High-Profile California Dining Chains Shut Down

Vine Hospitality (San Jose), a longtime Bay Area restaurateur that operates seven French, American and Mediterranean dining destinations, is abruptly ceasing operations this week, The Mercury News reports. The closings include a trio of restaurants each representing one of the company’s brands – LB Steaks, The Left Bank and Meso Modern Mediterranean – in San Jose’s high-profile Santana Row shopping/dining complex.

Vine Hospitality, principal owner and operator of the restaurants, sought a cash infusion prevent its financial collapse, according to a WARN business-closing notice filed with California’s Employment Development Department.

“Vine Hospitality worked hard to try to find additional investors or capital to support continued restaurant operations,” Alistair Levine, Vine Hospitality CEO, wrote in the WARN letter. “Unfortunately, this effort failed, which resulted in insufficient cash to continue operations.”

Also closing are: LB Steak Bishop Ranch in San Ramon; Left Bank Larkspur and Left Bank Tiburon, both in Marin County; and Left Bank Menlo Park. In all, roughly 300 workers have lost their jobs at the company.

Levine, son of Vine’s founder, took over the business in November 2024, following the departure of its previous CEO, Obadiah Ostergard, the San Francisco Chronicle reported in its coverage of the news.

“It’s a very challenging business at the best of times, but the volatility that exists on the ingredient side makes it incredibly punishing right now,” Levine told the Chronicle.