Nearly five years since the closure of Fisherman’s Wharf seafood spot Lou’s Fish Shack, the space is finally getting new life, with a lease just awarded to 51-year-old Oakland barbecue institution Everett & Jones BBQ.
San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf district lost a long list of its venerable (and mostly tourist-serving) seafood restaurants right along the port during the pandemic: Pompei's Grotto, Lou's Fish Shack, Castagnola's, and even the 97-year-old Alioto's. And while most of these restaurants closed right when lockdown hit in March 2020, Lou’s Fish Shack technically went kaput when their lease was terminated in 2023.
Like many businesses and venues operating right on the Fisherman’s Wharf waterfront, Lou’s Fish Shack’s building is owned and leased by the San Francisco Port Commission. And that commission has awarded the old Lou’s Fish Shack building to a new restaurant tenant, as the Chronicle reports that location’s lease is going to the legendary Oakland barbecue chain, Everett & Jones BBQ.
“We believe San Francisco is a great fit for us,” Dorcia White, granddaughter of Everett & Jones founder Dorothy Everett, said at Tuesday’s Port Commission meeting at which they were granted the lease. “I’m glad to be here to continue my family’s legacy.”
Dorcia White and her sisters operate the two Everett & Jones BBQ locations in Oakland, the first of which opened in 1973. Other family members operate the newer locations in Berkeley and at the Graton Casino in Rohnert Park.
Everett & Jones BBQ was awarded a ten-year lease at the 300 Jefferson Street (at Jones Street) location at which Lou’s Fish Shack had operated. The lease comes with the possibility of two five-year extensions.
It’s kind of a sweet return for Everett & Jones BBQ, which did once have a San Francisco location, until that spot was destroyed in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. White tells the Chronicle that the new SF Fisherman’s Wharf spot will have the traditional Everett & Jones BBQ menu, but with some seafood dishes added, and the venue does plan to host live music.
The new Everett & Jones BBQ in Fisherman’s Wharf hopes to open this fall.
Related: Fisherman’s Wharf Restaurants Pompei’s Grotto and Lou’s Fish Shack Both Close Permanently [SFist]
Image: Jonathan S. via Yelp
