Historic Cafe Flore space in Castro gets new owner
For decades, Cafe Flore served as an informal community hub for the queer community in the Castro neighborhood, its plant-filled patio and bottomless mimosas drawing friends, activists and artists.
Closed since late 2019, the prominent space at the corner of Market and Noe streets will now be brought back to life under a new owner.
Serhat Zorlu, a former Cafe Flore customer, has taken over the lease at 2298 Market St. and plans to open a cafe there by the end of the year. Zorlu, who said he runs restaurants in Turkey and Greece, declined to share details on the menu or the new business’ name. It’s not clear whether he will resurrect Cafe Fore or create a new restaurant. He plans to remodel the space, including expanding the kitchen.
Cafe Flore closed in late 2019, when thenowner Terrance Alan announced plans to eventually turn it into an events space and a cannabis cafe. The latter never materialized, though Alan now runs a dispensary across the street. The closure was a major loss for the neighborhood and San Francisco’s queer community, which mourned the departure of what had long been a welcoming gathering place.
“If you were a gay person going to the Castro and you wanted to see what was happening, Cafe Flore was the place,” historian Gerard Koskovich said in a previous interview with The Chronicle.
Michael Petrelis, a gay rights activist who lives in San Francisco, tweeted the news this week with a “Hooray!” and a selfie with Zorlu in front of Cafe Flore.
“Cafe Flore is (a) sacred queer space that was a central AIDS activist hub in the ’80s,” Petrelis wrote in an email to The Chronicle on Friday. “A visit to the Castro required popping in to see friends and be seen.”
Zorlu became a Cafe Flore customer after moving to San Francisco 15 years ago. He’s married now but had many dates there, he said, fondly remembering sunny mornings with bottomless mimosas on the restaurant’s patio.
“It was an amazing place in my memories,” he said.
“Cafe Flore is (a) sacred queer space that was a central AIDS activist hub in the ’80s.” Michael Petrelis, gay rights activist