Zuni Café is a restaurant in San Francisco, California, named after the Zuni tribe of indigenous Pueblo peoples of Arizona and New Mexico.[1] It occupies a triangular building on Market Street at the corner of Rose Street.[2]
History
Bar at the Zuni Café
Zuni Café was established in 1979 by Billy West. In 1981 he hired Vince Calcagno as the manager, who became a business partner in 1987. West and Calcagno hired Judy Rodgers (formerly of Chez Panisse) as head chef in 1987.[3] West died on July 1, 1994; Calcagno and Rodgers went on to become co-owners.
Originally a Southwest-themed café, in the 1980s Zuni Café expanded into the adjacent space that had been a cactus shop, and under Rodgers came to serve primarily Italian- and French-inspired cuisine.[2] With her at the helm, Zuni Café won the James Beard Foundation Award for 'Best Chef: Pacific' in 2000, 'Outstanding Restaurant' in 2003, and 'Outstanding Chef' in 2004.[4] In 2018, the restaurant received the James Beard Award for Outstanding Service.[5] Rodgers published The Zuni Café Cookbook in 2002.[6]
Calcagno retired in 2006, and was succeeded as co-owner by Gilbert Pilgram, also formerly of Chez Panisse.[1][2][7] Rodgers died on December 2, 2013.[6] Subsequently the head chef was Nate Norris, who was succeeded in October 2022 by Anne Alvero.[2] On reopening in 2021 after the COVID-19 shutdown, Zuni Café replaced tips with a service charge for diners.[8][9]
The restaurant has a piano and a changing exhibition of modern art, both instituted by West. West also added a Parisian-inspired copper bar; since there are no bar stools, Rodgers had a metal rod added for people to prop a foot on.[2] Rodgers also designed the brick oven, used for roasting chicken over wood.[10] The building underwent a seismic retrofit in 1991, when the interior was given exposed ceiling beams.[2]
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