One of San Francisco’s most famous restaurants is inching closer to reclaiming its name and restoring its landmark art deco sign after years of negotiations.
Demosthenis (Dan) and Mary Hountalas, who operated the Cliff House for decades until its closure in 2020, last week donated the name and associated trademarks to the nonprofit Western Neighborhoods Project.
The gift includes not just the Cliff House name but the restaurant’s recipes, its famous sign, and all related trademarks, domains, and social media accounts. The nonprofit also intends to lend a collection of Cliff House memorabilia it purchased at auction in 2021.
Whether a new restaurant will take up the Cliff House mantle remains to be seen. That decision will fall to the nonprofit and the venue’s current operator, Alexander Leff, who was selected by the National Parks Service in 2023. Leff did not reply to a request for comment.
The art deco sign, which was installed in 2004, was removed when the restaurant closed Dec. 31, 2020. | Source: Getty ImagesWhat is the Western Neighborhoods Project?
The Western Neighborhoods Project, founded in 1999 in the Richmond, works to preserve and share the culture of San Francisco’s west side. The group in 2021 raised more than $150,000 in less than three weeks to purchase more than 100 Cliff House artifacts at an auction, later displaying them in a free exhibition in partnership with the National Park Service and San Francisco State University’s Global Museum.
Nicole Meldahl, executive director of the nonprofit, said it is “honored” to be stewarding the Cliff House legacy into the future. “Having spent countless hours in the building while managing The Museum at The Cliff, I’m lucky to know first-hand that the Cliff House is uniquely special,” Meldahl said. “We look forward to working with present and future concessioners of the Cliff House to ensure the name will forever remain connected to the historic building.”
Leff or any future operator will have to negotiate with the nonprofit to use the “Cliff House” name and trademarks. Previously, that licensing question lingered as part of the building’s stalled reopening process.
The nonprofit now controls a piece of San Francisco history — and leverage in discussions with concessioners, planners, or city officials looking to negotiate reopening terms or public-access commitments.
The Cliff House has fallen into disrepair. | Source: Noah Berger for The StandardWhen will the Cliff House reopen?
The building, perched on the Outer Richmond’s rugged seaside bluff, remains vacant and in need of major renovation. With restoration costs projected at more than $20 million and questions surrounding Leff’s spotty track record as an operator and developer, significant hurdles remain for a reopening.
The building opened in 1863 as a modest, roadhouse-style eatery. After fires destroyed two subsequent incarnations, the current neoclassical structure was completed in 1909. Over the decades, it became a destination for tourists and locals.
Five U.S. presidents have visited the site, including Theodore Roosevelt and Ulysses S. Grant. While lauded for its panoramic views of the Pacific, the restaurant’s food and service drew criticism. One guest noted that by 2019, “people weren’t coming to eat there anymore; they were coming for the view.” By 2020, the restaurant had gone dark.
The building’s coveted perch atop a salt-sprayed bluff has resulted in steep maintenance costs. The Hountalas family estimated spending about $250,000 annually on upkeep due to corrosion and weathering. In September, Leff estimated that restoration costs had ballooned from $10 million to $25 million. He projected a reopening by the end of 2026, but Mary Hountalas said that, based on her knowledge of the building, the timeline is optimistic.
With the name protected and held by a nonprofit, discussions between the Hountalas family, the park service, and potential operators now enter a new phase — one with clearer terms around legacy, stewardship, and possibly community engagement.
The Hountalas family, which has connections to the Cliff House going back to 1906, said they’ve been considering donating the name to the nonprofit for some time. “We are confident that, through their stewardship, the legacy of the Cliff House and its storied past will remain protected — and that one day, the Cliff House will once again open its doors to the public in all its previous glory,” the family said in a statement.