Beloved SF Cafe Closed Because of Alleged “Extortion” by Landlord

Photo from Reverie Café

Yet another loved and cherished San Francisco small business has shuttered because of a landlord’s alleged shady tactics.

After 21 years in Cole Valley, Reverie Café celebrated its last day on Sunday, February 20th. According to Reverie Café owner  Roger Soudah, it comes down too “nothing more than extortion” by “out-of-town exploiters”.

The announcement was posted on Reverie Café’s window as well as on Twitter, and the Eddie’s List Substack newsletter. I’ll post the entirety of it below, but the short version is that Soudah alleges he tried to negotiate with his landlords in good faith, and they repeatedly lied and fucked him over. He says, “Even with paying double the fair market rent and willing to continue to accept that, further conditions outside the realm of possibility, reasonableness and decency have made it impossible to continue.”

Reverie Café has been an anchor in the Cole Valley community for over 20 years, as evidenced by the below Twitter thread:

[1/3] 🚨🚨🚨Attention San Francisco media: My neighborhood, #ColeValley, is about to lose its main community gathering place for decades, the Reverie Café at 858 Cole St., because of unreasonable lease terms. This is devastating news for our community and for me personally. pic.twitter.com/R2zLm66zIz

— Steve Silberman (@stevesilberman) February 14, 2023

Despite outrage from the community, Reverie Café still ultimately had to close.

Soudah has set up a GoFundMe for his employees and you can chip in right here.

Here’s the full announcement:

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

It is with a heavy heart that I announce to you the permanent closure of Reverie Café this Sunday February 19th. As you have all known for several years, my landlord has refused to be reasonable nor ethical. Even with paying double the fair market rent and willing to continue to accept that, further conditions outside the realm of possibility, reasonableness and decency have made it impossible to continue. Once again, they’ve tried to push me against the wall by waiting till the last month of my lease to present their non-negotiable terms and conditions. Although I was willing to accept their preposterous terms at the last minute, they did a bait and switch and rescinded a term we had already agreed upon and was even effective during my previous term. Public record of the family will explain.

My last offer was to accept a simple extension of six months of the current lease with the same status quo in order to situate my staff and to be able to shut down in a respectful manner. However, they refused to honor the term that would allow me to operate the business in its final six months without interruption. It became evident they did not want to honor this previously agreed upon term because they wanted to address the numerous city building violations and the deferred maintenance including the failed roof which has leaked on our business numerous times over the years. The roof has caved on us for more than fifteen years and this last storm was devastating to our business. They have been red tagged by the city for doing extensive unpermitted work on the upstairs unit, including electrical and plumbing that puts the building and neighbors at risk. There was no sense of urgency but now they want to continue collecting rent, shut down my business to perform construction with no consideration all during the last six months of business.

This is nothing more than extortion and I’m done dealing with these out-of-town exploiters. They have no regard for me, my family, my amazing staff nor our community. They’re absentee landlords from Orange County who are not established in our community nor care about it. With that I extend my heartfelt thank you for all of your support through the last twenty-one years. We have shared many meals, raised many glasses, raised many kids, made many friends and lost some. We married people, celebrated birthdays, funded schools, and charities, supported campaigns but most importantly we created and maintained a community in a time when it has been most needed. For that I am grateful and honored to have been able to provide that over the years. Those of you who have been so kind to me and my family which includes my staff, please accept my deepest gratitude. I am not only losing a business but a lifestyle that has made me proud every day. Again, our last day of business will be Sunday February 19th. We will conclude our journey that day with live music, drinks, and hot links. please join us. Unlike my landlord, my employees will never sleep on a floor in an open construction zone.

Roger Soudah