San Francisco’s Cliff Home restaurant is now completely closed after lease lapse; pictures look again at historic restaurant
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) – As you may have heard, the famous Cliff House in San Francisco on Ocean Beach has permanently closed its doors for at least this iteration.
After two years of negotiating a new lease with the National Park Service, the Hountalas family has given up. “COVID was the last straw,” said Mary Hountalas. They had the “47 and a half years” franchise.
RELATED: San Francisco’s historic Cliff House Restaurant will be permanently closed
“It’s sad but needs to be done,” added her son-in-law Ralph Burgin, the general manager.
He is now responsible for closing the place.
“We are also disappointed by the temporary interruption in services,” said the NPS, in part on Monday. “We currently have no further information.”
“I just think they’re locally and regionally in a separation. They don’t know what’s going on,” said Mary Hountalas.
PHOTOS: Inside SF’s historic Cliff House
The Cliff House started as a roadside attraction in 1863 and has changed over time. It even burned down shortly after the 1906 earthquake. It has seen shipwrecks and glamor. The 130 images here bear witness to a century of who is who for whom the Cliff House was.
“They’re all signed. Autograph. A great collection,” said Burgin.
Now they’re just relics in the symmetry of dismantling, which includes furniture, plates, glasses, cutlery, old pictures, art, and even Burtin’s famous Bloody Mary mix. The family will either keep them or auction them off if necessary.
The past 47 years, probably another footnote in the history of this magnificent, iconic structure that holds countless memories from generations of Franciscans and visitors. While we were still talking, the believers pressed their faces against the glass and looked inside.
If you’re as curious and sentimental as they are, you might appreciate some of the photos I took of this place – the mess and history.
Maybe they will set off some memories for you.
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