Lion & Compass to close after 35 years
Sunnyvale mainstay Lion & Compass, where people in the tech industry could grab lunch while hashing out business deals, will close at the end of the year.
The restaurant was opened in 1982 at 1023 N. Fair Oaks Ave. by Atari founder Nolan Bushnell and Robert Nino. Nino, who still owns the restaurant, said Lion & Compass might be unknown to the average person in Sunnyvale, but has been a favorite among the business crowd during its 35-year run.
The Lion & Compass’s website boasts that the restaurant is “the barometer of Silicon Valley.”
“There were a lot of people from lots of different companies who came, people who made a big splash in Silicon Valley years ago, like Jerry Sanders. I’m not sure exactly who, but a lot of the Intel board dinners took place there,” Nino said.
Although people a few miles away may not have been familiar with the restaurant, it was known internationally and was reviewed in German and Japanese newspapers.
There are plans for the restaurant to be demolished and replaced with 14 threestory townhomes, which would match the surrounding residential area. However, when the restaurant first opened, Nino recalled the area being more industrial with Lion & Compass being one of the few dining options for the nearby video game and tech startups.
“The neighborhood was all commercial buildings. It was light industrial buildings, filling with start-up companies,” Nino said. “We wanted to provide food and beverage that wasn’t available at the time in and around Silicon Valley. It was kind of the height of video games at the time.”
The restaurant’s interior still has an ’80s look, with a wooden bar area and exterior covered in ivy. Nino said the region has changed far more than the look of the restaurant.
“We had phone jacks at every table so a phone could be brought and you could take a phone call at any table in the restaurant. There was also a stock display that ran at the bar. It was the first restaurant of its kind in the Silicon Valley,” Nino said.
These days the phone jacks and stock ticker above the bar have been covered.
“I’d say we still have a faithful following among people still working in the valley,” Nino said. “So many people have told me they signed major deals over dinner at the restaurant.”
He said the restaurant will close after Christmas, but expects a few loyal fans will stop in to grab a bite and reminisce before the final “last call.”
Contact Victoria Kezra at 408-200-1053.