After being in business since 1997, Jay Nazzal will close the doors to his cheesesteak restaurant on 21st and Valencia at the end of the month.<\/p>\n
When Jay\u2019s Cheesesteak<\/a> opened in 1997, Nazzal was 27, freshly married, and expecting his firstborn child.<\/p>\n \u201cI drove around the neighborhood and I saw every type of food except cheesesteaks,\u201d he said, referring to a sandwich of cheese, steak and an assortment of vegetables. \u201cAnd then I sat down with my cousin, made a menu, and all I had to do was turn the key and it started working.\u201d<\/p>\n Nazzal said he\u2019s closing because he\u2019s seen a decline in business over the years.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey put these e-bike stations in front of the building that blocks, like four parking spots,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd people go around looking for parking, they go once, twice, and then they give up. They find somewhere else to eat.\u201d<\/p>\n Nazzal also noted \u201cthe neighborhood is just not the same anymore.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s starting to get tough to make money,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was a damn good business for me. It did everything: put my kids through college, bought me a house. I have all the things I want. I\u2019m not really struggling, but it\u2019s sad because of my customers and I love the neighborhood to death.\u201d<\/p>\n Nazzal grew up in the Sunset, but said his favorite food is a cheesesteak, so it was only natural that he open a cheesesteak restaurant.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jason Nazzal, Jay\u2019s cousin and owner of neighboring Sidewalk Juice<\/a>, said their businesses \u201cfed off of each other.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPeople would get a cheesesteak and then they\u2019d go next door and order a juice. So it\u2019s worked out for us for years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Jason\u2019s father also opened Valencia Whole Foods<\/a>, across the street from both businesses, 36 years ago. He said Jay\u2019s closure feels like the end of an era for the family.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been my father, myself and my first cousin on that corner for all I can remember,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Ryen Motvek, president of the Mission Merchants Association, got word of Jay\u2019s closure yesterday.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an institution,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a heartbreaker and I\u2019m sad to see it go. And it\u2019s a very special block right there.\u201d<\/p>\n Motvek said the first time he tried Jay\u2019s was about 20 years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI had a friend that was like, dude, they\u2019ve got these insanely bomb seitan cheesesteaks. And I\u2019m a vegetarian, so it was good for me. And they\u2019re amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n Eric Viana, Nazzal\u2019s neighbor in the South City, was a patron of Jay\u2019s before becoming neighbors with him.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always known him as Jay\u2019s Cheesesteak\u201d he said \u201cEven though he\u2019s like my brother now, I have him as Jay Cheesteak on my contact list.\u201d<\/p>\n Viana\u2019s go-to order has always been a classic Jay\u2019s cheesesteak, although he\u2019s gone through phases.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a simple guy, but when I was going through a health kick, I was doing tuna melts, and he would wrap them in lettuce for me.\u201d<\/p>\n Viana said Nazzal is a recognizable figure in the community.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPeople see him and they go, \u2018Oh there\u2019s Jay\u2019s Cheesesteak,\u201d he said. \u201cI belong to a motorcycle club and when we do fundraisers or events, 100 percent of the time, Jay has been a sponsor for us. From softball to kids baseball, you name it, he\u2019s donated.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Viana and Motvek also noted Nazzal\u2019s resemblance to Vin Diesel.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe call him Toretto,\u201d said Viana. \u201cI had a big old gaudy chain with a cross and I\u2019ve made him wear it to, you know, play into it.\u201d<\/p>\n Motvek said that Jay\u2019s business \u201cspoke to the heart and soul of the Mission District.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Mission is not homogenized by any means,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have the Latino Cultural District and American Indian Cultural district, and we love our Mexican restaurants, but it\u2019s not only Mexican restaurants. The neighborhood, more so than other neighborhoods in the city, embraces diverse cultures.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Nazzal said a customer who\u2019s been going to Jay\u2019s since he was a toddler, now an influencer, published an Instagram video<\/a> yesterday after learning of the closure. The effect was immediate.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPeople have been calling me, coming in to have their last sandwich, last cheesesteak. My heart is full.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t