Last week brought good news about more than a dozen eateries opening up on the Peninsula. This week, news of two closures in the local dining scene: one temporary, and one enabling a pivot to a new venture in the South Bay. Swanky Selby’s restaurant is riding out the pandemic by closing until spring, while the popular Shalala Ramen closed for good, one of several recent closures in downtown Mountain View.
Selby’s to close temporarily
Since March, the Selby’s dining room — with mohair walls, custom chandeliers and tableside martini service — has remained dark, while the kitchen focused instead on translating that experience into takeout and delivery.
The upscale restaurant, opened by Bacchus Management Group last summer on the border of Atherton and Redwood City, will now go on temporary hiatus until next year. The restaurant’s last service at 3001 El Camino Real was Sunday, Oct. 25.
“Selby’s restaurant was designed and built for the purpose of gathering people together to celebrate and enjoy a delicious meal in each other’s company,” Bacchus said in a statement. “With winter approaching and the ongoing shelter-in-place orders limiting indoor dining, we have made the thoughtful decision to temporarily pause service until spring 2021.”
Bacchus billed Selby’s as a return to the food and glamour of 1930s and 1940s Hollywood, with dishes like lobster thermidor and a $50 truffle-topped burger. The restaurant group completely gutted and rebuilt the two-story, 10,000-square-foot space. They hoped to win a Michelin star and Wine Spectator Grand Award, the magazine’s highest honor.
Selby’s had all the bells and whistles — martini carts, two kitchens, private dining rooms, a back staircase for VIP diners — but lacked outdoor dining, which has become a lifeline for many restaurants. The location doesn’t allow for outdoor dining, Bacchus said, and the 25% cap at that time on indoor capacity in San Mateo County wouldn’t be sustainable.
In July, Bacchus Management Group permanently closed one of its other local restaurants, Mayfield Bakery & Cafe in Palo Alto. The group also operates The Village Pub and The Village Bakery in Woodside and Spruce in San Francisco.
After Selby’s closes, the staff will be “supporting” The Village Pub and Spruce, Bacchus said.
Selby’s will still offer special holiday menus for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve and is taking inquiries for private events.
Mountain View’s Shalala Ramen closes
After a decade of serving tonkotsu and spicy miso ramen in Mountain View, Shalala Ramen is permanently closing. Owner Nobu Iwahashi is opening a new, takeout-only concept in San Jose.
Shalala Ramen’s last day at 698 W. Dana St. was Monday, Oct. 26.
Iwahashi said he had thought about leaving Mountain View before but the decision was accelerated by the impact of the pandemic. Shalala’s sales are still down 50%. With only two outdoor tables, he’s had to sustain the business mostly on takeout while competing with other downtown restaurants that have more outdoor seating. He said his landlord deferred rent for two months, but staying afloat was still a challenge.
“I’m looking at the future, that the coronavirus is going to be (here for) a couple more years. That’s why I want to do something new,” Iwahashi said.
His new venture, called Fugetsu, will sell packaged Japanese food, such as bento boxes, onigiri, okonomiyaki and kushikatsu. There will be no restaurant service; it will instead operate as a pickup operation.
Fugetsu is opening at the Saratoga Avenue shopping center that also houses the Japanese Mitsuwa Marketplace. Iwahashi said he hopes to open in November.
Shalala is not the only closure in downtown Mountain View. Flights on Castro Street has closed permanently, owner Alex Hult confirmed. The closure followed Hult’s Mountain View landlord suing him this summer for back-rent payments. The lawsuit has since been settled, Hult said.
HeyOEats, which served vegan fare inside Ava’s Downtown Market & Deli, is also no more, a market employee confirmed.
Email Elena Kadvany at ekadvany@paweekly.com
