Vine Hospitality, a Bay Area restaurant group operating for more than three decades, will shutter every one of its locations this week, leaving 365 employees without work.
The company broke the news through its restaurant social media accounts on Monday, confirming that all LB Steak and Left Bank Brasserie outposts would cease operations immediately. Several locations closed June 22, with the remainder winding down by June 24.
The closures sweep across seven properties spanning San Ramon, San Jose, Menlo Park, Larkspur, and Tiburon. The casualties include LB Steak at Bishop Ranch City Center and Santana Row, Left Bank restaurants in three cities, Petite Left Bank in Tiburon, and the group’s newest concept, Meso Modern Mediterranean, which only debuted at Santana Row in 2024.
In a farewell post, the company wrote that guests had marked countless milestones at its tables over the years. The message thanked both loyal patrons and staff for their dedication.
A WARN notice filed with California regulators revealed the company had exhausted efforts to secure additional investors or capital. Those attempts failed, leaving insufficient cash to sustain restaurant operations.
CEO Alistair Levine attributed the collapse to post-pandemic operating pressures, soaring ingredient costs, particularly beef and tomatoes, and an unsuccessful push to fund two planned San Francisco locations that never opened.
All 365 laid-off employees will receive final wages and accrued vacation pay, according to Levine.
The elder Levine, Ed, founded the company in 1994 as Vine Hospitality, partnering with French chef Roland Passot to build the Left Bank bistro brand. The waterfront Oakland location, which closed in 2024, had long served as a hub for Bastille Day revelers. The first LB Steak opened at Santana Row in 2009, quickly establishing itself as a destination for anniversaries and birthdays.
