurant Maybeck’s served its last guests on March 18. The restaurant opened in 2015, earning a following for its beef Wellington Wednesdays, but had brought on new chefs, Lori Baker and Jeffrey Banker, as partners less than a year ago. Owners told Eater SF, which broke the news, that keeping the restaurant open in the current economy wasn’t feasible anymore.
Northern Iranian restaurant Komaaj suddenly closed its San Francisco restaurant on March 31. Instead, the former pop-up is plotting a new restaurant and market in Bernal Heights.
Third Culture Bakery, maker of sought-after mochi muffins and butter mochi doughnuts, closed its Mission District location just seven months after opening on Valencia Street. Co-owner Wenter Shyu told Eater SF that regular theft and cleaning urine and feces from the shop’s doors and windows were recurring issues. Third Culture’s outposts in West Berkeley, Walnut Creek and the Inner Sunset remain open and still baking.
The mochi muffin, Third Culture Bakery’s claim to fame.
Janelle Bitker/The ChronicleViking’s Giant Submarines has served its last cold cut combos and banh mi. The popular sandwich shop in San Francisco’s Glen Park neighborhood closed on March 17 so owners Betty and Steven Chang could retire. In a handwritten note, shared on social media by the Glen Park Merchants Association, the Changs thanked neighbors for the 18 years of support. “We will miss you and wish you the best,” the note reads.
An omakase sushi restaurant in SoMa has now closed its doors for good. Sushi Ondo opened in early 2019, establishing itself as a stop for sushi tasting menus accented with Korean flair. Min Choe, the chef behind Barnzu, a Korean restaurant in the Tenderloin that closed in December, was Sushi Ondo’s owner. The San Francisco Standard first reported this closing.
The combination bicycle shop and cafe Luckyduck closed its doors in Oakland’s Lake Merritt on March 31. The space served as a reunion point for bike rides and a stop for post-ride coffees, while also offering bike repairs. A Facebook post announcing the last day of operations says: “We are proud to have served Oakland and nurtured our community for as long as we could.”
Fountain Cafe, a popular stop in Oakland’s City Center, has closed its doors after almost 30 years, East Bay Nosh reports. The restaurant was a hub for nearby professionals and office workers grabbing a quick coffee with a sandwich, or helping themselves to the salad bar.
The Polk Street location of Indian-Pakistani restaurant Shalimar in San Francisco has closed, Tablehopper reported, due to high rent and lease issues. Popular dishes included the chicken tikka masala and palak paneer, spinach and fresh cheese cooked with spices. Locations in Dublin, Fremont and on San Francisco’s Jones Street are still open.
Cotati’s Down to Earth Cafe closed for good on March 19, Sonoma magazine reports. The restaurant offered popular dishes like poutine and crab rolls and sandwiches with house-cured pastrami. Chef Chris Ball said the increasingly high cost of ingredients and labor forced the decision to close.
Mississippi Catfish, a popular stop for Southern-style seafood and barbecue, closed its doors on Richmond’s stretch of San Pablo Avenue. The Richmond Standard reports.
Cornerstone Jamaican restaurant Kingston 11 in Oakland hosted its last night of regular service on March 25. Chef-owner Nigel Jones cited the difficulty of keeping a fully staffed dining room in his decision to discontinue regular dinner service. Kingston 11 still holds the lease to the building and will use the kitchen as a hub for its catering services and to host special events.
San Francisco Brewcraft, whose equipment and ingredients gave many local brewers their start, has closed. The Richmond District shop was known for its funky, community feel.
Andre SanchezThe funky, revolutionary home-brew supply store San Francisco Brewcraft closed after 30 years of supplying San Francisco’s aspiring home brewers. Manager Andre Sanchez told The Chronicle the shop was no longer a money-making venture. The store had supplied the home breweries that would become local standouts like Harmonic Brewing, Speakeasy Ales & Lagers and Fort Point Beer Co.
In SoMa, Don Ramon’s Mexican Restaurant closed after 40 years on March 31. The owners told The Chronicle they were unable to reach an agreement with their landlord following a rent increase.
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