Last year, news of the iconic Cliff House reopening in 2024 made waves as excited San Franciscans reminisced on the beloved restaurant.
Now, as we near the last few months of 2024, it appears the restaurant’s reopening has been postponed. According to the SF Chronicle, the space won’t reopen until 2025 due to major, unexpected repairs that will cost over $10 million. The new leaseholder, Sutro Lands End Partners, discovered that the infrastructure needed significant repairs once they started renovating the building.
The lease was awarded to Sutro Lands End Partners with the condition that the new restaurant would open a year from the signing date, but due to the unexpected repairs the opening date has been delayed. The total cost for the repairs is still unknown, but a representative told the SF Chronical the number was at least $10 million.
Cliff House history
The historic waterfront restaurant closed in 2020 due to the pandemic, much to the dismay of San Franciscans, who have many fond memories of the iconic building. The Cliff House has a long history in San Francisco and has gone through many different phases in its lifetime.
The original Cliff House opened in 1863 as a high-end resort for wealthy visitors. Due to the difficulty to reach the resort, it was considered very exclusive, even hosting presidents. After Adolph Sutro bought the original cliff house, it unfortunately burned down in 1894, leading to the construction of the stunning Victorian Cliff House, which opened in 1896. Sadly, the beautiful structure did not last long and burned down in 1907. That leads us to the third Cliff House, which still stands today, built in 1909. The neo-classical structure was acquired by the National Park Service in the 1970’s which continues to own it today.
While news of the postponed reopening is disappointing, we’re still looking forward to the space welcoming the public again in 2025.