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“Last cast!” Liana Lowe announced as she cast a line along Beach Boulevard in Pacifica on June 5. It’s the traditional call before fishers pack up and go home, but this time Lowe, of the group West Coast Crabbers, meant it definitively.
That’s because the Pacifica Municipal Pier, a beloved community hub known as a spot to whale watch, fish or grab a coffee and cheesy eggs at Chit Chat Cafe, has been crumbling into the ocean.
On June 4, city officials observed cracking, separation and displacement of the concrete walkway and structural elements near the pier abutment, making it unsafe for use. The city red-tagged Chit Chat Cafe, which sat on the entrance to the 1,140-foot-long pier. The next day, cracking and separation worsened and the city declared a local emergency.
The pier and cafe were closed after Pacifica officials observed cracking, separation and displacement of the concrete walkway and structural elements near the pier abutment. Courtesy David Chamberlin. 
Cracks formed in the building housing the Chit Chat Cafe before its demolition. Courtesy David Chamberlin. 
Walls lean at Pacifica Municipal Pier on June 4, 2026. Courtesy David Chamberlin. 
Construction workesr watch as the Chit Chat Cafe is torn down on June 9, 2026. Courtesy David Chamberlin. 
The demolished Chit Chat Cafe in Pacifica. Courtesy Tony Corso. 
Tractors work near the Pacifica Municipal Pier in Pacifica on June 14, 2026. Photo by Michael Molcsan. 
Three tractors scoop boulders on Sharp Park Beach near the Pacifica Municipal Pier in Pacifica on June 14, 2026. Photo by Michael Molcsan.
Days later, news crews, passersby and drones filmed as construction crews demolished the cafe. The fate of the rest of the pier is still in limbo as crews work to stabilize the pier by building a rock revetment at the pier abutment on the beach.
Last May, Lowe and her husband got married on the L-shaped pier that fronts Sharp Park Beach. The couple have tattoos of a puzzle piece with the coordinates for the pier. She discovered the pier, and its crabbing community, during the COVID-19 pandemic when other piers were closed.
“It holds a huge significance (to me), personally,” said Lowe, who makes a three-hour drive to Pacifica about twice a month to visit the pier. “I could show up any time unannounced, and be met with open arms. … It was horrible crabbing conditions, gale-force winds, but everybody showed up.”
Since opening in the 1970s, Pacifica Pier has become a landmark that has drawn fishers searching for Dungeness crab in the winter and salmon and striped bass in the summer. People have also stopped by the locale, known for its strong winds and punishing waves, to watch humpback and gray whales or visit the cafe, which opened in the 1990s, according to Coastside News.
The pier is also known for its accessibility as the only one in the Bay Area where fishing and crabbing are free, according to the city.
Robin Brun, founder of the Facebook group Pacifica Whalespotting, said the pier also helped make whale watching more accessible to people with disabilities, those who couldn’t afford a boat trip or people who are prone to sea sickness. There’s a lot of sadness in her community about the pier’s closure, she said.
“There are lots of places to gather, but the pier was particularly a favorite, because you get close to the whales,” she said. “I’m really not aware of any place that’s quite like it.”
Finding funding for the pier
The city of Pacifica, alongside the Wildlife Conservation Board and the California Department of Fish & Game, built the pier, officially called the Rev. Herschell Harkins Memorial Pier, in 1973 to serve as a support structure for a former sewer line.
The pier has closed for repairs and reopened several times over the last decade, and a prior assessment following a closure in late 2023 found it would take $19 million to fully repair it.
On Monday, Rep. Sam Liccardo said at a press conference that the Trump administration had cut a $50 million grant for the city of Pacifica, funds that would have been used to replace Pacifica’s seawall, including at the base of the pier. The city had a plan to fix the pier a year ago, but the grant cancellation kept the city from moving forward, said San Mateo County Supervisor Ray Mueller.
Lawmakers Monday called on Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency that would enable state resources to assist the city.
“This pier is more than a fishing destination, it’s a community gathering place,” state Sen. Josh Becker said Monday. “This is a stark reminder that climate change is not theoretical, that it is here right now and is having a real impact on families, communities and businesses.”
Looking back and ahead
The community is also rallying around the Chit Chat Cafe, which sold food, coffee and fishing supplies, with people donating to help cover cafe staffers’ salaries and the loss of income from the closure.
As of June 18, a GoFundMe campaign had raised nearly $33,000 for Chit Chat Cafe owners Ginger Davis and Branden Jenkins.
“It’s incredibly overwhelming, and the speed at which people are getting off their butts and doing things to help us … it’s just crazy,” Davis said.
Before demolition, construction workers saved the cash register and a few items of sentimental value like photos, paintings and the Chit Chat Cafe sign, but everything else was lost, according to Davis.
Tyler McCarthy, a barista at the cafe’s other location at 5 W. Manor Drive, used to work at the pier location. He described Pacifica as “a little secret spot” that all the right people find.
“Making friends with the fishermen and making them their first cup of coffee in the morning was really nice,” McCarthy said. “I’ve definitely sobbed enough times over this. This building getting knocked down – it still doesn’t feel real.”
When asked if he’d like to see the cafe rebuilt, McCarthy is skeptical that it’s a good idea.
“The ocean is going to do what it’s going to do,” he said. “I don’t want this to have to happen to other people, so I think that cities and counties need to be mindful of where they’re building and how they are planning for long-term structures.”
Others like Vicki Sundstrom expressed anger toward the city for not maintaining the pier, which she described as one of the “defining landmarks” of the community.
“Generations of residents have fished from it, walked it, photographed it and shared it with visitors,” she told the City Council on June 8. “Today, it sits closed and damaged because the people entrusted with protecting it failed to do so. This did not happen overnight. … What residents are seeing today is a result of neglect.”
Residents started the Facebook group “Save Pacifica Pier,” which aims to “see immediate action taken” to repair or rebuild the pier. Members are sharing memories of the pier on the page, including anecdotes about watching it being built in the early ‘70s from Oceana High School, along with suggestions on how to fund the pier’s restoration.
Back on Beach Boulevard, Dave Gaufo, another West Coast Crabbers member, spoke nostalgically about what the pier has meant to him.
“I do fish a lot of places, but this was a go-to place,” Gaufo said. “It felt like ‘Cheers’ for fishermen.”
Information from Bay City News Service was used in this story.
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