San Francisco pizza restaurant Arinell at risk of closing

After 33 years on San Francisco’s Valencia Street, late-night New York-style pizza restaurant Arinell Pizza is in danger of closing.

“We’ll be closing soon if we don’t get an increase in business,” said owner Ron Demirdjian. “The pandemic, of course, destroyed the business.”

Upon realizing there was no true New York-style pizza available in the Bay Area when he first moved here in the ’70s, Demirdjian opened his first Arinell’s location in Berkeley in 1975, followed by the San Francisco location in 1989. He explained that while the Berkeley location is doing alright, a combination of factors put the Valencia Street location in dire straits.

For one, Arinell is running low on Paycheck Protection Program funds.

“The only reason we’re even in business is because of the Paycheck Protection Program, otherwise I would have been long gone,” Demirdjian said. “So without PPP, there is no Arinell. Now, we’re running low on the PPP.”

The restaurant has also experienced staffing issues, with three cooks moving out of California in the past month. Arinell has also yet to see a significant return from the Valencia Street bar-hopping crowd that used to sustain his business. His restaurant used to stay open until 2 am on Fridays and Saturdays to fuel late-night customers, but now Arinell closes at 11 pm on the weekends.

“Arinell at Valencia did an incredible business when the bars were hopping,” Demirdjian said. “We basically fed drunks Friday and Saturday … now, people are not packing up bars. There may be a bit of business, but for us, it’s brutal.”

Arinell Pizza, located at 509 Valencia St. in San Francisco, was a popular late-night bite for weekend crowds. Now, it’s future is uncertain.

Adam S. via Yelp

He also theorized that because Valencia Street has become more of a sit-down dining destination in the past few years, people are no longer choosing to snag a slice to walk around with between bars. He estimated that business is down to 30 or 40% of what it was pre-pandemic.

“The slice mentality has basically disappeared,” he said. “The business model has been destroyed, essentially.”

In addition, Demirdjian explained, that when he bought the Valencia Street location in 1989, he received a hardship waiver due to a bathroom located in a closet that would have been too costly to bring up to code. He says that would not be acceptable today if he tried to sell the place, so it’s essentially impossible business to sell.

“I have to keep one of these businesses alive, and the one in Berkeley is in much better shape,” he said. “…I can’t just sell [the Valencia Street location], which I’d love to, but that’s not possible. So it’s either I keep the business going or I shut it down.”

Arinell is known not only for its hot New York slices, but also for employing its fair share of local musicians over the years. Demirdjian said he likes hiring “rockers” because they’re artists, which means “they dig putting out some good food.”

For those who love the Valencia Street eatery, time is ticking. Demirdjian did not have an exact timeline for a possible closure, but it’s definitely getting down to the wire.

“If we get some more business, we’ve got a chance,” Demirdjian said. “But the way it is now, it’s not sustainable.”