Restaurants -- Closed

Sausalito Restaurant Closures & Name Changes

To the best of our knowledge, the folllowing restaurants are no longer operating or have changed their name.  If you see any errors or omissions, please let us know.  This list reminds us that running a restaurant is a hard job and that we all should respect the people who do it.

  

The Alta Mira Hotel and Restaurant -- Once the Grande Dame of Sausalito, the hotel is now a rehab center for The Rich and Famous.  The fabulous-view restaurant (pictured in a 1950's publicity postcard at left) is closed to the public.

 

Antidote (became Gaylord India, now closed)

Caffe Trieste (now Taste of Rome)

Caruso's (now Fish)

Cat N Fiddle

Chart House (became Antidote, then Gaylord India, now closed)

Christophe's (now a hair salon)

Cork Enoteca (Wine Bar)

Flynn's Landing (became Cat N Fiddle, now closed)

Fukusuke (moved to Larkspur)

Gate 5 Road (not to be confused with Anchorage 5, which is in business; Gate 5 Road became Saylor's Landing)

Gatsby's (became Treviso, then the now-closed Rustico)

Gaylord India (closed as of December, 2008)

Guernica (now Saylor's)

H. Salt Fish and Chips  (After being acquired by Ice Cream Tycoon Michael Lappert the franchise name was dropped and the shop became Fish and Chips of Sausalito, with a Lappert's Ice Cream counter added.  There's also a separate Lappert's Ice Cream shop down the street on Bridgeway, hence the frequent visitor confusion about "the two Lappert's shops one block apart.")

Harbor Grill (became Saylor's Landing)

Houlihan's (1980-1998; became Water Street Grille, now closed) -- One terminus of the famed "Houlihan's to Houlihan's 12K" race that ran between the two restaurants (in San Francisco and Sausalito) from 1984 through 2002.  The race continues today as the "Emerald Across the Bay 12K" that runs from Fort Baker in Sausalito across the Golden Gate to San Francisco.  The building is the former home of the Purity Market (see bottom section below).

Lion's Share -- In 1968 this was a small popular folk and rock club at 100 Caledonia St., at the corner of Caledonia and Pine.  The Grateful Dead played there at least once, as did other seminal local bands.  The building burned down in 1969, and the club relocated to San Anselmo, where it lasted until 1974.  A small office building now occupies the location.

Margaritaville (now Paradise Bay)

Marina's (became Gate 5 Road, then Saylor's Landing)

Mikayla (retains its location and name as a bay-view private dining room and terrace booked for banquets and groups at Poggio)

North Sea Village (now Wellington's Wine Bar and In The Kitchen)

Northpoint Coffee (closed as of January, 2009)

Ondine still operates, but only for group events.  This historic restuarant opened upstairs from The Trident (see below) in 1959.

Patterson's Bar (now Il Piccolo Teatro, not to be confused with Il Piccolo Caffe)

Peter Pan Donuts (will be the site of the new Amy's Cafe)

Pomodoro Pizza (Near Best Buy; closed as of January, 2009)

Rickshaw Chinese  (Near Best Buy)

Rustico  (closed as of January, 2009)

Samurai Sausalito

Sausalito Food Company  (became Marina's, then Gate 5 Road, then Harbor Grill, then Saylor's Landing)

Sausalito Sweet Shoppe  (moved one storefront south and changed its name to Winship Restaurant)

Saylor's Landing (merged into Saylor's, building vacant)

Saylor's South of the Border (renamed Saylor's Restaurant and Bar when its menu was merged with that of the long-popular Saylor's Landing)

Star's Barbecue  (Near Best Buy)

Topolino Ristorante  (The 1950's occupant of the building that later housed Guernica and now is home to Saylor's)

Treviso (became the recently closed Rustico)

 

The Trident, owned by the Kingston Trio, opened in 1959 and was a center of San Francisco Rock Music culture from 1966-76.  Janis Joplin had her own table, Bill Graham feted Mick Jagger and the Stones, and it was the place to see the musicians who came to town to record at The Record Plant and other studios. (now Horizons)

 

Sally Stanford's Valhalla, the restaurant of famous San Francisco madame turned Sausalito Mayor Sally Stanford (became Chart House, then Valhalla again under different owners out to leverage the famous name, then Antidote, then the recently-closed Gaylord India).  A sign on the door as of April, 2009 suggests that a restaurant named Valhalla may be reopening at the site.

 

 

Vicino  (Now Cacciucco)

Walhalla or Walhalla Biergarten  (renamed from Walhalla to Valhalla when Sally Stanford took over the building in 1948.  Its use as a restaurant dates back to the 19th century Walhalla Biergarten over a hundred years ago.)

Water Street Grille (upstairs is closed; downstairs is now Il Piccolo Caffe, not to be confused with Il Piccolo Teatro)

Waterfront Cafe  (Now Le Garage)

Yacht Club  (Became The Trident, now Horizons)

Zack's by the Bay (became Margaritaville, now Paradise Bay) was the pre-disco singles scene restaurant and bar in Sausalito's 70's, and the scene of many a local rite of passage.

 

 

 

 

 

And we should not forget...

The Gate Theatre -- Located at 668 Bridgeway in Sausalito in a spot now occupied by an art gallery, this movie theatre was built as the Princess Theatre (being near Princess St.) and was renamed the Gate in honor of the new Golden Gate Bridge in the 1930's.  By 1953 it had come under the control of the Blumenfeld family, who over time acquired most of the movie houses in the County.  As television sets became standard features of American homes movie attendance dropped and The Gate was closed in favor of the nearby Marin Theatre (now Cinearts at Marin, a modernized three-screen facility), also then owned by the Blumenfelds.  Some stage productions were still held at The Gate through the mid-60's, and the San Francisco Mime Troupe called the place home in 1965.  The Grateful Dead played there at least once in the mid-1960's. 

Purity Market -- Built in 1941 on the site that had housed the Sausalito City Library, Purity Market was long the locals' neighborhood grocery at 666 Bridgeway at the intersection of Bridgeway and Princess St.  When big supermarkets invaded the area the market was finally closed in 1968 and converted to a visitor-targeted mini-shopping mall, and throughout the 1970's the building was extensively remodeled. The current facade dates to 1981.  Most of the tenants in recent years have been jewelry and accessories stores.  A plaque in front of the building commemorates its historic status, which is more respect than some local buildings have received.

Village Fair, a four-story honeycomb of shops carved out of an old ferry parking garage.  From the 1960's through the 1980's it was a highlight of coming to Sausalito.  The stairway at left is now part of the remodeled Casa Madrona. 

.

 

 

All Text Copyright (c) 2008-2009, OurSausalito.com. All Rights Reserved.