The big, unexpected news and social media story this week here in University Heights is the sudden closure of the Red Fox Steakhouse and Piano Bar. According to bloggers, Facebookers, Journalists, Nextdoor posters, and more (oh, the dirt they sling): Management called staff to an all-hands meeting midday Monday (today is Wednesday) and fired everyone. Red Fox was closed immediately.
Except for San Diego Union Tribune wrongly calling the location North Park most of the scuttlebutt appears to be consistent but lacking one thing substantive: Why? Since everything in business is one way or another related to money, speculation and second-hand former employee reports indicate financial hardship. That would make sense, if, say, there was cashflow problems that prevented buying staples—like raw meat and veggies to cook and serve. Who knows.
A good number of the fired staffers worked at Red Fox for a decade or more. That means most of them were with the eatery for much of its existence inside Lafayette Hotel. The eatery moved across the street during the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 pandemic.
Why do I bother writing about this? Red Fox, which opened in 1959, is iconic, and I have written about it more than a few times (in sequential order):
I texted with a friend, who is—I mean was—a fan of the place; she wonders why the suddenness: “They couldn’t announce it and stay open one more week so loyal patrons could have gone in and supported the staff more (aka big tipping). I know I would have!…”
“So many people have been going there for decades!! The staff deserved to say goodbye to their regulars”. Referring to a Local TV news story: “You can just hear the heartbreak in their voices. The guy Chris who spoke has been my server for years! He is one of the best in the business. They all have to feel so betrayed”.
Staff received two weeks’ severance pay.
Already, the owner(s) are looking for a new operator to run the place. Will that succeed? Will Red Fox resurrect?
I used Nikon Zf and NIKKOR Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR lens to shoot the Featured Image. Vitals: f/11, ISO 140, 1/250 sec, 24mm; 1:16 p.m. PDT, yesterday. The other comes from Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Vitals: f/1.7, ISO 80, 1/3200 sec, 23mm (film equivalent); three minutes earlier.