2 downtown SLO restaurants are trading places. Here’s who is heading to a new location
Downtown San Luis Obispo restaurateur Leonard Cohen noodled the idea of swapping locations for his two side-by-side restaurants long before the coronavirus pandemic shut down operations in mid-March.
But such a drastic upheaval of Ciopinot and La Esquina Taqueria would have been disruptive and costly, he said.
Combined, the two businesses were bringing in roughly $300,000 to $400,000 per month before the COVID-19 outbreak, Cohen said, without factoring in overhead including rent costs.
Over the past months, as statewide restaurants temporarily closed for indoor dining and reopened with restrictions, only to learn about Monday’s statewide reclosure announcement, Cohen has had more time to think.
His businesses shut down in March and haven’t reopened since as he prepares his new business plans.
Cohen is now moving forward with his vision to switch the locations of Ciopinot, a fine-dining seafood eatery, and La Esquina Taqueria, a gourmet Mexican food restaurant.
The businesses are located, respectively, at 1049 Nipomo St. and 1051 Marsh St. near the San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum and The Creamery Marketplace. Cipinot is located in the front, La Esquina in the back.
“It would have been very hard to do this during normal times, and I probably wouldn’t have done it then,” Cohen said. “But it really makes sense to do it now.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that restaurants statewide must close again to indoor dining due to an uptick in coronavirus cases, though to-go orders may continue.
After some renovations and new signage, Cohen expects to reopen La Esquina on Aug. 1 for to-go orders at the minimum with hopes of offering indoor dining by then, pending state orders. He plans to open Ciopinot on Sept. 1.
SLO restaurants switch locations
Cohen, who owns the restaurants with his wife, Wendy, said they made the decision because La Esquina Taqueria is much better suited to a larger dining space and more spacious kitchen for to-go orders than Ciopinot.
La Esquina, which opened in 2017, will newly be housed in the roughly 5,000-foot-space in front facing Nipomo Street.
Ciopinot, which launched more than a decade ago, will move into the back location, which measures approximately 1,700 square feet.
“The La Esquina menu just make a lot better sense to serve to go and people also don’t tend to spend quite as long at the tables,” Cohen said. “A burrito or enchilada just travels a lot better than fine-dining seafood, which basically is meant to be a sit-down meal. I asked my landlord if he was okay with the switch and he was great about it and gave us the go-ahead.”
The switch means that 1049 Nipomo St. will once again house a Mexican food restaurant, Cohen said. The spot is the former home of Tortilla Flats restaurant and bar.
Before pandemic-related restrictions, La Esquina’s new location had a capacity of about 180 customers, while Ciopinot’s new home seated about 80 patrons. But those numbers will be cut in half to maintain social distancing under restaurant safety rules.
Cohen plans to add some outdoor patio seating for both restaurants to accommodate customers.
“I really want to set up customer safety in a way that’s smart and truly sanitary,” Cohen said. “Customers will be able to place their to-go order and pay in advance so all they have to do is take a hand off, and sanitizers will be there right when they walk in and after they use the restroom, and at their tables after they eat.”
Additionally, customers will place orders by using menus on their personal phones to avoid touching any menus that other people touch.
“Everyone is pretty much on their phones these days, and the menu is all there,” Cohen said. “I’m surprised not all restaurants are doing that.”
Cohen told The Tribune in January that he planned to establish craft distilleries at the downtown restaurants, but those ventures have been put on hold for the time being, he said.
Downtown CBD store, shoe shop move
With existing vacancies in San Luis Obispo’s downtown, some retail businesses are seeking out new locations, and two shops already have moved since the pandemic.
Hemp Shak, formerly located in The Network Plaza, is now located across the street at 781 Higuera St.
The store, which has been open for 22 years in San Luis Obispo, sells cannabidioil, or, CBD-infused products as well as art, records and other products.
The shop moved into its new space for more visibility, said Hemp Shak owner Katy Hemler, who took over the business two years ago.
“It’s just a much better space for visibility and foot traffic,” Hemler said. “Before, people had to walk through The Network mall to find us, and here they can discover us much more easily.”
About two months ago,The Flip Flop Shop moved down the street from its past location on the 800 block of Higuera Street to its new space at 716 Higuera St., where Adore Boutique was once located.
“These last few months have been unexpectedly tough, but we are so happy to finally share a peek at our new location,” The Flip Flop Shop shared in an Instagram post before opening at its new site in early May.
The store is located a couple of doors down from Novo Restaurant at 726 Higuera St., where manager Jai Covey said the restaurant has been particularly busy with customers eating on the patio.
“People really have enjoyed our patio seating, and we’ve actually been doing better this year around this time than last year,” Covey said. “It’s been a lot more people than we expected.”
This story was originally published July 14, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
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