After being in business since 1995, 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, Nazzal was 25, 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 His uncle, Joseph Nazall, has owned Valencia Whole Foods<\/a> across the street for 36 years. He owned a business where Jay\u2019s Cheesesteak currently is before passing it on to Jay.<\/p>\n Nazzal said he\u2019s closing because the building owner does not want to renew their lease. He\u2019s also 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. Nazzal said rising food costs and rising employee wages hinder his ability to make a profit. <\/p>\n \u201cIt was a damn good business for us. It did everything: put our kids through college, bought us a house. We have all the things we want. I\u2019m not really struggling, but it\u2019s sad because of my customers and I love the neighborhood to death,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Nazzal grew up in the Sunset, but because his favorite food is cheesesteak, it was only natural he open a restaurant serving the dish.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jason Nazzal, Jay\u2019s cousin and Joseph\u2019s son, is the owner of neighboring Sidewalk Juice<\/a>. He 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 said the restaurant\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 Motzek, 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 Motzek said the first time he tried Jay\u2019s sandwiches was about 20 years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI had a friend that was like, \u2018Dude, they\u2019ve got these insanely bomb seitan cheesesteaks.\u2019 And they\u2019re so good, \u00a0just really slamming.\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 Cheesesteak 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 Motzek 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 Motzek 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 Mission, 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