Vegan Mexican restaurant Gracias Madre closes, owners say San Francisco has 'deteriorated'
SAN FRANCISCO – After 16 years in San Francisco's Mission District, popular vegan Mexican restaurant Gracias Madre closed this week.
The owners of the establishment, which used to generate extremely long wait times before the pandemic, posted a note outside stating that the economy and state of the Mission forced this decision.
"Our mission was always to honor the mothers who give so much to serve, care for and live in hope for their families, especially those of Mexico. It has been an honor to work on behalf of their generosity and sacrifice all these years," the farewell note said in part. "The condition of life in San Francisco has deteriorated and made running a small business nearly impossible."
Former general manager Joseph Donohue said the business never recovered from the pandemic, and the street conditions drove away customers, especially at night.
"A lot of people would say that it was a little bit too dangerous to come at night, because there wasn't any places to park your car, and if you did park your car you didn't know whether it was going to get broken into or not," said Donohue. "So a lot of customers did say that they wouldn't come at night."
He said Gracias Madre tried to stay open until 10 p.m., but didn't have enough business to do so. The owners did not have enough cash to stay open another month.
Donohue said going home after work on nearby BART was not an option.
"It's just a little shady in the area, the streets are not cleaned on a regular basis. It's almost as if it's like a forgotten side of the city," he said.
He said its location next to an empty building on 18th Street wasn't enticing, though it is scheduled to become teacher housing in the future.
"I don't feel secure sometimes walking the streets," said a longtime Mission resident who did not give his name.
He used to get on the hours-long waitlist for Gracias Madre. He's lived in the neighborhood for 23 years.
"The street conditions in the Mission is very bad right now, at this moment, because not only the garbage, but the homeless, the drugs," he added.
Gracias Madre still has two Southern California locations that will stay open.
"When you're in this business, at this point, you have to figure out new ways to run it," said Donohue.
Full text of farewell note from Gracias Madre:
"This is with great sadness that we announce the closing of our doors, after 16 years of serving some of the best plant based Mexican food ever. Our mission was always to honor the mothers who give so much to serve, care for and live in hope for their families, especially those of Mexico. It has been an honor to work on behalf of their generosity and sacrifice all these years. The condition of life in San Francisco has deteriorated and made running a small business nearly impossible. We thank all of those who worked beside us from the beginning until the end, your devotion will never be forgotten. Gracias Madre in West Hollywood and Newport Beach are still open and offer you the same quality of service and love. Come see us there. Thank you all, Love, Matthew and Terces"
