According to a report from Eater SF today, some major players in the San Francisco restaurant scene are actively looking into suing the city over the forced closure of their indoor dining rooms since March.
The Eater article focuses on Hanson Li, who owns Salt Partners Group, a development and investment group behind restaurants Atelier Crenn, Petit Crenn, and several other businesses (including the ice creamery Humphry Slocombe). Li reportedly recently sent an email to fellow big-name restaurateurs in San Francisco asking if they’d consider joining him in a suit similar to the $2 billion class action suit filed by hundreds of restaurants in New York City arguing that the indoor dining ban is causing “irreparable harm.”
Li told Eater that he and Tim Stannard, founder of Bacchus Management Group, behind Spruce and other restaurants, met with lawyers last week and now are in discussions.
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Indoor dining in San Francisco has been shut down since the shelter-in-place order went into effect back in March. On August 31, the state of California allowed indoor dining to resume in San Francisco at 25% capacity, but city officials decided to keep it shut down entirely. No plans have been discussed or announced for the future of indoor dining since then.
Since the pandemic hit, our city’s beloved restaurants have faced enormous struggles. Some have pivoted to takeout, opened for outdoor dining, and/or changed their strategy. Others haven been unable to adjust and have closed altogether.
The question remains that even if restaurants were allowed to open indoors at a small capacity, would people go? Would you? Weigh in here:
We’ll continue following this story.
