Please Management’s Phil Spiegel, Designer Jeff Schlarb, and Presidio Bay Founder Cyrus Sanandaji. | Source: Sean Fan/The Standard
When Alto88 opens on the roof of 88 Spear St. next year, it will feature a signature cocktail called “the First Crane.”
The apple-brandy spritzer arrives in a tall glass chilled with a rectangular ice cube modeled on the office tower now known as The Spear. A streak of edible gold calls to mind “golden hour,” the time of day when customers are most likely to order one while enjoying the view.
But the main point is the garnish: a metal rod with a clothespin holding a piece of fruit resembles the crane required to erect the restaurant and event space, the first to rise over the downtown skyline since the pandemic.
The cocktail is a celebration, but the work it honors isn’t finished yet. During a hard-hat tour Thursday with hospitality entrepreneur Phil Spiegel, who will run Alto88, construction workers were still building out the structure, newly added to the roof. If all goes well, the establishment with 360-degree views will open in May.
“I don’t want this to be just another cool spot,” Spiegel said. “I want it to be the next institution — like Sam’s Grill or Original Joe’s — that people will be returning to for generations.
“Think of attainable luxury without the membership,” he added.
Developer Presidio Bay designed and got permission to add a floor as a part of its makeover of the 11-story building it acquired in 2023. Last year, it recruited Spiegel, who designed and operates Holbrook House at One Sansome, to create Alto88. The two are also partnering on a new events space at 301 Battery, the former Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
“Phil was saying he needed a breather after [Holbrook House]. But I told him now was the time to lean in,” said Cyrus Sanandaji, founder and managing principal of Presidio Bay.
The developer said he got the idea to add to the 57-year-old tower when he toured it and saw a mechanical penthouse on the roof. Upon climbing it, Sanandaji noticed not only the spectacular views but how the surrounding taller skyscrapers, like One Market Plaza, insulated it from strong wind.
“This is how we were going to differentiate the building and make it a one of one,” Sanandaji said. “Plenty of places have high ceilings and tall windows, but not many have a two-story outdoor experience like this.”
Spiegel added: “I want our neighbors to look down on us from their offices above and wonder, ‘What’s that going on down there?’”
Before closing on the purchase of the 88 Spear, Presidio Bay had to design the 10,000-square-feet structure below a certain weight in order to avoid costly seismic retrofitting.
A rendering of the proposed rooftop restaurant at 88 Spear.
There will be indoor and covered outdoor seating.
To satisfy that requirement while building an opulent place that can hold up to 500 people, the developer turned to ETFE, a lightweight plastic film that weighs a fraction of glass. Layers of the clear material are sealed together and inflated with air, forming cushions that let in natural light while insulating the room. It’s the same material used on the Beijing Water Cube from the 2008 Olympics (opens in new tab), as well as on airports and university buildings around the world.
“I get excited thinking about a company lighting up the structure with their colors,” Spiegel said. “It’ll be like dining among the giants.”
The rooftop establishment will be open to tenants of The Spear as well as the general public, who can access the rooftop through a dedicated elevator in the lobby. The main dining room and kitchen will replace the penthouse, while the roof itself will serve as an overflow bar and entertainment space.
The restaurant will have indoor and (covered) outdoor seating, while the northeast corner will be left unobstructed so diners can see the Bay Bridge and take pictures.
“It wouldn’t be successful if it was just another restaurant or bar,” Sanandaji said. “It needs to have an events and cultural component [like at Holbrook House]. Large-format gathering space is so limited in the city.”
Chef Richard Chu, formerly of Spruce, will lead the food and beverage programming at Alto88, offering a contemporary take on “nostalgic American food” through reimagining familiar classics with bold flavors and live-fire cooking.
Chef de Cuisine Mitchell Reichert, left, and Executive Chef Richard Chu.
The Spear is slated to open early next year. Alto88 will open next summer.
Spiegel — who made his name overseeing the late Clint Reilly’s Merchants Exchange Productions and now runs his own hospitality company, Please Management — said he was introduced to Chu through a friend he regularly sees at Coffee Roastery on Chestnut Street. That person has eaten Chu’s cooking at multiple restaurants and recommended that Spiegel “sprint, not walk” toward hiring the chef.
“This type of talent does not come around often,” Spiegel said. “I would tell him I’m nostalgic for my dad’s barbecue ribs, and he would go straight to the lab and create something mind-blowing.”
Chu so far has hired a chef de cuisine but needs to build out an entire staff that will also handle food at 301 Battery and Holbrook House.
His recruitment pitch to talent in the city?
“This is our chance to build a restaurant group of our own,” Chu said.