Louis’ Restaurant near the Cliff House in San Francisco is in trouble. The GGNRA says it has to open the bidding for the lease on the property Louis’ occupies, meaning the family-owned business could get shut down by big money interested in building another soulless tourist trap. The Hontalas family has owned and operated Louis’ for more than seven decades in its amazing location, and people who love good things need to demand that it stay!
The GGNRA should be in the business of protecting America’s best traditions and locations. As anyone who has ever been to Louis’ knows, that definitely includes this legendary diner with spectacular views of the California coast. Sign this petition to tell the GGNRA how much Louis’ means to you!
A personal note:
In the past few months I’ve taken visiting friends to hike around Sutro Baths and Lands’ End, and we stopped at Louis’ for a bite. It’s always become a highlight of their trip. The restaurant’s family-owned atmosphere is a critical part of this experience: The warm greeting, the home-cooked food (including some of the cities’ best pancakes) and the intimate setting make the place a perfect summary of a fantastic morning in one of San Francisco’s truly special landscapes.
With visitors, whether we stop in at Louis’ after visiting Lands’ End or not, I always share the story of how my father and I used to go for Saturday or Sunday morning bike rides from our house near Lake Merced, up the Great Highway, and then cranked up the hill past the Cliff House. The reward of a big stack of Louis’ pancakes made sure I kept pedaling all the way up that big hill. We were always so stuffed when we rolled back down toward the beach, I was glad I didn’t have to pedal for the first half mile of the return trip.
Protecting places like Louis’ should be what America’s urban national parks are all about. Sign the petition! Write or call Nancy Pelosi, Jackie Speier, and Dianne Feinstein, San Francisco’s local representation in Washington. They’ve all eaten at Louis’ or know the Hontalas’, I promise you. They just need a reminder that their voice on this issue matters, to the NPS, and to you. For a few more stories about the glory that is Louis’ (and how it has survived other attempts to push it off the remarkable real estate it occupies) from the San Francisco Chronicle read here and here.
Louis Wertz 
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I have been going to Louis since I was a little girl. My parents knew the senior Hontalas family ( didn’t all the Greeks know each other in those days!).
My family and friends continue to eat there.
Not only is it a great place to eat, but on a day like today, the view is magnificent.
The Hontalas brothers very hard to keep the restaurant popular. Let them continue to do so.
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