Owner and chef Raul Garcia-Antolin is at that point that no one wants to reach.
“It’s time to close shop,” he said of Caliente Bistro Kitchen at 4828 Geary Blvd.
No matter that it is one of the highest-rated Mexican restaurants in the neighborhood. The three-year-old Mexican restaurant, located at Geary and Funston Street, will close its doors in September.
Paying his rent on time has become an issue, said Garcia-Antolin.
Garcia-Antolin came to the decision after “a sad conversation” with the landlord on Thursday night. “I don’t have her support anymore.”
Once a culinary instructor at Mission Language and Vocational School, Garcia-Antolin, 50, opened the restaurant with a business partner in May 2021.
Now, he owes the landlord about $45,000 in back rent. He was paying his monthly rent on time, the owner said, but hasn’t been able to pay the full amount.
The landlord, who convinced Garcia-Antolin to close, told him that the situation is causing her a lot of stress, and “she has to pay bills first.”
Garcia-Antolin had applied for business loans and city grants, but all were denied.
He blamed the rainy winter last year for the slowdown. During the holiday months, the restaurant was making decent money with catering. Sales then dropped. The rain and nonstop wind in one of the city’s gloomiest neighborhoods kept customers from dining out, he said.
Tucked between an auto shop and a gas station on Geary Boulevard, the busiest commercial corridor in the Richmond, Caliente Bistro Kitchen’s location was solid. Nonetheless, Garcia-Antolin found it difficult to compete for the community’s attention.
Whenever big events happen in other parts of the city, like a Warriors game at Chase Center, people just disappear, he said.
“Everybody just flocks,” Garcia-Antolin said. “It’s just amazing how tiny little things factor in bad business.”
At 11 a.m. on a recent Thursday, the kitchen was filled with the aroma of seared chicken and the sound of metal spatula on the grill. The chef, with his sleeves neatly rolled up, was cooking up some chicken enchiladas — corn tortillas cooked with a special sauce, rolled around grilled chicken. “No sour cream, please,” the customer requested.
The secret is to generously oil the grill when putting the tortillas down, the chef said, which “makes the sauce taste like butter.”
Only a few tables were occupied at the restaurant during Thursday lunch hours, but plenty of people stopped by to pick up food. A tenant living upstairs walked out of his gate and right into the restaurant, as if he had done it a hundred times.
After the owner posted on Nextdoor about its imminent closure, Richmond neighbors are showing their support. Only an hour after the restaurant opened, the filled salsa container was already half empty, the chef showed this reporter with pride.
Garcia-Antolin’s culinary career started as part of a court-ordered community service. “I was a really bad kid,” he said of his 17-year-old self. His sister, then working at a restaurant, volunteered to take him on.
After washing dishes and cleaning floors for a while, a chef put a knife in his hand and asked him to peel a bag of onions. Garcia-Antolin did it so fast that it shocked the chef.
At the same restaurant, Garcia-Antolin went on to cover another chef during rush hour, and then enrolled in City College’s culinary program. Another chef at the restaurant gifted him that education, and paid for everything. After the year-long program, his career officially started when he headed to Las Vegas to become a chef in 1994. “And I never looked back,” he said.
Caliente’s closure won’t stop Garcia-Antolin from this career, it seems; he still wants to open another restaurant.
But there were things he would do differently: No full service, doing better branding, or even just setting up those big flags that read “taqueria” in the front. And all the struggles at Caliente, for Garcia-Antolin, were just teaching him “how to fail successfully.”
Caliente Bistro Kitchen is located at 4828 Geary Blvd. It is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Could someone please explain why retail landlords would rather keep a space vacant then rent it out? The city is blighted with vacant retail storefronts, yet a great restaurant like Caliente Bistro is forced to close because the landlord would rather is sit vacant then offer a lease that a business could afford. Between an auto garage and a gas station 7/11 on Geary is not exactly Sacramento street.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
This is very disheartening. I’m glad to understand the situation. The last two times I’ve been to Caliente, the place has been jammed with people enjoying the delicious food. Each plate is colorful and lovely, and the care and attention that goes into putting together the entrees and sides is impressive. Even the rice and beans are flavorful in an astounding way. The prices are reasonable. I always leave happy and full and satisfied.
I wish the landlord would choose to help Raul continue fulfilling his calling. Raul is truly a gifted chef. I hate to see all the empty storefronts. Yet I hate even more losing another really good restaurant in SF. Sigh.
Not sure the swipe at the Richmond is necessary there.
Regardless, that area of Geary is quite difficult. It’s far from the biggest commercial corridor, and has very little foot traffic — several blocks out of the way from the Clement St inner richmond corridor and the outer richmond Geary Blvd corridor. It’s been the best Mexican food in the neighborhood, but somewhat unfortunately is also across the street from an actually decent pupuseria that also added burritos and tacos to their menu. I’m sure their proximity hasn’t helped either of them, being both hands down the best central american food in the district.
Sorry to hear it’s closing. Sad that the landlord is clearly charging unrealistic amounts and prefers to go back to being vacant.