Emperor Norton’s restaurant in South San Jose is calling it quits

Family-friendly restaurant’s owners ‘forced to make the tough decision’

When Emperor Norton’s Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria opened in 1975 in San Jose’s Santa Teresa area, the eatery could count among its neighbors plenty of IBM employees and blossoming orchards.

The Emperor outlasted the disk-drive factory and most of the fruit trees. But today’s challenging economic climate for restaurants, worsened by the current coronavirus crisis, have made the business unsustainable.

So Todd and Lauryce Haney, owners for the past five years, have decided to close the restaurant.

Sunday will be the last day to order takeout or delivery of the popular pizzas and calzones and the top-selling entrees, including baked rigatoni, chicken Jerusalem and eggplant Parmesan.

“We faced the same things all restaurants deal with — increasing rents, labor, food and utility costs, and if sales can’t keep up, you are forced to make the tough decision and close your doors, no matter how much I and the community love the place,” Todd Haney said, noting that he had tried without success to negotiate better terms with the landlord and find a new owner.

The Haneys were the third owners in 45 years. Emperor Norton’s — named after a quirky character in San Francisco’s post-gold rush era — was an offshoot of a restaurant in that city, Todd said. They bought the original recipes and added new items to the menu.

What’s next? Todd said he’s looking forward to some down time after suffering a stroke last year.

“Running a restaurant seven days and 60-plus hours a week is not good for the stress levels,” he said. “I’m going to take a break to rest, spend time with my family, get some home projects done that I’ve neglected, find some time to get back on my bicycle and hopefully get back to the gym when things open back up.”

Both Haneys will be working Sunday, the last day, but they regret that social distancing and limiting capacity will make it impossible to greet and thank customers as they would have liked to have done.

“We are sad to be closing and that this special place will not be here for our community any longer,” they wrote. “We thank you for enriching our lives, and we wish you good health and much happiness in the coming years.”

DETAILS » Emperor Norton’s will be open for final orders from from noon to 8 p.m. today and from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday at 7058 Santa Teresa Blvd. in San Jose.

Information: Call 408-2264424 or go to emperornortonpizza.com