San Francisco - 31 December 2020
1. Various scenic shots of Cliff House restaurant
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2. SOUNDBITE (English) Mary Hountalas, Owner, Cliff House:
"The Cliff House has been here in San Francisco, the official date is 1863, although there are indications that there was probably something out here prior to that. It's always been an escape for the people of San Francisco. Of course, in the gold rush days, they come out here in their carriages."
3. Various rooftop Cliff House sign removed as spectators take phone pictures and video
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4. SOUNDBITE (English) Mary Hountalas, Owner, Cliff House:
"Our current extension with the National Park Service expires at midnight tonight. We have been unable to come up with what would work out as a financial solution. Yes, COVID has been a factor this year. But they failed. Our original concession expired back in '18. They had nothing done at the time. And so they put us on one extension after another extension, and we can't afford to stay here anymore."
5. Crew member on roof looks through letters in Cliff House sign
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6. SOUNDBITE (English) Mary Hountalas, Owner, Cliff House:
"We'll see what happens. We're worried about this building. We're worried about how she's going to be kept up and frankly, we're worried about what they're going to do with it."
7. Letter removed from sign
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8. SOUNDBITE (English) Rod Martinez, Long-Time Employee, Cliff House:
"Like a death in the family, and we're going to not be able to have a service for him. It's something that seems like it's going to just slip into the night. You can see there's a lot of people here now. So it means a lot to a lot of the local people."
9. Various spectators take pictures
10. Painting of Cliff House sign on easel
FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4304118
San Francisco's iconic Cliff House restaurant that has served tourists and locals for more than a century from atop a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean has closed its doors for good.
A crew working on the restaurant's rooftop removed the Cliff House sign, letter by letter, on New Year's Eve.
Dan and Mary Hountalas, the restaurant's proprietors since 1973, say they're closing because of losses brought on by the pandemic and a dispute over renewing their long-term operating contract with the National Park Service.
Built in 1863, the seaside eatery has been a San Francisco institution and a top tourist attraction.
It's gone through several transformations.
The first modest, wood-frame structure was destroyed by fire in 1894.
It was rebuilt and survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake but burned down again the following year.
The third and present Cliff House, neoclassic in design, was built in 1909.
The National Park Service bought the property in 1977, four years after the Hountalas began leasing it.
Their last long-term contract with the Park Service expired in 2018, and the restaurant had been operating since then under short-term contracts.
But an agreement could not be reached to renew the contract past this year.
The owners say 180 employees have lost their jobs.
The National Park Service, which owns the property, said in a statement that it's reevaluating "the feasibility of anyone operating" the scenic waterfront space as a restaurant in the near future due to the state of the food industry.
