Name: 83-year-old SF restaurant shutters: 'to wait out this pandemic was financially unreasonable'
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83-year-old SF restaurant shutters: 'to wait out this pandemic was financially unreasonable'

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This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateAfter 83 continuous years of business, a San Francisco institution near Ocean Beach is closing its doors permanently due to the coronavirus pandemic.Louis' Restaurant Monday that the decision came "after much deliberation and a lot of tears.""This decision was very difficult to make but with everything we have seen and heard regarding reopening for indoor dining we felt it was an unsafe environment for us and our employees," the message read. "To wait out this pandemic was financially unreasonable. We are especially sad to not have been able to say goodbye to our many wonderful and loyal customers. You made the difficult job of running a small business enjoyable."Sitting on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the former site of the Sutro Baths, Louis' opened as a humble diner with some of the best views in the city in 1937.Original owners Louis and Helen Hontalas "approached the nephew of Adolph Sutro, who owned all the land on Point Lobos Avenue, and asked if they could rent a small piece of property, originally an indoor walkway that connected the streetcar barn to the Sutro Baths entrance," according to the history posted on the restaurant website. The Greek immigrants started with just a couple of tables and a few counter seats and made about $20 on their first day in business on Feb. 14, 1937.More for youOver the years, the restaurant has survived multiple fires and a transfer of the land to the National Park Service. The couple had three sons who have helped run the business. Two of them, Bill and Tom Hontalas, remain in charge, according to the restaurantIn the Facebook message, Bill and Tom thanked staff and customers."We are especially sad to not have been able to say goodbye to our many wonderful and loyal customers," the message read. "You made the difficult job of running a small business enjoyable. To all of our staff past and present – we saw many of you start as high school teenagers and blossom into hard working adults. We are continually amazed at the hard work of the young people that passed through our doors and helped us run our family business."MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE:Sign up for 'The Daily' newsletter for the latest on coronavirus&nbsp;here.— — — — —Amy Graff is the news editor for SFGATE. Email her: agraff@sfgate.com.

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateAfter 83 continuous years of business, a San Francisco institution near Ocean Beach is closing its doors permanently due to the coronavirus pandemic.Louis' Restaurant Monday that the decision came "after much deliberation and a lot of tears.""This decision was very difficult to make but with everything we have seen and heard regarding reopening for indoor dining we felt it was an unsafe environment for us and our employees," the message read. "To wait out this pandemic was financially unreasonable. We are especially sad to not...

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83-year-old SF restaurant shutters: 'to wait out this pandemic was financially unreasonable'

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