Grotto and Tarantino’s close on SF’s Fisherman’s Wharf

San Francisco is shoving two historic restaurants off Fisherman’s Wharf.

The Port of San Francisco is evicting the Grotto from 2847 Taylor Street and Tarantino’s from 206 Jefferson Street for not paying $1.4 million in rent, the San Francisco Business Times reported.

The demise of Fisherman’s Grotto, the wharf’s first full-service restaurant that opened in 1935, and Tarantino’s, founded in 1946, will add to closures of longtime restaurants on the waterfront.

Both restaurants were named in unlawful detainer lawsuits this week by the San Francisco City Attorney’s office after the port posted three-day notices this month to either pay rent or vacate the buildings. Both are in the 53rd year of 66-year leases signed in 1970.

In recent years, both were acquired by Herringbone Tavern, a.k.a. Chris Henry, who co-owns Tommy’s Joynt in San Francisco and Barrel House Tavern in Sausalito. Henry didn’t respond to requests for comment.

The Grotto restaurant, listed as “Fisherman’s Grotto” in court papers, owes the Port $332,642 in rent, according to the lawsuits. Tarantino’s owes $147,436 in rent dating back to October last year.

Next month, the fair value rent of the restaurants starts accumulating at a respective $1,079.50 and $409.29 a day, according to the filings.

Boris Delepine, a spokesperson for the Port of San Francisco, said the unlawful detainer suits only account for last year’s worth of unpaid rent. Neither restaurant has paid rent since March 2020, bringing the total owed to $1.4 million, he said.

“The port’s goals regarding these two restaurants were to see them both fully reopen and a feasible plan to pay the $1.4 million in back rent owed,” Delepine told the Business Times. “We’ve engaged with Mr. Henry over the past three years to encourage these outcomes, but unfortunately they did not come to pass.

“We remain open and willing to explore short and long term strategies to keep both restaurants open and active.”

Several longtime restaurants on the waterfront have either gone dark or closed since the pandemic, despite the port having forgiven nearly $13.5 million in rent for 200 tenants from March 2020 through April 2021.

Alioto’s ended a nearly century-long run at 2829 Taylor Street last year and agreed to exit its lease a decade early in exchange for forgiveness of $500,000 in back rent, according to the Business Times. Castagnola’s, founded in 1916, was served an unlawful detainer notice in 2021 after racking up more than $300,000 in unpaid rent.

Nearby, two side-by-side restaurants closed this summer after facing more than $1 million in combined unpaid rent. Pompei’s Grotto, established in 1946, and Lou’s Fish Shack, founded in 1988, both agreed with the port to end their leases early on Jefferson Street.

— Dana Bartholomew