Gustofino on Church -- Cleaned out and Gone? Why??

[answerman]

This wonderful place just opened a few months back.

I wondered over this weekend to pick up some Blue Bottle, have a sandwich and enjoy.

It's totally cleaned out. All of the hardware and signage is still there, but nothing else. And the phone number is disconnected.

Anyone know what the deal is? It's a real bummer.

[answerman]

I received an answer.

Insufficient capital. Unfortunate for us, but sounds like very poor business planning to me.

[dmacniven]

According to the owner it just didn't work out. It is already in someone else's hands, apparently a bakery.

[Bay Gelldawg]

I doubt very much that they are remodeling. More likely they realized after a few months of lackluster sales that they weren't going to make it.

I'm not surprised. People associate "take out" with cheap food. Nothing wrong with that if you are selling pizza or Chinese food, but they were trying to do something upscale. I don't think there is a market for it in that location. It didn't match the crepe place and coffee house nearby. As close as it might be to the Castro or Noe Valley, that particular block is a bit gritty with more than its share of homeless people.

If they had spent some time on that block before signing their lease they would have seen that the foot traffic doesn't include much of their target market.

[papa]

Interesting. I went there a couple of times when it opened (I live just around the corner). I had high hopes, but my first impressions were "meh". And I haven't been back since (not a good sign). I was planning to go back to see if improvements had been made, but sounds like I might not get a chance.

If it is a remodel per donbonus' comment, I hope they can rejigger the formula to get something a spark of something going on at that location. The idea is great, I just think the execution was lacking.

[ChowFun_derek]

They were nice people, but there was not much to choose from.....

[donbonus]

Re-Model......

[Squeat Mungry]

I noticed this, too, and was disappointed. The food wasn't stellar, but it was tasty and affordable.