SAN FRANCISCO – The cost of doing business in San Francisco is just too high for a popular Italian restaurant that was very busy and profitable, before the pandemic.

Che Fico Alimentari located on Divisadero Street says it’s a vastly different restaurant than it was when it opened in 2019 to great fanfare. Alimentari is the casual spinoff of its wildly popular original and sister restaurant, Che Fico. 

The restaurant announced the difficult decision this week on its Instagram, that next Thursday, May 9, will be its final dinner service.

Over the last six months, co-owner Matt Brewer said the harsh economic realities of running an independent restaurant in the city became clear. He and chef and co-owner David Nayfeld decided to absorb Alimentari within Che Fico, and close Alimentari’s dinner service in its current form.  

“We still plan on keeping it for an event space, but in its current iteration, it’s just not sustainable given a lot of the rising costs of doing business in San Francisco as a restaurant,” said Brewer.

Che Fico Alimentari said it would typically see about 120 guests during weekday dinner hours, before the pandemic. Now, they’re seating about half of that on weeknights.  

The two Che Ficos will merge upstairs, and the downstairs operation will focus on to-go orders and serve cocktails as well. 

The decision comes months after Alimentari cut prices by 20%. 

It also recently cut its dine-in fee in half, something it instituted in 2021 to help ensure better wages and full benefits for workers.

“We have seen our payroll continue to rise, we manage it as best we can, but when we’re not seeing the additional revenue come in, people are choosing not to dine out as much,” said Brewer. “It’s not just us, it’s a citywide issue.”

One of its most striking costs is electricity. Brewer said between the two spaces, Che Fico used to pay about $7,000 a month to PG&E before the pandemic. That same bill now costs about $11,000.

San Francisco resident Jessica Roman is a loyal diner.

“We heard it was closing, which is devastating, because I’ve been coming here for as long as I can remember, so we had to come here and celebrate,” said Roman. “A lot of people moved out of the city. I feel like Che Fico attracted a lot of corporate clients and there’s fewer corporate dinners happening, and I feel like that’s where the money is, so I understand.”

“I think at the end of the day the most important thing about a restaurant is its food, and it’s still delicious here,” said diner Jonathan Klein. “It’s unfortunate, but absolutely the upstairs is still going to be as delicious as it was before.”

Ultimately, Che Fico said it’s committed to evolving and thriving in San Francisco.

“We’re bullish on the future of San Francisco, we just know it’s going to take a little bit of time right now,” said Brewer.

Brewer and Nayfeld recently opened a new market called Il Mercato di Che Fico, near its sister restaurant in Menlo Park. The owners are also planning to open another Che Fico at Mission Rock near Oracle Park in 2025.

WINNIPEG — Mikko Rantanen found a stick he liked, and shot the Colorado Avalanche into the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Winnipeg Jets played their best game of the series facing elimination, but the Avs continued to put pucks past the pending Vezina Trophy winner and advanced with a 6-3 victory Tuesday night in Game 5 at Canada Life Centre.

Colorado won four straight in this series after dropping Game 1, and will now awaits the winner of Dallas-Vegas in the second round.

“How hard we worked and how hard we battled this series was amazing,” Nathan MacKinnon said. “Before the series, I think we came in really humble. We weren’t playing well. These guys just beat us 7-0 (on April 13), so it was a big wake up call … super proud of the guys.”

A little more than two minutes after Tyler Toffoli had brought the Jets even early in the third period, Rantanen scored for the first time in this series to put Colorado in front. Rantanen had been so frustrated earlier in this game that he had snapped a stick in two pieces.

The new stick worked out. Rantanen tipped a shot from the top of the zone by Devon Toews past Connor Hellebuyck to put Colorado in front 4:11 into the third period.

Rantanen scored again to make it 5-3 on a one-timer from Nathan MacKinnon during a 2-on-1 with 11:59 remaining in the third. MacKinnon and Cale Makar finished with nine points in this series, while Rantanen and Artturi Lehkonen had eight.

“Luck wasn’t really bouncing at times our way, but that’s what happens sometimes,” Rantanen said. “You get frustrated. I was going to try avoid doing that. Overall, the series was really, really good for us. I think we got better after every game.”

Colorado scored 24 times in five games on Hellebuyck, and four more into an empty net, the last from Josh Manson on Tuesday night. Winnipeg finished the regular season tied for the fewest goals allowed. The Avs scored the most, and great offense beat great defense repeatedly in this series.

Winnipeg finished with 110 points, three more than Colorado, to earn home-ice advantage in this series, but it’s another early playoff exit for the Jets and a question-filled offseason beckons in Southern Manitoba.

The Avs scored first, but into the wrong net. Kyle Connor’s shot trickled behind Alexandar Georgiev and when Manson tried to sweep it out of danger. It hit Lehkonen and the edge of the crease and caromed back into the Colorado net instead.

Colorado got that one back a little more than two minutes later. Right after the fourth line had a great shift, the top trio went to work. MacKinnon carried the puck into the zone, and Valeri Nichushkin finished a tic-tac-toe play from Rantanen and Toews to make it 1-1 just 3:18 in.

Yakov Trenin capped another strong shift from the fourth line with Colorado’s second goal 5:42 into the second period. Trenin fell in the neutral zone early in the shift, which earned a Bronx cheer from the crowd.

Then he worked over Neal Pionk behind the net for an initial shot and beat the defenseman to the rebound for his first goal of the series. Trenin cupped his ear to the suddenly silent crowd, then egged them on before jumping into the glass.

“All series long, (the fourth line’s) forechecking through the course of this series was outstanding,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “The work that they put in, to not only put pressure on their (defense), but to come up with pucks, the physicality. Playing to their identity as a line was outstanding and they got rewarded for their hard work.”

Just like the first period, the team that went down answered quickly. Miles Wood took a penalty trying to get past Colin Miller. Fourteen seconds later, Josh Morrissey scored his third goal of the series on a one-timer from above the right circle.

The hockey gods evened the fluke bounces out later in the second. Lehkonen sent the puck in the general direction of the Winnipeg net, but it was going well wide … until it hit Pionk’s stick and went in the net at 13:45 of the second.

It was Lehkonen’s fifth goal of the series. He and Nichushkin both scored in every game.

Georgiev finished with 33 saves. He allowed seven goals on 23 shots in the opening game of this series, but then proceeded to outplay Hellebuyck the rest of the way.

“(Georgiev) was outstanding all series,” Trenin said. “Very proud of how he came back and just shut up all the haters.”

Want more Avalanche news? Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis.

Proposed changes to the “PayUp” ordinance in Seattle, intended to improve compensation and terms for so called “gig workers” highlights something I find interesting — and I think some people miss.

These app companies have figured out how to offload the costs of maintenance, insurance, and that ever-variable in rising cost of gas onto the employee, which is smart business. But it also puts more burden on the workers to maintain the equipment needed to do their jobs. Big tech develops and maintains the app and provides customer service. But the actual work gets done by those on the ground — the people the PayUp legislation was intended to help.

Critics focus on what seems like a “higher than minimum wage” for drivers. But when you factor in their actual costs, especially with the fuel prices we pay in Washington, food delivery is not making drivers wealthy. And I’d argue they’re not getting more than they deserve. No one is getting rich here …

… Except for UberEats and DoorDash. They’ve got the cash to throw at lobbyists. Revenues for the online food ordering sector reached $294 billion in 2021. And no one’s saying these companies can’t continue to profit. But they don’t get to offload the bulk of their costs, create a product that pressures independent restaurants to buy in to remain competitive, profit massively, and expect to basically write the laws in their favor.

More from Matt Butler: Pearl Jam’s Dark Matter among the band’s ‘best, most cohesive records’

I think these companies are missing an opportunity. Try this: Be the company that attracts more drivers and a greater share of the market by proudly advertising how much better you make things for your employees. You offer better pay, solid benefits they can actually use. And here’s a classic move you might try: undercut your competition. Lower the fees the mom-and-pop restaurants pay, or remove the $5 charge in Seattle for customers — resulting in more deliveries, and more tips for your drivers and less business for your competitors.

Ultimately, these apps are a luxury. They’re not an entitlement, and most people (with a few homebound exceptions) don’t really need them to live. They’re convenient — and convenience has a price. But they’re not a convenience for the workers — and those whose labor and time has netted billions in revenue for Silicon Valley, shouldn’t be shafted in the process of any adjustments.

Matt Butler is the producer for “KIRO Nights with Jake Skorheim” and a contributing writer to MyNorthwest.