SAN FRANCISCO—On Monday, July 27 the owners of San Francisco’s oldest restaurant announced that until indoor dining resumes in California, they would suspend their service starting Friday, July 31. 

Tadich Grill has been serving food in the Bay Area since 1849, but due to the economic hardships that the business has faced as a result of COVID-19, they decided to close the business temporarily. The restaurant has been receiving support from their clients through a GoFundMe page they opened, and since June 1 they have been operating with take out, as well as local and nationwide deliveries. The uncertainty of when indoor dining will be allowed in the state led to the decision of shutting down. 

“As you’re aware, that date (re-opening date) continued to change and today we have no visibility into when that day will come. In parallel, the temporary relief from our PPP loan has dried up and without additional government aid, we’ve made the difficult decision to temporarily hit pause,” reads Tadich Grill’s announcement via Facebook. 

According to David Hana, general manager of the business, despite the shutdown of the restaurant employees were receiving their paychecks up until last week owing to the PPP loan Tadich Grill was given. According to Hana, with the funds that have been raised, the restaurant will continue paying for the health insurance of its workers even during the indefinite closure. 

The general manager shared that in the past months the financial situation has not been easy for the employees. 

“I have two children. I don’t want me to get infected here (the restaurant) and then take it (the virus) home with me and give it to them and my wife. But at the same time, it’s just really difficult financially for all of us,” said Hana. 

Tadich Grill is one of the many small businesses that are suspending their services because of the losses they have had during the pandemic. Besides thanking their customers in the Facebook post, the owners shared their wishes to other restaurants in the Bay Area. 

Our hearts are with all the other businesses in our beautiful city of San Francisco who have been hit hard as well, many of which will not be able to reopen as the closures are prolonged. This is devastating for many who have poured their hearts and souls into building and growing small businesses to serve the Bay Area community. We pray for the industry as a whole,” the post said.