Bernal Star, 13-year-old burger and brunch spot, to close

Love what you read? Love that it was free?

Mission Local will never have a paywall. All our articles are free for everyone, always. Help us keep it that way — donate to our end-of-year fundraiser to make Mission Local free for your neighbors.

Donate today!

Bernal Star, a beloved spot for burgers and patio brunches for 13 years, will close its original location at 410 Cortland Ave. this Sunday, after rent negotiations with the landlord failed, its owner said. 

The silver lining is: It will serve brunch and lunch again starting Aug. 30 at Vega Pizzeria just across the street, which its owners, Vega Freeman-Brady and Giuseppe Manna, also run. There is no more back patio, but tables will be set in the outdoor parklet. 

“The only thing that changes is that we are moving over there,” Marvin Esperias, a worker at Bernal Star for more than 10 years, reassured customers who asked about the closing on Thursday morning. Another employee said most staff will stay, but worried that there may be fewer and shorter shifts. 

Freeman-Brady was told on Aug. 1 to vacate the space in Bernal Heights near the corner of Cortland and Bennington Street on the last day of the month. The owners, who started out at about $3,000 a month in 2011, are now paying a little over $11,500, due to incremental increase every year, Freeman-Brady said.  

They were in the process of negotiating a lower rent when those negotiations failed, Freeman-Brady said. 

“Our landlord just wants more money than we can afford to pay,” said Freeman-Brady, who also co-owns VinoRosso with Manna on Cortland. “There’s nothing we can do about it. I’m sure he’ll find somebody who can pay as much as he wants, which is $12,000 a month.”

Bernal Star’s landlord, Maher Memarzadeh, said he asked for $2.68 per square foot for the 4,300 square feet space, adding up to $11,524 a month. There also have been annual increases of 3 percent since 2019, he said, which is “fair market value” based on “two California-licensed brokers’ opinions.” 

“The restaurant owners are demanding rent reduction, despite there being comparables in the market that demonstrate a much higher valuation,” Memarzadeh said in a text message. 

Bernal Star previously had trouble with Memarzadeh during the early months of Covid-19, its owners and employees said. “He’s been trying to kick us out ever since the pandemic,” said Camila, an employee at the restaurant.

The owners had negotiated with their property management company to reduce rent by 50 percent due to the pandemic slowdown starting in April 2020, according to Freeman-Brady. But she was taken aback when she received an almost $25,000 bill in July 2020 from Memarzadeh, asking Bernal Star to pay all of the back rent owed within 30 days.

Memarzadeh, for his part, blamed this on his previous attorney, who Memarzadeh is currently suing for “professional negligence.” “I cannot justify the rogue attorney’s decisions. I cannot discuss ongoing litigation,” he said. 

At the time, Memarzadeh also pushed Bernal Star’s owners to use delivery apps like DoorDash to increase sales, Hoodline reported.

The owners said they worked out a payment plan, and paid it off just a few months ago. But now, without a rent reduction, they simply cannot afford it any longer, Freeman-Brady said. 

Bernal Star, often filled with old-timey fiddle, banjo and mandolin tunes, is famous for its homey vibes, dog-friendly back patio and “overlooked” burgers. 

Correction: A previous version of this article noted that Bernal Star was evicted. It was unable to reach a lease agreement with its landlord, and closed.