sad days

san francisco is no longer a viable place for many businesses
the next on the list to close is the abbott's cellar
i never made it there, but i sure did love my visit to the monk's kettle, its sister watering hole

The Abbot's Cellar Closing End of January   Abbot's Cellar's last service will be Jan 31st: open Tues-Sat for the rest of the month. It is with great sadness that we announced today that we will be closing the doors of the Abbot's Cellar by the end of the month.  Our last day of service will be Saturday Jan 31st, and we will be open Tuesday-Saturday until then (closed Sunday and Monday). We are very proud of what we created here.  Since we opened in July 2012, we received a nomination for a James Beard award (Outstanding Bar Program), a 3-star review from Michael Bauer, and were on Bauer's Top 100 Restaurants list the last two years.  But more than that, we further expanded the world of craft beer and food pairing.  We sought to show that craft beer and fine dining are not paradoxical, and each night we saw the epiphanies happen on the faces of surprised and happy guests, and we couldn't be more proud. But alas, the long-term financial success of the restaurant is not a reality.  There are many reasons for this, but the cold hard truth is that it is becoming more and more difficult to be profitable in this industry in San Francisco, especially for a labor-intensive, fine dining restaurant.  The dining scene is changing rapidly in the city, and we've felt the effects.  Whatever challenges we are facing now will only become more acute as we move further into 2015.  We are not the only ones to see this hard reality, and that is seen in the announcements of restaurant closures every day. We regret that we've had to make this announcement.   But we have been blessed with a stellar staff that has agreed to stay with us until the end in order to give one last month of service.  So make your reservation now, and stop by to say goodbye to a unique place that was well loved.  Thanks again for all your support over the years, and know that we will continue the tradition of craft beer and food over at the Monk's Kettle--that place is going nowhere....