The Cliff House, which has been serving meals overlooking the Pacific Ocean and Ocean Beach for 157 years, announced Sunday afternoon the restaurant will close temporarily, suspending take-out service starting Monday.
"Due to economic pressure during this unprecedented situation, we have concluded that it would be best to preserve our remaining resources to ensure a continuance of future operations," the venerable restaurant announced Sunday on its Facebook page. "This was not an easy decision to make, especially considering all of the support we have received from all of you."
The announcement said take-out service would also end, at least temporarily, at the nearby Lookout Cafe.
Sunday's Facebook announcement noted that the Cliff House's spacious dining room would allow for sufficient social distancing between diners puts the restaurant "uniquely positioned" for survival in a COVID-19 world. But in-house dining is not allowed at all as part of the state's health order in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
