After being in business since 1995, Jay Nazzal will close the doors to his cheesesteak restaurant on 21st and Valencia at the end of the month.
When Jay’s Cheesesteak opened, Nazzal was 25, freshly married, and expecting his firstborn child.
“I drove around the neighborhood and I saw every type of food except cheesesteaks,” he said, referring to a sandwich of cheese, steak and an assortment of vegetables. “And then I sat down with my cousin, made a menu, and all I had to do was turn the key and it started working.”
His uncle, Joseph Nazall, has owned Valencia Whole Foods across the street for 36 years. He owned a business where Jay’s Cheesesteak currently is before passing it on to Jay.
Nazzal said he’s closing because the building owner does not want to renew their lease. He’s also seen a decline in business over the years.
“They put these e-bike stations in front of the building that blocks, like four parking spots,” he said. “And people go around looking for parking, they go once, twice, and then they give up. They find somewhere else to eat.”
Nazzal also noted “the neighborhood is just not the same anymore.”
“It’s starting to get tough to make money,” he said. Nazzal said rising food costs and rising employee wages hinder his ability to make a profit.
“It was a damn good business for us. It did everything: put our kids through college, bought us a house. We have all the things we want. I’m not really struggling, but it’s sad because of my customers and I love the neighborhood to death,” he said.
Nazzal grew up in the Sunset, but because his favorite food is cheesesteak, it was only natural he open a restaurant serving the dish.
Jason Nazzal, Jay’s cousin and Joseph’s son, is the owner of neighboring Sidewalk Juice. He said their businesses “fed off of each other.”
“People would get a cheesesteak and then they’d go next door and order a juice. So it’s worked out for us for years,” he said.
Jason said the restaurant’s closure feels like the end of an era for the family.
“It’s been my father, myself and my first cousin on that corner for all I can remember,” he said.
Ryen Motzek, president of the Mission Merchants Association, got word of Jay’s closure yesterday.
“It’s an institution,” he said. “It’s a heartbreaker and I’m sad to see it go. And it’s a very special block right there.”
Motzek said the first time he tried Jay’s sandwiches was about 20 years ago.
“I had a friend that was like, ‘Dude, they’ve got these insanely bomb seitan cheesesteaks.’ And they’re so good, just really slamming.”
Eric Viana, Nazzal’s neighbor in the South City, was a patron of Jay’s before becoming neighbors with him.
“I’ve always known him as Jay’s Cheesesteak” he said “Even though he’s like my brother now, I have him as Jay Cheesesteak on my contact list.”
Viana’s go-to order has always been a classic Jay’s cheesesteak, although he’s gone through phases.
“I’m a simple guy, but when I was going through a health kick, I was doing tuna melts, and he would wrap them in lettuce for me.”
Viana said Nazzal is a recognizable figure in the community.
“People see him and they go, ‘Oh there’s Jay’s Cheesesteak,” he said. “I belong to a motorcycle club and when we do fundraisers or events, 100 percent of the time, Jay has been a sponsor for us. From softball to kids baseball, you name it, he’s donated.”
Viana and Motzek also noted Nazzal’s resemblance to Vin Diesel.
“We call him Toretto,” said Viana. “I had a big old gaudy chain with a cross and I’ve made him wear it to, you know, play into it.”
Motzek said that Jay’s business “spoke to the heart and soul of the Mission District.”
“The Mission is not homogenized by any means,” he said. “We have the Latino Cultural District and American Indian Cultural district, and we love our Mexican restaurants, but it’s not only Mexican restaurants. The Mission, more so than other neighborhoods in the city, embraces diverse cultures.”
Nazzal said a customer who’s been going to Jay’s since he was a toddler, now an influencer, published an Instagram video yesterday after learning of the closure. The effect was immediate.
“People have been calling me, coming in to have their last sandwich, last cheesesteak. My heart is full.”
I stopped going there when they got rid of the seitan cheesesteak! I never understood why they did that.
Did someone forget to tell him that his business is right next door to a massive parking garage?
We stopped going when he got rid of all the seitan options, they were great! The anti bike stuff didn’t help either.
@Duh – Must be some sort of biker/vegetarian Seitanic conspiracy!
Awwwww, Jay! I will miss you!
xoxo..,dema
I didn’t really want to pile on, but people from Philly have said it. I tried Jay’s. The cheesesteaks just weren’t good. Sorry.
It’s not cheesesteak, but if you want the real thing, try the newish Jerry’s Roast Pork in the Embarcadero. THAT’s pretty close to Philly level.
The comment blaming the bikeshare station is just unreal. It’s like it never occurred to Jay that the 20 bike docks might also represent customers. I used to come to Jay’s when he had vegan options and I came by bike, never in a car. I think the lesson here might be: focus on your business and improving the quality of what you sell, rather than ridiculous jeremiads against your neighbors and potential customers who get around a different way than you.
Also, the bikeshare station isn’t even in front of his business at all, it’s around the corner in front of Udupi Palace, which is thriving: because they offer delicious, affordable food instead of wasting their time complaining about bikes.
We will miss you. This is very sad news for our neighborhood. A few days ago, I was just reminiscing when I would go to your shop & several bike-delivery guys would be there on their lunch break. What made me think about it, was a FB post about someone searching for an old bike-messenger friend in SF. I was searching my brain for “when did the bike-messengers stopped coming for lunch.” I could not remember, when I stopped seeing them. Good old times.
Thank you for the delicious food over the years. Wishing success on your next business.
Dude, you are blaming bike share stations for your business failing? Do you understand that space for one car parking spot is around 5 or 6 bike share spaces? I’m not going to miss a business owner with such dinosaur beliefs. And the cheesesteaks at your shop on Divis weren’t very good anyway. Bye Felicia.
It’s pretty typical for business owners to be clueless about how many customers arrive by car vs. on foot or by bike.
That was not ever a real cheesesteak place. I lived in Philadelphia for half of my life before I moved here,
A senior citizen now…
The only real Philly cheese steak places are the Cheesesteak shop on Divisadero , and Jake’s near my residence on Valencia .. both are transplants from Philadelphia, the steaks are authentic. They even have hoagies. They do import Amoroso rolls and TastyKakes.,My fellow expat Philly friends also love both places. What I don’t understand is the ‘beyond meat’ and several not Philly type options. Get the ‘wit, disgusting with cheeze whiz the authentic.
Most of the places I remember in Philadelphia were little holes in the wall, with old school pickup or delivery. No or few places to sit. Some had Italian food, great east coast pizza too.
For a few months when living there I delivered Cheesesteaks and pizza. No apps , google maps, cell phones etc. door dash. A paper map to find the address. Cash only. Loved it!!! Made good tips too.
Jay’s goodbye not a cheese steak. I’m glad ML have light fluffy stories instead of all the inner Mission is a dangerous pit for which City officials give a middle finger too. Go Jake’s and Cheesesteak Shop !!
My Philly husband says “Jay’s ain’t no real Philly cheese steaks at all, hon, so goodbye.”
The only legit options are Jakes on Valencia and the Original Philly Cheesestake Place on Divis. They import amarosos (rolls) and Tastykakes.
I’m glad to see the closure of any steak purveyor.
Go vegan!
If I am going to take an excursion from vegetarianism to the land of red meat, it sure as hell ain’t gonna be anonymous slop slung on a roll with gooey cheese.
My dirty meaty secret resides at Olivier’s Butchery on Illinois and 23d that vends curated fresh boeufs cut to order for a surprisingly reasonable price, tho it ain’t cheap. I reverse sear that slab of animal flesh at a very low temperature until it hits 120F inside, let it rest, and then sear it in ghee in a cast iron pan for a minute on each side on high to get that critical malliard reaction taste.
Oliviers also has high quality ground beef for cookouts.
I came to terms long ago with the fact that getting a 94, an A, in vegetarianism was good enough for me.
@marcos – Euuw, ick, yuck. Even so, getting a 94 is a better grade than Adolf Hitler, who is in some eyes the world’s most famous vegetarian. His “vegetarian” diet included slices of ham, liver dumplings, and of course daily ingestion of ground-up bull testicles to achieve some notion of AMOG-maxxing.