Stars Restaurant, 555 Golden Gate Avenue, way back in 2003. Photo: Chris Stewart/The Chronicle
Jordan Langer (of the late Big), Pete Glikshtern (of Jones), Jeff Whitmore and company have been busy. Last fall, they opened Oddjob in SoMa, and they’re currently running one of the largest event spaces in San Francisco proper over at Pier 70.
The signage at 555 Golden Gate Avenue during the brief Maestro’s era.
And they have a few more projects in the works, too.
Along with Sebastien (of Sebastien Presents), they have signed a lease to take over the iconic 555 Golden Gate Avenue space that was famously home to Stars (and more recently, Trader Vic’s and the short-lived Maestro). The gorgeous space has been dark since Maestro closed in February 2013.
The building is slated to be demolished and turned into high rises, so the freshly signed lease is a short-term one: three years.
The new regime plans to turn the space into a new concept named the Empire Room.
“Jeremiah Tower is obviously an iconic person in San Francisco and in our opinion, he created the empire of California. It pays homage,” says Langer. “Plus, the layout and decor of the space just reminds me of an old rich person’s ballroom in their mansion.”
But the large space won’t be turned into an upscale restaurant like Maestro. “It’s going to be a fun project … We’re going to turn it into a cool social space,” says Lander.
The main dining area will become a bar/nightclub area, along the lines of Jones. The smaller dining room with the fireplace will become a more upscale cocktail bar, very similar to SRO, the little high-end bar inside Oddjob.
There will be food, too. Unlike some bars that bring food trucks outside on the street, the Empire Room will bring food truck operators inside. It will function as a commissary kitchen for the food trucks, and the operators will also serve inside the bar. Langer expects to have three to four at any given time, with one anchor sub-tenant orchestrating the food side.
They take possession on October 1, and hope to open before Halloween. Given the project’s temporary nature and the room’s existing looks, there will only be a quick aesthetic overhaul (paint job, new decor). “Overall we want to keep the bones of the space,” says Langer.
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A rendering of 2175 Market. The 88-unit apartment complex is being developed by Forest City; the architect is Van Meter Williams Pollack.
The same crew is working on another, bigger and more permanent project.
They will be creating and running the market hall slated for the new Forest City building at 2175 Market Street, right across the street from Du Nord.
There, they hope to open a “miniature Ferry Building”: 12 to 16 local vendors selling food, cheese, wine and non-food wares like clothing or accessories. “It’s giving small businesses the opportunity to sell their wares in a retail setting,” says Langer.
Construction on the still-unnamed marketplace is starting now, with a January 2015 debut as the goal. About three months prior to opening, Langer expects to put out requests for proposals.
