Openings

Cursed Panam Space Turns Over Once More, Taken Over by Chouchou Team

Panam shutters after barely seven months.
Panam shutters after barely seven months. Photo: J. Barmann/Grub Street

Some spaces seem cursed after too many closures (see this map of SF’s cursed spaces from 2008). Case in point: the tiny restaurant now formerly known as Panam at 2367 Market Street near Castro, which Grub Street learns is changing hands for the fourth time in as many years. (It was previously Nathan and Brett Niebergall’s well received Frisée, which succumbed in the early days of the recession, and before that Crave and a few other things). The new name is Bisou, and like Panam it is billed as “a French bistro,” but it will be helmed by chef Nick Ronan and the team from Chouchou Bistro in Forest Hill.

The new owners have posted a note in the window announcing an opening on April 29th and a grand opening event on May 1st, signed off with big kisses.

Panam, which just opened in October, appears already closed, though a fresh delivery from Acme bread sat in the window last evening indicating the shuttering wasn’t all that well planned? The most curious thing to our mind about this is that there was never any ABC change of ownership notice posted, and nothing appears in the public record yet about this switch. Do they plan on getting a liquor license? It sure seems to be happening awfully fast.

We’re also curious to see what the new ownership tries to do to reverse the curse, because as Frisée proved, good food alone might not be enough. 4/26 Update: Panam remained, oddly, open all through the weekend, leading us to more curiosity about the logistics of this ownership change.

Cursed Panam Space Turns Over Once More, Taken Over by Chouchou Team