Seven years after it debuted its selection of German beer and sausages, San Mateo’s Wursthall announced its closure at the end of this month, citing changing customer preferences and a shifting downtown landscape.
The establishment, situated on the corner of Baldwin Avenue and B Street, is known for traditional and unique takes on German dishes, such as Argentinian Choripan and Pesto Chicken wursts, and over two dozen beer selections. The restaurant opened in 2018, the brainchild of the former Grape & Grain owner Adam Simpson, world-renowned food writer J. Kenji Lopez-Alt and restaurateur Tyson Mao.
Unlike many restaurants, the pandemic was actually one of Wursthall’s best years, General Manager Xian Choy said. The large, outdoor parklet lent itself to the communal, biergarten setup the team had originally envisioned, accommodating crowds of more than 100 people.
“It got taken away eventually but when we did have it, it was wildly successful,” Choy said. “About a year after [the pandemic] ended we definitely noticed a downturn in foot traffic and just business in general and drinking in particular.”
Once the outdoor dining regulations tightened up again, the restaurant saw less foot traffic, further exacerbated by the B Street pedestrian mall that opened up in 2021 between First and Third Avenues, he said. Since then, the two blocks have been permanently closed to cars, heavily boosting foot traffic but at times affecting those that aren’t along the mall.
“We do think that affected us a good deal,” Choy said. “In the past two years, if you’re coming here, you had planned on coming, as opposed to just discovering us.”
Last year, the City Council contemplated reopening the northern part of the pedestrian mall — between First and Second avenues — to cars, in response to some merchants saying they struggled to realize the same benefits as the southern portion and expressed interest in at least a partial reopening of the street to food delivery drivers and customer parking. But the council had opted to maintain the closure for the time being.
Wursthall’s percentage of sales from beer have also nearly halved since their opening, another sign that the pandemic has significantly altered customer drinking habits in ways that have yet to return. Despite nearby Verkada’s presence, the volume of office workers and happy hour gatherings still hasn’t recovered. In-person dining also hasn’t bounced back fully, with a much higher percentage of to-go orders several years out of the pandemic.
Choy added the downtown market has become increasingly focused on Asian restaurants, with a Korean restaurant replacing Wursthall.
“We’ve seen a never-ending cycle of new Asian restaurants, and there seems to be a non-ending hunger for that,” he said. “Thats what can survive around here.”
San Mateo elected officials and the Downtown San Mateo Association have frequently discussed some of the feedback about a restaurant-heavy downtown, with hopes of diversifying the types of businesses in the area. DSMA Executive Director Mackenzie Jakoubek said she understands how it can feel like there is a lack of diversity but said she is starting to see improvements. Honey & Hive, a baby clothing store, as well as Nakoko, a Japanese arcade, have opened recently — not to mention the increase in the number of non-food-related events and pop-ups over the past year.
“With getting more diversity of businesses, I see that it is happening, but I do hear the complaints as well,” Jakoubek said.
The same owners of Wursthall also run Wunderbar, a cocktail bar below Wursthall, which Choy said has continued to do well. Though official negotiations have not been finalized with the new tenant, Choy said the bar is likely to remain.
Wursthall’s last day of operation will be Sept. 27.
“There’s definitely been a good amount of tears, but we hope we can celebrate this space for the next month,” Choy said.
(5) comments
To be more specific, Wursthall is closing because the business was no longer profitable after the city reopened that block of the pedestrian mall (between Baldwin Ave and 1st Ave) to cars. They raised this issue to Council three times, in 2021 when their block was reopened, in 2023 when Council contemplated reopening the block between 2nd and 1st Ave, and in 2024 when Council again contemplated reopening the block between 2nd and 1st Ave.
Here's a clip from 2023 of one of the owners, Tyson Mao, explaining to the City Council how the pedestrian mall allowed them to maintain their pre-pandemic revenue, but then their revenue fell by 33% (from $3.2M to $2M) after their block was reopened to cars. He reached out to all of the business owners on that block and all but one (China Bee, which is no longer there) wanted to keep the street closed to cars 😢
https://www.youtube.com/live/u45eKotssuA?si=Mp6oRgG5fMvwXizK&t=4175
Thanks for the additional input, Seema, but from the article, I got the impression Wursthall’s revenue may have been artificially, for lack of a better word, inflated because they were taking advantage of parklet space to expand their seating area. Perhaps Wursthall should relocate to a larger space, maybe at Hillsdale or Bridgepointe or a larger downtown location. Meanwhile, enjoy Wursthall while you can.
Hi Terence, I don't think the issue is total seating area, I think it's *outdoor* seating area. During the pandemic patrons got a taste (ha!) of outdoor dining and are now seeking out establishments that provide it. When the City reopened that block to cars, patrons specifically looking for an outdoor dining experience went elsewhere. Relocating to a larger indoor location doesn't solve the problem.
Meanwhile, there are restaurants on the pedestrian mall between 2nd Ave and 1st Ave that are not utilizing the outdoor space. It's too bad the City couldn't have facilitated some sort of lease swap. A biergarten on the pedestrian mall would've been amazing.
I'm curious to know what kind of business will be moving into Wursthall's space. I wish them luck, especially if its a restaurant!
Unfortunately Terence the owner of Wursthall wouldn't want your business. In 2019 he said he wouldn't serve anyone in a MAGA hat (though he later apologized, kind of.) I don't love Trump or call myself MAGA as you know, but I haven't been back since on principal.
Pedestrian malls are outstanding tools to get people out of their cars and bring people together. When done right, when there is a good mix of offices, retailers, restaurants, and entertainment, pedestrian malls can thrive.
If a restaurants requires a biergarten, maybe it needs to switch with the restaurant that wants to be a DriveThrough.
Maybe a downtown business should be at Hillsdale Mall, maybe a mall business should really be in downtown.
It's not the cities job to pick winners and losers, it's their job to provide enticingly different environments for various businesses.
The one thing the communists did right is the Five Year Plan and sticking to it.
The city of San Mateo and its leadership can't stick to a plan. The long-term plan should be to turn downtown into a vibrant center generating income AND have a network of bike lanes leading into it to reduce cost.
On both fronts the city council seems flip-flopping depending on how "business-friendly" and also how opposed to livability the current crop of Democrats really are.
So why make plans in the first place if you are too weak to follow through?
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