{"id":58011,"date":"2025-11-18T05:42:06","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T05:42:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/58011\/"},"modified":"2025-11-18T05:42:06","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T05:42:06","slug":"bissap-baobab-to-close-mission-street-location","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/58011\/","title":{"rendered":"Bissap Baobab to close Mission Street location"},"content":{"rendered":"

After 28 years, the beloved live music venue Bissap Baobab<\/a> at Mission and 18th streets will have its last day on Dec. 28, according to the restaurant\u2019s social media<\/a> page.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cLet us be clear: Baobab is NOT done. We are actively looking for a new home. The Baobab bends, but it never breaks,\u201d wrote owner Marco Senghor in the Instagram post, adding that closing the Mission Street location has been an incredibly emotional decision.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSustaining such a large space has become too difficult in these times,\u201d wrote Senghor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThese walls have witnessed weddings, birthdays, revolutions, breakups, makeups, miracles, and thousands of nights where cultures blended like spices in a Ceebu Jen pot,\u201d he added, referring to Senegal\u2019s famous one-pot dish that usually contains rice, fish and vegetables.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The owners are inviting the community to a farewell party on Dec. 20 while they continue to search for a new location for Bissap Baobab. They will also host Baobab Flying Night on Saturdays at Muddy Waters Coffee & Lounge<\/a> at Valencia and 16th streets.<\/p>\n

A registered legacy business<\/a> that started in the 1990s from a small catering kitchen<\/a> on 19th Street, Bissap Baobab has faced battle after battle in the past decade while offering West African dishes and dance performances to a diverse crowd.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Bissap Baobab on 19th Street<\/a> was briefly sold during Senghor\u2019s legal battle<\/a> with the federal government in 2018 and 2019, when he avoided a 10-year federal prison sentence for obtaining citizenship through a fraudulent marriage. He ultimately received one year of probation and a $1,000 fine.<\/p>\n

After a few years<\/a> running Little Baobab, in 2022, Senghor moved<\/a> the restaurant to a much larger space at 2243 Mission St., reopening it as Bissap Baobab.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The dancehall regularly received noise complaints<\/a> from its neighbors, though Senghor complied with the Entertainment Commission\u2019s rules and even spent $80,000<\/a> on soundproofing. \u201cTo our neighbors, thank you for reminding us that joy sometimes comes with a decibel limit,\u201d Bissap Baobab posted<\/a> on Instagram today.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Following an appeal from neighbors, Bissap Baobab endured a grueling 10-month ordeal<\/a> before finally getting its license in mid-2023 to serve beer and wine. That process usually takes 60 days.<\/p>\n

That same year, the dancehall also spent months obtaining a full liquor license<\/a>. Senghor said at the time that during its first year at the new location, he had lost managers and employees and struggled to attract enough customers due to the lack of hard liquor. He was already on the verge of handing the keys<\/a> back to his landlord when the license finally came through.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are searching, listening, and trusting that the Universe is already whispering our next address,\u201d wrote Senghor today<\/a>. \u201cWherever we land, the drums will follow, and so will the Ceebu Jen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t