Alioto's Restaurant was a historic Italian fish restaurant located at San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf.

History

Alioto's began in 1925 as a fish stand, operated by Sicilian immigrant Nunzio Alioto, Sr.Ariana Bindman
"'Heartbreaking': Iconic Fisherman’s Wharf restaurant Alioto's to close after 97 years"
''SFGate'' (''San Francisco Chronicle''), April 9, 2022. In 1932, with business at his Stall #8 doing well, Alioto built the first building on Fisherman's Wharf and began selling crab and shrimp cocktails. After his death in 1933, his widow Rose Alioto and their children succeeded him, opening a full restaurant in 1938 and later expanding it into the adjacent building. The family claim that Rose Alioto was the originator of

cioppino Cioppino (, ; from ) is a fish stew originating in San Francisco, California, an Italian-American cuisine related to various fish soups in Italian cuisine. Description Cioppino is traditionally made from the catch of the day, which in San Fr ...

.Paolo Lucchesi
"Port History: Alioto's Restaurant on Fisherman's Wharf"
''Inside Scoop'' blog, ''SFGate'' (''San Francisco Chronicle''), July 8, 2013, archived fro
the original
on July 9, 2013. The restaurant was destroyed by fire in 1957 but was reconstructed. King Harald and

Queen Sonja of Norway Sonja (born Sonja Haraldsen; 4 July 1937) is Queen of Norway as the wife of King Harald V. Sonja and the then Crown Prince Harald had dated for nine years prior to their marriage in 1968. They had kept their relationship a secret due to the ...

dined there in 1995. , Alioto's remained a family-run restaurant, with a great-grandson of the founder, Matthew Violante, as general manager. It closed in March 2020 during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and did not reopen. Its permanent closure was announced in April 2022. The restaurant had a 66-year lease from the

Port of San Francisco The port of San Francisco is a semi-independent organization that oversees the port facilities at San Francisco, California, United States. It is run by a five-member commission, appointed by the mayor subject to confirmation by a majority of the ...

, expiring in 2036, but large seafood restaurants are now less popular and the building needs expensive renovations for safety. In June 2025, after failing to find new tenants for Alioto's and two other restaurants at Fisherman's Wharf that did not reopen after the pandemic, the Port announced that Alioto's will be demolished to create a public plaza with views of the fishing fleet anchored in the lagoon.J. K. Dineen
"S.F. landmark will be torn down as part of major Fisherman's Wharf redesign"
''San Francisco Chronicle'', June 6, 2025.

References

External links

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Alioto's Restaurant
Legacy Business Program, San Francisco Office of Small Business {{coord, 37.808700, -122.416084, display=title 1925 establishments in California 2022 disestablishments in California European restaurants in San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco Italian-American culture in San Francisco Italian restaurants in California Restaurants disestablished in 2022 Restaurants established in 1925 Sicilian-American cuisine