California ‘landmark’ seafood restaurant closes abruptly after 98-year-run

They’ve gone fishing.

After nearly a century in business, Bay Area seafood restaurant Cook’s Seafood abruptly closed both of their locations last week.

The Silicon Valley institution announced the shocking closure with a sign posted outside of their original Menlo Park location, which first started selling shellfish in 1928.

“As you know, this year has been very difficult for restaurants,” the sign read. “Our Team thanks you for all your years of visiting us, and we’ll miss you.”

Known for their signature fish and chips dish, catfish, sand dabs, salmon, and more, Cook’s opened its second location in Pleasanton just last year after nearly a decade of planning. Both locations housed fish markets in addition to restaurants.

Cook’s was dubbed a “landmark” in a 2001 article by Almanac News, which detailed its origin story.

The business was first opened by Bill Cook, a former policeman, who later sold it to Robert Rahe. After Rahe’s death, it was sold to Roy Crumrine in 1963, who started working at the restaurant as a dishwasher in 1955. After Crumrine’s death, the business was taken over by his son of the same name.

A 1989 report in the Peninsula Times Tribune said founder Bill Cook was inspired to serve fish and chips after trying the dish while stationed in England during World War I. “We may be one of the first places in California to serve fish and chips,” he said at the time.

The closure is the latest blow to the Bay Area’s food and drink industry, which has seen staple business shutter in recent months due to financial pressure, as an AI-driven economic boom raises the stakes for survival.

In September, Lutticken’s Deli and After 5 restaurant, also in Menlo Park, closed after 45 years in business. The iconic business housed a coffee shop, a sandwich shop and Mexican food restaurant. General manager Judy Congdon said the business closed because it was “just not making the money” it used to make.

Just last week, Red’s Place, which boasts the moniker of “the oldest bar in the neighborhood” announced that it would be closing by the end of the year after 60 years in San Francisco’s Chinatown.

Owner Jerry Chan said the closure was due to rising operational costs — and an estimated $500k in necessary repairs to the building.

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters