The Cliff House Closes After 157 Years: Coronavirus

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — The Cliff House was founded during the Civil War and has survived every war since including two world wars. It survived the Great Depression and countless recessions, the Great Earthquake and Fire that destroyed San Francisco in 1906, and other calamities of nature. Then came coronavirus.

The fine dining destination overlooking the Pacific Ocean is closed, at least temporarily, because of coronavirus. The owners hope to conserve enough resources to make reopening possible.

They tried takeout and delivery but, as noted in a letter posted to Facebook, "As most of you know by now, dine-in service in San Francisco has been postponed due to the spike in Covid-19 cases. It is also widely known that takeout service alone is not enough to sustain the restaurant industry and it is only the ability to open at least partial dine-in along with takeout that will allow some of us to survive."

Restaurants have struggled greatly with the changing face of coronavirus. At first, closures were only expected to last a few weeks. Then, owners did their best to stay afloat with takeout and delivery until they could reopen. Then, they jumped through all the hoops of social distance planning in the hope of reopening, only to have plans scrapped indefinitely.

>>Malls, Nonessential Offices Must Close In San Francisco

It was too much for the Cliff House, "Due to economic pressure during this unprecedented situation, we have concluded that it would be best to preserve our remaining resources to ensure a continuance of future operations. This was not an easy decision to make, especially considering all of the support we have received from all of you."

The announcement notes that the restaurant is well-situated for the coronavirus era as the "sheer size of our building means we will be able to provide ample distancing between tables."

But, for the foreseeable future, the Cliff House is closed.

The announcement ends on an upbeat note, promising to move forward when the time is right.

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