Domesthenis (Dan) and Mary Hountalas have donated the Cliff House name to Western Neighborhoods Project!
We are so honored to be chosen as the trusted stewards of this legacy by the Hountalas’, who have dedicated their lives to preserving the restaurant’s history and crafting unforgettable experiences for generations of visitors at the western edge of San Francisco. The donation agreement, facilitated by Jenner & Block LLP pro bono, was officially signed as of November 1, 2025, and includes the transfer of signature recipes, the physical sign that was famously removed from the building when the restaurant closed, as well as all trademarks, domains, and social media accounts connected to the business.
Dan and Mary Hountalas are longtime members of WNP, and the extended Hountalas family has been a vibrant part of the Ocean Beach community since 1906. Michael Hountalas first leased a candy and tobacco stand inside the carbarn that was once the streetcar terminus at Lands End in 1919. After the structure was destroyed by fire in 1949, Michael acquired the Golden Gate View Coffee Shop next to the Sutro Baths. His son, Dan, began selling peanuts outside the family business at the age of six, and eventually opened his own restaurant, the Cliff Chalet, in 1958. He extensively remodeled the coffee shop and renamed it Danny’s Cliff Chalet in 1965, only to see it burn one year later in the same blaze that destroyed the Baths.
Dan pivoted, using his business administration degree from San Francisco State to become national sales manager for Consolidated Foods. That’s how he met Mary, regional food service supervisor for Mannings Food Service Co., and the two were married in 1972. With financial support from their parents, the pair leased a banquet hall at the Cliff House and turned it into a popular breakfast spot known for its omelettes in 1973. This led to the opening of the Ben Butler Bar on the main floor in 1974 and eventually reopening the main dining room as The Seafood and Beverage Company. (Included in the WNP Collection is the original sign from this era of the restaurant, following its donation by Carmel Brown in 2023.) Dan and Mary shepherded the iconic restaurant, which opened in 1863, into a new era and then into the 21st-century with a major remodel in the early 2000s. Now, with this donation, they’ve launched the beloved Cliff House into its new era.
We asked the Hountalas family to provide a quote for the press release, and it sincerely reduced me to tears. They said, “For some time now, we’ve felt very strongly that Western Neighborhoods Project, under the leadership of Nicole Meldahl, should receive this gift. Western Neighborhoods Project is a wonderful organization made up of people who deeply respect and continue to honor the history of San Francisco…We are confident that, through their stewardship, the legacy of the Cliff House and its storied past will remain protected and that one day, the Cliff House will once again open its doors to the public in all its previous glory.”
This donation marks the next stage of a journey that’s taken us from auction to an immersive exhibition in the abandoned restaurant and beyond our wildest dreams. It also protects Cliff House history at the site in perpetuity, beyond the reach of private business interests and National Park Service priorities, and is a testament to the Hountalas family’s commitment to its legacy. We are immensely grateful to them. Now, we’ll work with the current Cliff House concessioner on a licensing and broader partnership agreement to return the Cliff House name and the Cliff House Collection to the building, where they both belong. Stay tuned for additional updates, and read more about plans for the future of the restaurant in Amanda Bartlett’s article that was published on SFGate this morning.
None of this has been possible without all of you and key collaborators, like John Lindsey of The Great Highway gallery and Alexandra Thrapp of ACT Art Conservation. Thank you, everyone, for making good things happen in San Francisco.
Yours truly,
Nicole Meldahl
Executive Director, Western Neighborhoods Project