Some closures around town: was sorry to learn this morning that ROTEE in the Lower Haight is closing in a couple of weeks due to some unfortunate landlord and lease issues. Damn, and this was just after I enjoyed a delivery dinner of their tasty tikka masala and onion naan last night! Rotee has been in the location since March 2004, and the partners plan to refocus their energy on their lunch express concept (they have a location downtown on Howard) and to possibly expand to more locations. Another source tells me Blowfish was going to move into the space with a ramen concept, but that’s all up in the air now. Stand by—and best wishes to the Rotee crew. 400 Haight St. at Webster, 415-552-8309.
Scoop reports CAESAR’S ITALIAN RESTAURANT, the very old school Italian restaurant that has been at the corner of Bay and Powell since 1956, is closing on Friday August 31st (you can read the note here). 2299 Powell St. at Bay, 415-989-6000.
Also in the news: CIRCOLO is closed and up for sale. Owner Jon Mayeda is working on a new project in SoMa at 1161 Mission Street (between 7th and 8th Streets), reportedly a late-night spot called Thai Taste (he’s working with the owners of Million Thai at 5th and Jessie, which is also closing). 500 Florida St. at Mariposa.
The Noe Valley local blog reports that the Vietnamese TAO CAFÉ has closed down after 10 years. No word on what will head in there next, but the beer and wine license is still active and the location is a good one, so it will be an interesting space to watch. The owners of Tao Café say in their closing note that they are “searching a new home for a rebirth”; we’ll keep you posted on where they end up. 1000 Guerrero St. at 22nd St.
The old-school spumoni ice cream at Caesar’s. Photo from website.
