Italian chef Marco Franceschini opened Marco’s Gastronomia in San Anselmo this year. (Photo by Brian Cooley)
Eli’s Deli is inside of San Rafael’s Osher Marin Jewish Community Center. It opened this year. (Courtesy of Dawn Daabul)
Mijo opened this year and shortly closed thereafter. (Alan Dep/Marin Independent Journal)
Mediterranean restaurant Troya opened in Tiburon this year. (Photo by Zubeyde Sheth/Minimalist.Aesthetics)
Pat Townsley is now the owner of Hilda’s Coffee Shop in San Anselmo. (Alan Dep/Marin Independent Journal)
Vin Antico became Vin this year. (Photo by Travis Lange)
Mama’s Luncheonette opened its Mill Valley location this year. (Photo by Marlon Duenas)
The Burren House Irish Pub & Kitchen opened in San Rafael this year. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)
Berkeley-based Humbowl opened its first Marin location this year. (Courtesy of Humbowl)
Malibu’s Burgers’ San Rafael location closed this year after being open for around three months. (Photo by Darren Preston)
MaruJun opened in San Rafael this year. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)
Whipper Snapper in San Rafael closed this year. (Alan Dep/Marin Independent Journal)
Everest Curry and MoMo House opened this year in San Rafael. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)
State Room owner Alex Stricker puts a pizza in the oven at the San Rafael restaurant and brewery on March 11, 2022. State Room’s last day is Jan. 31. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)
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Italian chef Marco Franceschini opened Marco’s Gastronomia in San Anselmo this year. (Photo by Brian Cooley)
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Marin saw its share of restaurant comings and goings this year, reflecting the challenges of the industry while signaling continued momentum.
As the year closes, one of downtown San Rafael’s longtime bars is entering a new era. Alex and Lisa Stricker, who have operated the Flatiron sports bar in a 125-year-old wedge-shaped building on Third Street since 2010, have handed the keys to the Garcia family, owners of Miracle Mile Cafe and Garden Cafe, also in San Rafael. The new owners plan to reopen on Thursday with the same menu favorites and intend to expand their offerings and eventually bring back late-night kitchen hours.
The Strickers are also letting go of State Room Brewery on Fourth Street in San Rafael.
“Lisa and I are excited to focus all of our energy on Fairfax Brewing Co. in the new year,” said Alex Stricker of the brewpub they opened in late 2024.
State Room’s final day of service is Jan. 31, after which established Bay Area craft beer maker Dave McLean, founder of Hidden Splendor Fine Beer Co., co-founder of Admiral Maltings and former founder of Magnolia Brewing Co. and Alembic Bar, will take over and remodel and rebrand the space.
“There’s so much more to come in 2026, and the next chapter, Excelsior Pub in San Rafael, is where it all comes together,” McLean posted on Instagram earlier this month.
Several other changes were afoot this year on Fourth Street in San Rafael.
In January, Novato resident Deepak Bhandari opened Everest Curry and MoMo House with his family after refreshing the former Bombay Grill.
On the West End, Whipper Snapper closed in February after more than 16 years. A notice on the door indicates a pending takeover by San Francisco–based Giorgio’s Pizzeria.
Irish-born San Rafael resident Alan Hynes opened The Burren House Irish Pub & Kitchen in March, introducing an authentic slice of his homeland’s pub culture to Marin. In the coming year, he and his wife plan to expand next door with Burren Live, a dedicated music venue.
After a brief three-month stint, Malibu’s Burgers owner Darren Preston shared on Instagram that the Fourth Street location was not a fit for his brand. His vegan burgers and shakes can still be found at the original Oakland location.
Novato resident Jun Takeda, who spent three decades at Sushi to Dai For (now Paradise Sushi), moved down the street to the West End in April, taking over the former Taqueria Cancun space with MaruJun.
Berkeley fast-food bowl restaurant Humbowl arrived in Marin in April, with Sip & Bite Cafe following in May, replacing Sweetly Cali.
Family-owned Vin Antico reopened in May as Vin after a two-month closure, introducing a new name and culinary team and a refreshed interior.
During the summer months, Crepevine closed after 19 years on Fourth Street, along with neighboring Cascabel. The restaurant’s other eight Bay Area locations remain open. A posted sign notes that M.H. Bread and Butter is coming soon.
Around the corner on Lincoln Avenue in San Rafael, chef and restaurateur Fabrizio Cercatore launched Hot Italian Pizza Bar in the space that previously housed Perry’s Deli.
In November, Casa Mañana reopened as Fratm, serving wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas, house-made pastas and classic Italian dishes. The restaurant marks the first North Bay project for owner Angelo Sannino, a Naples native and co-founder of the Bay Area’s Doppio Zero restaurant group, which operates five Bay Area locations.
Several other San Francisco-based businesses made their North Bay debut.
San Francisco’s Mama’s Luncheonette, a Union Street takeout spot known for inventive breakfast burritos and savory wraps, opened on East Blithedale in the spring, bringing its owners back to their hometown of Mill Valley.
Corte Madera resident and Turkish native Berk Kinalilar, who opened his first Mediterranean restaurant, Troya, in San Francisco’s Inner Richmond in 2005 and later a second location in Pacific Heights, partnered with his wife to bring Troya to the Cove Shopping Center in Tiburon in May.
In the same shopping center two months earlier, a former Bank of Marin branch was stylishly transformed into Mog Asu Wine Bar by longtime San Rafael husband-and-wife team Fedric D’Costa and Emily Lund.
The year also brought a wave of notable closings, transitions and reinventions.
High expectations surrounded the March opening of Cal-Spanish restaurant Mijo in Corte Madera, a project from the team behind 6-year-old Guesthouse in Kentfield and the now-closed Easy Rider in Petaluma. The restaurant replaced longtime Moseley’s Sports Bar at the Market Place shopping center in Corte Madera and was described at the time as the group’s most ambitious build-out yet. The momentum was short-lived. By September, Mijo had closed, and the space is now listed for sale.
Moylan’s Brewery & Restaurant founder Brendan Moylan announced in May that he would close his Novato namesake after 30 years.
The Della Santina family, which has operated Marin Joe’s in Corte Madera for more than 71 years, passed the baton to the owners of Barrel House Tavern in Sausalito. The reopening date is unknown as the restaurant undergoes an extensive remodel to bring the beloved old-school Italian restaurant up to current standards.
The 64-year-old Silver Peso remains closed after a car crashed into the back of the two-story building in May and caused structural damage. Owner Rebel Lee said the new landlords began construction this week and that he’s hoping for a February reopening.
Floodwater in Tam Valley temporarily closed in the fall and it reopened in September as Tam Tavern, a collaboration between restaurateur Bill Higgins (Buckeye Roadhouse, Bungalow 44, Corner Bar) and Richmond-based East Brother Beer Co., founded by Mill Valley residents Chris Coomber and Rob Lightner.
After 60 years in business, Hilda’s Coffee Shop in San Anselmo closed in September as longtime owner Sue Kirton retired from the family business. The restaurant is now in the hands of Pat Townsley of Creekside Pizza and Taproom, who has completed the demolition and is planning for a January build-out.
“As a Marin native, I fell in love with Hilda’s as a kid,” Townsley said.
He says he intends to preserve the coffee shop’s small-town feel while refining the menu and overall experience.
Later in the year, Italian chef Marco Franceschini opened Marco’s Gastronomia, an Italian deli in San Anselmo that replaces D.G. Cafe, which closed in July. The San Rafael resident built his local reputation over two and a half decades at Trattoria Fresco in Ross. Taqueria Marin To Go, from the owners of Taqueria and Pupuseria El Torogoz in Larkspur, opened this month in that space.
Peet’s Coffee closed its downtown Mill Valley café in November after 39 years, though the brand’s brew is still being poured just around the corner at Sweetwater Music Hall.
In May, Mill Valley resident Iryna Nevozhai brought a Ukrainian vibe to Sausalito with Franko & Co on Bridgeway in Sausalito.
In San Rafael, Marinwood resident Dawn Daabul opened Eli’s Deli, providing a taste of home for the Israeli community at her café inside the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center.
Dragon Cafe will serve its last Mandarin-style meal on Wednesday in Novato.
“This is not just a restaurant closure,” wrote Haolynn Lu in an email about his parents’ business. “It’s a family that immigrated to America, raised three children in the Novato Unified School District and became part of the community for the past 35 years.”
At Hamilton Marketplace shopping center in April, Rustic Bakery opened its fifth Marin County location and second in Novato.
Three gourmet food and kitchenware shops opened in Marin this year. In April, cookbook author and Flour Craft Bakery & Cafe owner Heather Hardcastle expanded her footprint with The GoodLife Shop, a home and kitchen store at the Mill Valley Lumberyard.
In May, chef Elizabeth Smith-Finders, whose career includes time in some of the world’s most acclaimed kitchens, opened Highlow Larder, a tabletop, kitchen and gift shop in downtown Tiburon.
And in July, the former Marshall Post Office and Marshall Store at the entrance to Hog Island Oyster Farm and The Boat Oyster Bar reopened as the General Store + Hog Shack, adding a new retail and provisions stop in Marshall.
Across Tomales Bay, Saltwater Oyster Depot in Inverness closed while it works to resolve a state tax debt, according to the Point Reyes Light.
In Corte Madera, neighborhood butcher shop Zonda Fine Meats opened in March near Menke Park, and in July, Mill Valley resident Umar Baporia added a dose of sizzle to the area with Humble Cheeseburger, a no-nonsense food truck specializing in smashburgers. Baporia also spends a couple of days each week parked at Tam Junction’s Upside.
Five-year-old vegetarian fast-food restaurant Amy’s Drive Thru closed in Corte Madera in August, and Super Duper Burgers is slated to move in, adding a third Marin location to its existing Mill Valley and Novato outposts.
Palmetto Superfoods opened its 12th Bay Area location in August at the Town Center Corte Madera.
In Novato in August, Aloh-O Poke And Tea closed. The Mill Valley and San Rafael locations remain open.
The Ghiringhelli family marked its 40th year in business and welcomed a new addition with Vinny G’s Pizza & Cocktails, led by fourth-generation restaurateurs and twin brothers Vinny and Alex Ghiringhelli. The family’s portfolio also includes Ghiringhelli’s Pizzeria, Deer Park Villa, Mac’s at 19 Broadway in Fairfax and Ghiringhelli Specialty Foods in Vallejo.
Marin’s first Detroit-style square-pan pies arrived at Bon Air shopping center in Greenbrae in May with the opening of Squared Pizza from Tiburon resident Joe Garfola.
On the beverage front, Mantra Wines closed its tasting room in July after eight years in Novato.
The Keg Stand Brewing Co. replaced Indian Valley Brewing in Novato in October. Freewheel Brewing Co. added its third Bay Area location in San Rafael in the space that was Libation Taproom & Bottle Shop. Earlier this month, patrons had a final opportunity to raise a pint at Ounces Outdoors at its closing party on Dec. 6 in Terra Linda. Lastly, Berkeley-based Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant brought its long-established wine sensibility to Marin Country Mart in Larkspur just in time for the holidays.
Micro food hall Local Kitchens shuttered in Novato in September and in Mill Valley a month later.
The 30-year-old-plus original Mill Valley Whole Foods Market on Miller Avenue, one of the first in the country, closed temporarily for repairs in July before shutting its doors permanently in September. Down the road, Gravity Tavern served its final meal in October. Its three sister restaurants in San Francisco and one in Emeryville remain open.
Way Station wrapped up after eight years, and indoor-outdoor café and neighborhood beer and wine lounge Public House Marin debuted in town in October.
In the year’s final quarter, Paseo: A California Bistro announced in an email sent to customers it would be closing after service on Dec. 20 after four years in the storied setting.
The owners of Local Spicery on Ark Row in Tiburon announced their retirement after 13 years in business, selling off remaining inventory during the holiday season.
East Bay Tijuana-style taqueria landed on Harbor Street in San Rafael this month with El Tucán Tacos & Beer, its third location.
Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer and restaurant columnist. Email her at ij.lbattelle@gmail.com with news and recommendations and follow on Instagram @therealdealmarin for more on local food and updates on the launch of The Real Deal Marin restaurant search guide.
Dining and Cooking