Fisherman's Grotto No. 9, San Francisco 1948
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Fishermen’s Grotto No 9 was an iconic restaurant on San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf for decades.
Views from its large picture windows were timeless: the Golden Gate Bridge, Russian Hill, neighboring Alioto's and Castagnola's restaurants – both also now closed - and a slice of the Embarcadero.
Locally caught seafood, of course, was the restaurant’s specialty and more than 2,000 people a day were served at the height of its popularity.
No 9 was established by Italian-born Mike Geraldi, who emigrated as a teenager from the little fishing town of Sciacca, Sicily, overlooking the Mediterranean, and landed in San Francisco with his older brother in 1904.
He started out helping to repair and maintain fishing boats owned by other Sicilians and eventually saved enough money to buy his own boat. He fished commercially for years and then opened a stall – No. 9 and the last stall on the street – where he sold boiled crab and other seafood. Other fishermen would line up to eat, and the idea of a sit-down restaurant was born.
In 1935, with initial help from an investor, Geraldi opened the first full-service restaurant on Fisherman’s Wharf and kept No. 9 – the number of his first, modest stall – as part of the name.
The first version of the restaurant seated 180 people but various expansions over the years raised the number of hungry diners who ordered dishes such as lobster thermidor, crab Louie and fresh Monterey abalone to over 400.
The restaurant’s mascot was a pipe-smoking fisherman in a waterproof coat and hat, and the ‘little fisherman’ was prominently displayed throughout the establishment, notably emblazoned in yellow-gold on the restaurant's royal blue carpeting.
The restaurant's servers wore short blue and gold waiter jackets designed to match the colors of the mascot and logo.
The Geraldi family sold Fishermen’s Grotto No. 9 in 2016, after 80 years of family ownership.
Rick Geraldi, representing the third generation of this sea-to-table enterprise, cited rising seafood costs and a lack of interest from the next generation in continuing the demanding business.
Fishermen’s Grotto No 9 was purchased by businessman Chris Henry who planned to retain the character of the original restaurant but it closed in mid-2024 with its future status still unknown.
Each order includes a print of the interior menu.
All printed in USA.
