BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
Left Bank Brasserie, a staple restaurant in downtown Menlo Park and fixture in the Peninsula culinary scene, is shutting down.
General Manager Roderick Sevilla said the costs of labor were the biggest challenge for the French restaurant at 635 Santa Cruz Ave., which opened in 1998.
“Every restaurant in the entire Bay Area is feeling this type of pressure,” Sevilla said in an interview today (June 22).
Left Bank’s sister restaurants are closing in Tiburon, Larkspur, San Ramon and Santana Row, the parent company Vine Hospitality announced.
Menlo Park’s last day is tomorrow (June 23), and all 35 to 40 employees will be laid off, Sevilla said.
Sevilla was hired five months ago, along with a new assistant general manager and executive chef, to try to turn the restaurant around.
“All the employees here were on the same mission. They wanted to make sure we were providing the best hospitality and French food in town,” Sevilla said.
Sevilla said the team raised reviews from 3.6 to 4.5 stars on OpenTable by reconnecting with regulars and dispelling rumors the restaurant was closing.
But Left Bank was challenged by Menlo Park’s $17.55 minimum wage.
“It puts a lot of pressure on the staff that is on site to individually manage what two or three people would do like 10 years ago,” Sevilla said.
Food prices have gone up with gas prices, and foot traffic has fallen by 15% to 20%, Sevilla said.
“The margins are so little on a restaurant of this size, you can’t maintain being in the red,” Sevilla said.
Sevilla thanked his customers and the company owners.
“I appreciate the opportunity to try to change a dying brand. They honestly did what they could,” he said.
Vine Hospitality was founded by Ed Levine in 1994 when he opened the Left Bank in Larkspur. The Menlo Park location opened in 1998. The company managed seven French, Mediterranean and modern American concepts across the Bay Area.
Last year, Vine closed its Rollati Ristorante, an Italian-American restaurant across from San Jose City Hall, due to declining revenues, management said. Foot traffic had fallen 30% in the previous year.
This is tragic! Left Bank has been a joy in Menlo Park for decades. The best place for big celebrations like New Year’s Eve and Thanksgiving, but also for happy hour, and casual or special occasion exceptional dining. They made so many wonderful, delicious French dishes.
I feel very sorry for Menlo Park. We lost the beloved Carpaccio Ristorante last year, our coziest Italian restaurant, and now Left Bank, a Menlo Park institution. Due to its large size, Left Bank served as a popular community gathering place as well. A couple of years ago, they had a fabulous Bastille Day celebration with waitresses dressed up in Marie Antoinette-style costumes, French music playing, and complimentary sparkling wine and bite-sized pieces of their signature opera cake for people to enjoy outside.
Their outdoor tables were often filled during both lunch and dinner in spring and summer and warm fall days. They did a beautiful remodel of the interior some years back, and with its curving staircase and sparkling tile floor, the ambience was both elegant and festive.
Sadly, this is what comes of government interference with the relationship between small business and the public it serves: the unintended consequence of government raising the minimum wage. There are no free lunches–someone has to pay. In this case, the restaurant loses, their employees lose, and our community loses. That’s a very high price to pay.