Arts & Culture
Just for You Cafe at 732 22nd St. in Dogpatch | Google Street View
Just for You Cafe, a 33-year-old breakfast-and-brunch staple of the Dogpatch neighborhood, has abruptly shuttered. A post on Nextdoor from Monday included a photo of a note posted to the 22nd Street eatery’s front door announcing its sudden closure in language familiar to any San Francisco resident who saw one of their favorite places essentially disappear overnight.
“It is with a heavy heart that we announce the permanent closing of Just for You Cafe,” the note, signed by JFY Staff, read. “Despite our best efforts, we have been unable to overcome the challenges brought on by the pandemic. We are grateful to have been able to serve this community for over 30 years.”
Just for You’s phone line has also been disconnected.
Known for its homemade bread and strawberry mascarpone french toast, as well as New Orleans-style items like beignets and a catfish creole, Just for You regularly appeared on various best-of lists for decades, starting at its original location on 18th Street in nearby Potrero Hill and then for approximately two decades in Dogpatch.
A historically industrial neighborhood far enough from Downtown San Francisco that the fire from the 1906 earthquake never reached it, Dogpatch has some of the city’s oldest housing stock. It also has a flourishing food scene, ranging from soul food lunch spot Hard Knox Cafe to hundred-year-old upscale dive Sea Star, to more recent arrivals like bagel mecca Daily Driver and the newest location of San Francisco’s most successful fast-casual empire, Souvla.
TimeOut London ranked Dogpatch as one of the world’s coolest neighborhoods in 2022, but when Just for You relocated from its original spot, the Central Waterfront was far from the thriving neighborhood it is today. Today, it’s a neighborhood in flux as grand ambitions for the areas around Pier 70 and the now-defunct Potrero Power Plant are in the process of a major redevelopment, potentially adding thousands of new residents.
Update: This story has been updated to reflect that Just for You Cafe originally opened on 18th Street in Potrero Hill before moving to Dogpatch.
Astrid Kane can be reached at [email protected]
