CALIFORNIA — The past 12 months took its toll on the Golden State’s famed dining scene. Even longstanding restaurants and celebrity chefs were brought low in this year marked by inflation.
A Los Angeles Times study cited inflation affecting the cost of ingredients, utilities, rent, labor costs, staff shortages, a lack of government aid and a saturated dining market among a handful of explanations restaurant owners gave for shuttering in 2023.
Though many restaurants were able to reopen or start up after the pandemic, legacy locations are still recovering, and many new eateries are struggling to take off.
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According to the National Restaurant Association, the cost of ingredients is far more expensive than it was before the pandemic.
“As of November 2023, the Producer Price Index for All Foods remained more than 25% above its February 2020 reading,” officials said.
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Some notable closures of 2023 include Angelo’s and Vinci’s in Fullerton, a beloved Italian restaurant that shuttered after more than 50 years; the small Orange County chain Taps Fish House and Brewery, and LA Brea Bakery in Downtown Disney and Los Angeles, according to The Orange County Register. LA’s Café Basque, Café Tropical, Clark Street Grand Central Market, El Cochinito, The Federal, and historic Olivera Street’s beloved La Golondrina also left fans heartbroken when they closed in 2023, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Below are some of the famed eateries that closed in the Golden State permanently in 2023 and the reasons why.
Anchor Brewing – San Francisco
This year, Anchor Brewing Company officials ceased operations and liquidated the business — established in 1896 — citing economic factors including declining sales since 2016.
The company gave employees 60-day notices “with the intent to provide transition support and separation packages in line with company practices and policies,” according to the announcement from company spokesperson Sam Singer.
“This was an extremely difficult decision that Anchor reached only after many months of careful evaluation,” Singer said in the announcement. “We recognize the importance and historic significance of Anchor to San Francisco and to the craft brewing industry, but the impacts of the pandemic, inflation, especially in San Francisco, and a highly competitive market left the company with no option but to make this sad decision to cease operations.”
Read more about it here.
Pump Restaurant – West Hollywood
Lisa Vanderpump’s Pump Restaurant, the West Hollywood landmark that has served as a key setting for Vanderpump’s reality show storylines for a decade, closed its doors this summer.
“It’s with heavy hearts that we announce that the lease at Pump Restaurant is expiring and we will be closing its doors on July 5th, after ten years of beautiful evenings under our olive trees,” the restaurant wrote in an Instagram post.
Read more about it here.
The Palm – Beverly Hills
The Palm Beverly Hills, the long-running steakhouse and power lunch spot, has permanently closed after failing to recover from a post-pandemic sales slump, its owner told Patch.
The Palm earned a reputation as a classic American steakhouse after opening on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood in 1975. In a nod to its status as a power-lunch hotspot, the restaurant featured caricatures of celebrities and other entertainment power brokers throughout the space.
“We acquired The Palm restaurants out of bankruptcy during the beginning of the Covid pandemic in 2020. The economy, competition and COVID primarily impacted The Palm Beverly Hills location and sales never recovered,” a representative told Patch.
Read more about it here.
La Cocina Municipal Marketplace – San Francisco
The ambitious food hall La Cocina Municipal Marketplace announced it would cease most operations at the start of September, which was about a year and a half ahead of schedule. Nonprofit officials told Eater SF they planned to operate on Golden Gate Avenue for four years after opening in 2021.
Read more about it here.
Taco María – Costa Mesa
The Michelin-star Orange County restaurant announced it would close its doors after 10 years in July. Restaurant owner Carlos Salgado told the Los Angeles Times he originally planned to extend the original lease but changed his mind with the intention of moving to a larger space.
Since its opening in 2013, the restaurant received immense acclaim, winning a 2018 Los Angeles Times Restaurant of the Year designation, a Michelin star and many years on the Eater Essential 38 restaurants in Orange County. It was the longest-running Michelin-star restaurant in Orange County when it closed.
Read more about it here.
RJ’s Sizzlin Steer – Murrieta
After the holiday season, family-operated RJs Sizzlin Steer will shutter — though the owners have plans to open something in its place.
“We appreciate all the years of patronage and look back fondly on them, RJ will be renovating the building in the new year and opening his new concept in Spring! We hope to see you this holiday season!” the owners posted on social media over the weekend. “Come join us one last time.”
RJs impending closure is bittersweet. The eatery has served the Temecula Valley for 38 years. In 2000, the original Temecula restaurant relocated in the city and was renamed after the family’s eldest son, RJ. Then in 2006, the restaurant moved to its current location at 41401 Kalmia Street in Murrieta.
Read more about it here.
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar – La Jolla
After 23 years in the Aventine complex, the fine dining restaurant Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar closed its doors in La Jolla over the summer. The property owner told the San Diego Union-Tribune that they were planning to transform the surrounding site into something better suited for life science tenants.
Read more about it here.
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Rachel Barnes patch.com
SOURCE
2023-12-28 23:20:01 , Rancho Santa Margarita Patch
