The following is a list of notable Bay Area restaurants that closed in December 2025. Click here for a list of November closings.
A storied hot dog chain from the East Bay is down to its last location. Top Dog closed its 14-year-old Oakland spot on Lakeshore Avenue following the end of its lease, leaving only the Berkeley flagship, which dates back to 1966. News of the closing first broke in October, when co-owner Renie Riemann told SFGATE that a series of robberies dissuaded it from staying. (The Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but operate separate newsrooms.)
Craft beer bar the Good Hop in Oakland, as seen in 2016, has closed. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle)
Craft beer bar and bottle shop the Good Hop in Uptown Oakland has ended after a decade in business, as East Bay Nosh first reported. In an Instagram farewell post, the business’ owners expressed their gratitude and said that current “unsurmountable challenges” ultimately forced the decision. The closing comes as the U.S. beer industry continues to decline.
Ofena, an Italian restaurant from local chef Tim Humphrey and Tan Truong, a partner at upscale sushi spot Ju-Ni, has closed after two years. The San Francisco Business Times reported that the Parkside restaurant faced slow sales and rising costs. Its landlord filed a lawsuit after the restaurant’s operators accrued more than $40,000 in back rent.
East Bay Nosh reports that French-Vietnamese restaurant Vanessa’s Bistro in Berkeley closed in December after nearly 20 years. Co-owner Vi Nguyen told the outlet that the restaurant’s landlord did not renew the lease and that operating had become unsustainable.
A 50% drop in business spelled the end of La Perla Taqueria in San Jose’s east side after 41 years of preparing enchiladas, chicken mole and margaritas. Owner Jose Huitron told the San Jose Spotlight that costs had gotten too high, with rent and utilities now topping $15,000 per month. The restaurant closed on Dec. 29.
Vespucci Ristorante Italiano in San Mateo closed on Dec. 31, the Mercury News reported. The owners of the East Third Street restaurant did not share a specific reason for closing.
The popular Oakland bar Friends and Family, as seen before business hours in 2024, has closed. (Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle)
Friends and Family, a nationally acclaimed bar, is now closed. Back in November, co-owner Blake Cole explained that months of inconsistent sales, an overall decline in drinking and a slow summer period were too much to overcome.
Beloved Berkeley coffee and arts space Guerilla Cafe closed after 19 years. A note that was taped to the door did not disclose any specific reasons for the closing, but thanked customers for their support. The shop opened in 2006 as a joint venture between Andrea Ali and Red Bay Coffee’s future founders, Keba and Rachel Konte.
One of Berkeley’s most popular restaurants closed after 11 years in business. Standard Fareserved its last customers on Dec. 19 so chef-owner Kelsie Kerr can retire. The Chez Panisse and Zuni Cafe alum launched the business as a window offering prepared to-go meals, later working up to breakfast and lunch service, and eventually dinner as well. Standard Fare was best known for its focus on seasonal produce and ever-changing menus.
A Solano County spot for dining on the Sacramento River closed in late December. The Point in Rio Vista served its last steaks and shrimp Louie salads on Dec. 28. General manager Jim Scott said to the Chronicle that the business was unable to negotiate a new lease with the property’s owners. The 7,000-square-foot property is currently up for sale.
The Brass Door, a steakhouse in San Ramon, served its last prime rib dinners on Christmas Eve. On its website, the restaurant claims that it originally opened in 1946 under the name 8/5 Club and adopted its current moniker in 1955. Current owner Shahla Azad said she and the landlord were unable to strike a new lease agreement.
The exterior of restaurant and nightclub Bissap Baobab, as seen in 2023, in San Francisco’s Mission District. (Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle)
Senegalese restaurant and music venue Bissap Baobab closed its Mission Street space on Dec. 28. Since opening in the mid-1990s, it has been one of the few spaces in San Francisco centering Black music and art from West Africa, the Caribbean and beyond. Owner Marco Senghor is currently looking for a new location to reopen.
Goose & Gander in St. Helena closed permanently on Dec. 20. The restaurant opened in 2021 and was best known for burgers and cocktails served in a basement bar. Management declined to elaborate on reasons for the closure.
The first-party vendors inside San Francisco’s food hall Saluhall have closed. The kiosks –Â soft serve stationSnoberg; Scandinavian-style cocktail bar Punsch Bar; and low-ABV bar Lagom Bar-Â were all operated by the venue’s management company, London-based Kerb Food. Saluhall owner Ingka Centers, also IKEA’s parent company, split with Kerb late last year. The move has left around 30 workers without jobs. Most of the locally operated restaurants who lease kiosks at the hall, such as Smish Smash, were unaffected.
Also inside Saluhall, plant-based Puerto Rican food kiosk Casa Borinqueña shut down on Dec. 2. Co-owner Wenlock Nau told the Chronicle that the business had been dealing with slow sales and high turnover when it first announced its plans to close on Jan. 1. In December, the owners announced on Instagram that they were leaving the food hall early, without elaborating on why.
On New Year’s Eve, the Trident shut down on the Sausalito waterfront. The storied restaurant was once a 1960s counterculture destination for rock stars like Janis Joplin. But owner Bob Freeman told the Chronicle that business never recovered after the COVID pandemic.
This article originally published at Classic hot dog restaurant closes in Oakland.