San Francisco’s Grubstake Diner Is Here to Stay

And will soon be home to an eight-story condor project that’ll include 21 affordable dwelling units

Photo: Courtesy of Socketsite

The Grubstake Diner — a popular late-night eatery in Polk Gulch that’s beloved by locals, transients, and drag queens alike — has been at risk of closing for good for some time. During the past six years, SF’s LGBTQI+ community has been organizing with the Grubstake Diner team to help preserve this popular gathering spot. But the past two or three years have, however, a new problem was presented: In order for the iconic SF diner to continue existing, it’d need to be rebuilt, which would take advantage of the empty vertical space on the property.

But residents of The Austin — a luxury condominium complex adjacent to Grubstake — had other plans.

Let’s Talk About the Grubstake Diner

Citing the lack of sunlight that could enter some units from the rebuild, residents of the complex were trying to appeal to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to not approve of the Grubstake’s rebuild. They cited the Grubstake’s new…