Fire Damage

Chez Panisse Fire Damage Worse Than Previously Thought, Reopening Delayed Indefinitely [Updated]

Owners had hoped to reopen on April 1.
Owners had hoped to reopen on April 1. Photo: Getty Images

Though owners had optimistically hoped they could reopen the upstairs café as early as April 1, it looks as though Chez Panisse and Chez Panisse Café will remain closed indefinitely for a more significant rebuild following that March 8 fire.

As the Chron’s Inside Scoop reports, construction crews began more closely assessing the damage to the front “porch” section of the building, which sustained most of the damage, and despite earlier reports to the contrary, it looks like there was structural damage there; and the porches, upstairs and down, will need to be demolished.

There is now no estimated reopening date, but a schedule should come together in the next few weeks.

Update: The team just posted the following to Facebook.

All the staff is pitching in to help with the cleanup — we are cleaning and repainting every inch and working to get Chez Panisse back open again as quickly as possible. The opening dates for both the café and the restaurant are still to be determined. We are calling everyone personally to cancel all existing reservations, and we will post new updates as we receive additional information about the progress of the reconstruction.

Chez Panisse fire update: Damage worse than thought, ‘more significant demolition project’ looms [Scoop]
Earlier: David Tanis Reminisces About Chez Panisse’s Destroyed Porch

Chez Panisse Fire Damage Worse Than Previously Thought, Reopening Delayed