Popular Italian restaurant in San Francisco pivoting amid tough economic realities

SAN FRANCISCO - The cost of doing business in San Francisco is just too high for a popular Italian restaurant that was very busy and profitable, before the pandemic.

Che Fico Alimentari located on Divisadero Street says it's a vastly different restaurant than it was when it opened in 2019 to great fanfare. Alimentari is the casual spinoff of its wildly popular original and sister restaurant, Che Fico. 

The restaurant announced the difficult decision this week on its Instagram, that next Thursday, May 9, will be its final dinner service.

Over the last six months, co-owner Matt Brewer said the harsh economic realities of running an independent restaurant in the city became clear. He and chef and co-owner David Nayfeld decided to absorb Alimentari within Che Fico, and close Alimentari's dinner service in its current form.  

"We still plan on keeping it for an event space, but in its current iteration, it's just not sustainable given a lot of the rising costs of doing business in San Francisco as a restaurant," said Brewer.

Che Fico Alimentari said it would typically see about 120 guests during weekday dinner hours, before the pandemic. Now, they're seating about half of that on weeknights.  

The two Che Ficos will merge upstairs, and the downstairs operation will focus on to-go orders and serve cocktails as well. 

The decision comes months after Alimentari cut prices by 20%. 

It also recently cut its dine-in fee in half, something it instituted in 2021 to help ensure better wages and full benefits for workers.

"We have seen our payroll continue to rise, we manage it as best we can, but when we're not seeing the additional revenue come in, people are choosing not to dine out as much," said Brewer. "It's not just us, it's a citywide issue."

One of its most striking costs is electricity. Brewer said between the two spaces, Che Fico used to pay about $7,000 a month to PG&E before the pandemic. That same bill now costs about $11,000.

San Francisco resident Jessica Roman is a loyal diner.

"We heard it was closing, which is devastating, because I've been coming here for as long as I can remember, so we had to come here and celebrate," said Roman. "A lot of people moved out of the city. I feel like Che Fico attracted a lot of corporate clients and there's fewer corporate dinners happening, and I feel like that's where the money is, so I understand."

"I think at the end of the day the most important thing about a restaurant is its food, and it's still delicious here," said diner Jonathan Klein. "It's unfortunate, but absolutely the upstairs is still going to be as delicious as it was before."

Ultimately, Che Fico said it's committed to evolving and thriving in San Francisco.

"We're bullish on the future of San Francisco, we just know it's going to take a little bit of time right now," said Brewer.

Brewer and Nayfeld recently opened a new market called Il Mercato di Che Fico, near its sister restaurant in Menlo Park. The owners are also planning to open another Che Fico at Mission Rock near Oracle Park in 2025.