Acclaimed restaurant Volta shuts in SoMa
Volta, the highly regarded Scandinavian restaurant at Fifth and Mission streets from the backers of Perbacco and Barbacco, has closed.
According to partner Umberto Gibin, Saturday was the quiet finale for Volta, which premiered in December and was one of the highest-profile San Francisco restaurants to open in the past 12 months. With two stories, a stylish design from architect Cass Calder Smith and Swedish-French cooking from chef-partner Staffan Terje, Volta earned positive reviews for both its food and its drinks right out of
the gates.
But this month, Volta discontinued lunch service. At the time, the SoMa restaurant had just emerged from a month of slow business. So Gibin and Terje shifted course and doubled down on dinner service, hoping that September would see an uptick. However, things didn’t improve.
“We experienced a tremendous downturn in sales beginning in August,” Gibin said. “All of a sudden our sales dropped 30, 50 and then 70 percent.”
The owners said they asked their landlord, the Westfield San Francisco Centre, for help, but it didn’t come through. “We had the support of our partners for more investment, but I looked at our crystal ball and didn’t see it turning around,” Gibin said.
The mall operator said it did try to assist. “Our tenants are important to us and we often work with them if they need help, including this instance,” the company said. “We’re disappointed about this circumstance and we’ll be actively seeking a new tenant.”
Volta isn’t the first notable restaurant to shut down recently in the immediate area. Just across Fifth Street, Jason Fox’s Mint Plaza restaurant, Oro, closed in June. Farther west, some new Mid-Market restaurants have faced many challenges, and several ambitious ones — such as Cadence and Bon Marché Brasserie — have already shuttered after less than a year of business.
“We did everything that we could to ensure the success of the restaurant — service, food, ambience,” Gibin said. “But I don’t think we can fight a neighborhood that is still in transition, and who knows when it’s coming around.”
Some of the Volta staff will relocate to Financial District sister restaurants Perbacco and Barbacco, which remain open as usual. All staffers were paid, Gibin said.
“It’s really heartbreaking, all the effort we put into it, and all the hard work,” he said. “In a way, I feel relieved that we can go back and take care of our babies (Perbacco and Barbacco). But it’s sad. We couldn’t win the neighborhood.”