Art’s Cafe Closes After 30 Years of Crispy Hash Browns in the Inner Sunset

Art’s Cafe, the Korean-American diner, is closing after more than three decades of flipping hash-brown sandwiches on Irving Street. Mom-and-pop owners Sarah and Hae Ryong Youn have decided to retire, the SF Chronicle reported first. The news broke in an Instagram post from longtime customer Ari Simon, who kicked off an outpouring of nostalgia from other ‘90s kids who grew up at that counter. “I’m happy the owners get to retire but I’m sad this part of my childhood is gone,” Simon wrote in the post. “ ... a piece of my city is leaving that I feel is truly irreplaceable.”

The Youns immigrated in the ‘80s and bought the diner in ’89, and it’s been a neighborhood hangout ever since. Located on Irving at 9th, the heart of the Inner Sunset, the diner was sandwiched between shops. One counter with a dozen odd seats, it was decorated scrapbook style with postcards from regulars. Customers would squeeze in on a stool, where Sarah would take orders, while Hae Ryong worked the flattop six days a week, in and out of years.

The menu starred American diner fare folded with Korean ingredients, from no-frills eggs and pancakes to burgers and bibimbap. The hash-brown sandwiches were the crowd favorite, satisfying small children and soothing hangovers with shredded potatoes and cheese, griddled to form a shell, then stuffed with spinach, sausage, or teriyaki beef, with two eggs on the side.

The closing of Art’s Cafe signals a well-deserved break for Mr. and Mrs. Youn and a sad moment for fans of this neighborhood diner. But it also taps into a deeper fear that older family-owned restaurants are getting pushed out during the pandemic. It’s Tops coffee shop took down the iconic sign on Market Street, and later confirmed that it’s permanently closed after 85 years. Out by the beach, Louis’ diner closed after 83 years of tuna melts and crinkle fries with a view of the Pacific.

When it comes to the brunch scene in San Francisco, no one seems terrifically concerned that avocado toast or oat milk lattes will continue to survive. But it’s a true heartache when old-school diners are pushed out, becoming postcards from the past.

• Couple behind Art’s Cafe in the Inner Sunset are retiring — and so is the beloved diner [SF Chronicle]
• 26 Years In At Art’s Cafe, An Old-School Diner With A Korean Twist [Hoodline]
• Restaurant Closings in the San Francisco Bay Area [ESF]