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The Alioto’s sign comes down at the iconic Fisherman’s Wharf restaurant. Jan. 5, 2026Â
SAN FRANCISCO – Crews began to demolish San Francisco’s iconic Alioto’s Restaurant, a classic seafood eatery at Fisherman’s Wharf, on Monday – the start of a process that will pave the way for a new plaza, slated to open this summer.Â
The green Alito’s sign was among the first things to be taken down.
What we know:
The Port of San Francisco, which owns the property, said it is replacing the restaurant at Taylor Street between Jefferson Street and The Embarcadero with a $10-million public plaza, scheduled to open in the summer.Â
Port Director Elaine Forbes told the Chronicle the agency spent several years looking for a new operator to take over the three-story restaurant, but cited its sheer size, dilapidated state and the “multimillion-dollar investment needed to make it structurally sound” as possible reasons for the lack of interested buyers
Alioto’s Restaurant had operated for nearly 100 years before shutting down during the pandemic in 2020.
The restaurant opened in 1925 as a fish stand, operated by Sicilian immigrant Nunzio Alioto. He did so well, that he opened the Fisherman’s Wharf building in 1932.Â
When he died, his wife, Rose Alioto, and their children expanded the establishment.Â