Daniel Patterson buys Alfred’s Steakhouse
A new era looms at San Francisco’s oldest steak house.
Alfred’s Steakhouse, which has been a part of the city since 1928, has been sold to Daniel Patterson, the forwardthinking local chef known for his nouvelle approach to California cuisine.
Alfred’s will remain, though. When the restaurant changes hands at the end of 2015, Patterson and company plan to preserve the restaurant’s name, concept and anachronistic, clubby decor.
“We’re not looking to change it that much,” said Ron Boyd, director of operations of the Daniel Patterson Group, whose steadily growing portfolio includes Alta CA, Aster and four-star fine dining destination Coi in San Francisco, as well as Plum Bar and Haven in Oakland. “We want to make sure it’s around for both future generations and people who go there now.”
The Petri family has owned the Merchant Street restaurant — known for its dimly lit dining room, dusty chandeliers, white tablecloths and generous fire-grilled steaks — since 1973, when Arturo Petri bought the restaurant (then located on Broadway) from the restaurant’s namesake, Alfredo Bacchini.
Now, for the second time in its 87-year history, a new regime will take the reins at Alfred’s.
This time around, the restaurant was not explicitly for sale, said patriarch Al Petri. But when Patterson approached, the Petris listened. More than a year of negotiations later, the deal was inked.
“We looked at the numbers,” said Petri, who retired in 2010 and now lives in Sequim, Wash.; his youngest son, Marco, runs the restaurant these days. “I don’t know where the San Francisco market is going. It’s a very expensive market right now and it might be at its peak, so the move looked pretty good.”
And though the elder Petri acknowledged that there is a certain bittersweet nature to saying goodbye to the family businesses, “then again, as expensive as San Francisco is to live in, how much of your time do you want to spend so you can have a special ZIP code?”
“It’s like an amicable divorce,” said Petri about selling Alfred’s. “It provided our family with decent lifestyle, but today in San Francisco, with all the changes politically, it’s very hard to do business. There are other opportunities outside of San Francisco.”
As the San Francisco restaurant world evolves, Petri said that a talented chef like Patterson is better equipped to bring the restaurant to a more competitive level. And the preservationist offer certainly sweetened the deal.
“What I liked about Daniel is that he wanted to continue the use of the name of Alfred’s,” said Petri. “That was a feelgood position for me: That it will continue to go on, without my headaches.”
For now, Alfred’s remains open until its New Year’s Eve finale. Patterson plans to reopen after a quick renovation, likely in February.
There will be some changes. The wood trim and panels might get a new polish, for example. You may see some new cocktails on the menu — maybe some barrel-aged ones — but cocktail shakers will still be served alongside the martinis and Manhattans.
The chef will be Charlie Parker, currently the chef at Haven in Oakland. Though the creamed spinach will certainly remain on the menu, expect the vegetables in particular to get more attention, both in the farm sourcing and through a more contemporary style.
“Keep up with generations,” said Boyd. “That’s all we want to do. We want to see places like (Alfred’s) survive, and even if they have to change or adapt, it’s nice to see some tradition in a city that’s changing so fast.”