Another loss to fine dining in SF

To my San Francisco community,

First and foremost, on behalf of my entire team, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all of the support you have shown our restaurants over these past years. We would be nowhere without you and owe it all to your unwavering dedication and patronage. This community is what has kept us going over the last year and a half and I continue to be inspired each day. We have some very exciting news to share and I wanted to personally reach out to make this very special announcement.

Last year provided an opportunity for deep reflection. I was able to sit back and think about what I wanted the next chapter of 252 California Street to be and what is best for our city. San Francisco is always going to be one of the best food cities in the world and I am 100% committed to continually evolving our concepts to support its growth and really honor a place I would be nowhere without. This fall, we are evolving our longstanding flagship into Estiatorio Ornos a Michael Mina Restaurant, in partnership with my dear friends Chef Girair “Jerry” Goumroian and Chef Nikolaos Georgousis.

I started my career introducing people to new seafood dishes at AQUA, and Estiatorio Ornos is an evolution of this: a culmination of the Greek culinary traditions of Jerry and Niko and the seafood I grew up eating with my family, immigrants from the Mediterranean seaport city of Alexandria in Egypt. While I am so proud of what we were able to do at MICHAEL MINA, I am excited for this next chapter. With a refreshed dining room, this new iteration of the restaurant will not only continue to offer a tasting menu, but also an à la carte experience that feels more social and uses its roots to pay homage to the Mediterranean seafood experience.

Again, we are only able to do this because of all of you. Thank you for everything and I can’t wait to show you what’s next!

Sincerely,

Michael Mina