Latest news with #WesRowe
Eater
11 hours ago
- Business
- Eater
This Smash Burger Pioneer Is Leaving Mission Street for Good
A Mission District mainstay for exquisite burgers and even more exquisite vibes is closing. WesBurger 'N' More will shutter on Tuesday, July 15 after 12 years in business. Owner Wes Rowe, who started the business as a pop up in 2012, took to Instagram to share the news, providing the listing agent selling the business's information for any interested takers. 'Unfortunately, some things, even the ones with queso, need to come to an end,' he wrote. Though smash burgers have taken over TikTok algorithms in 2025, Rowe worked that approach into his menus back in 2019. (He told the San Francisco Standard the Marina's Causwells deserves the local credit, though.) The laidback atmosphere paired nicely with Rowe's butter-braised turkey sandwiches and 70s-style faux rock wall. Many late nights ended at Wes Burger, schlepping from Beauty Bar across the street to refuel for the journey home. San Francisco-born Blue Bottle Coffee now bears four local locations with workers seeking to unionize. The San Francisco Chronicle reports staff at the Berkeley shop, the Old Oakland shop, the Piedmont Avenue location, and the location inside the old W.C Morse building on Broadway, have asked the company to voluntarily recognize the Blue Bottle Independent Union by Friday at noon. The move to unionize began in Boston shops. The Middle Eastern cuisine-forward Stereo 41 is set to open in the East Bay this summer. It's a new hi-fi lounge from the restaurateurs behind World Famous Hotboys and LITA. The Mercury News reports Andres Giraldo Flores of Oakland's Snail Bar is consulting on the menu. Oakland-born-and-raised Jonathan De La Torre will serve as executive chef, cutting his teeth at Mourad and Nopa. Kenzie Benesh and Isabella Bertorelli's Yo Tambien Cantina is turning seven. On Saturday, June 28, the wife-and-wife team will celebrate at the Hugo Street business from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The party details are still to come, but there'll be grilled fish sandwiches, ceviche, music from local musicians, birthday cake, and 'endless micheladas.'
San Francisco Chronicle
a day ago
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Top S.F. burger spot closing after nearly a decade
WesBurger 'N' More, whose burgers the Chronicle once hailed as among the best in the Bay Area, will close its doors at 2240 Mission St. after nearly ten years of business. Owner Wes Rowe announced the closure on Instagram Tuesday, inviting customers to 'have a last burger or five' before the final day of business on July 15. Until then, Rowe is primarily focused on celebrating the legacy of the business. 'I love the city a lot,' Rowe told the Chronicle. 'I don't really want to harp on too many negative things about closure and kind of pile along the same way that I feel like a lot of people do when they close.' Rowe, originally a photographer, started WesBurger in 2013 as a monthly popup. That turned into a weekly occurrence, and in 2016, he opened on Mission Street serving burgers and other items seven days a week. WesBurger is best known for its smashburger, but also offers a menu of fried chicken, mac and cheese (that was featured among the Chronicle's best), beer and a range of sides — with fries notably left off the menu in favor of tater tots. Following the tradition of the Wednesday weekly popup, Rowe will be at the restaurant on Wednesdays leading up to the closure and continue to put out specials for customers. He also envisions a big party in the last few days of the restaurant for the community to 'try all the tots and drink all the beer.' Tuesday's announcement might have felt sudden for the public, but Rowe's decision to shut down had been simmering for a while, he said. Many things have changed for the restaurant since 2016, including the rise of delivery apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats, which decreased their dine-in crowd. Although this iteration of WesBurger is closing down for good, Rowe thinks the brand is strong and may have a future. Since announcing the closure, he has been approached by a few people hoping to take over the business — and for the right person, he might consider. 'For now, I'm gonna let it breathe and go back to normal life for a little bit,' Rowe said, 'but I don't think that this will be the ultimate end of WesBurger.'
