SLO County lost several popular businesses in 2022. Here are 10
2022 brought fresh challenges for San Luis Obispo County businesses, including rising costs and staffing shortages.
While the majority of local businesses managed to survive or even expand, a number of popular spots were forced to close. They ranged from relative newcomers such as Joilene Bakery and Kult restaurant in San Luis Obispo to more established names.
These are some of the restaurants, retail shops and other businesses that shut their doors permanently in 2022.
A&W Restaurant
After more than 30 years of burgers and root beer floats, Dorothy Giessinger and her husband shuttered A&W Restaurant in Atascadero at the end of February 2022.
Located at 6435 Morro Road, the fast food joint was the last A&W in San Luis Obispo County and one of few freestanding locations in California.
Giessinger said staffing challenges and rising food costs made it impossible for the eatery to turn a profit. She and her husband planned to move to Texas.
Farmhouse Corner Market
Pressures from the COVID-19 pandemic forced Farmhouse Corner Market organic restaurant and market to close in January — less than two years after it opened at 1025 Farmhouse Lane in San Luis Obispo.
“Farmhouse Corner Market is just not one of the businesses that made it through,” the business wrote in a Facebook post.
In 2020, New Times readers voted Farmhouse Corner Market the best new restaurant, best kid-friendly restaurant and best caterer in San Luis Obispo County.
At least one of the business’s four co-owners is still part of the local food scene. Will Torres now serves as executive chef of The Carrisa in San Luis Obispo.
Jack Ranch Cafe
The Jack Ranch Cafe in Cholame served its last meal in August, after decades catering to travelers, ranchers and James Dean fans.
Historically a haven for locals, the restaurant at 19215 Highway 46 was also known for its proximity to the site of Dean’s fatal crash in 1955. A memorial in the parking lot still attracts fans of the late actor.
Owner Chris Mize, who was a waitress at the cafe before buying the business in 2012, said the decision to shut its doors came after negative impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, high gas prices and busy highway traffic.
Mo’s Smokehouse BBQ
Popular San Luis Obispo restaurant Mo’s Smokehouse BBQ closed its doors in late December after 28 years of operation downtown.
Mo’s opened in downtown SLO in 1994. The restaurant’s address changed over the years before it ultimately ended up at 1005 Monterey St.
The company didn’t share an official reason as to why it was shuttering that spot. However, a separate Mo’s Smokehouse BBQ location will remain open at 221 Pomeroy Ave. in Pismo Beach, and the restaurant will continue to offer catering.
Morro Bay Drug & Gift
Customers of Morro Bay Drug & Gift got a shock in April when the store abruptly closed at 600 Morro Bay Blvd., Suite B.
The longtime pharmacy was started by former Morro Bay Mayor John Headding, who operated the business for about two decades before selling it. The Headdings also owned Cambria Drug and Gift for eight years.
Customers were referred to Rite Aid, which operates a location at 740 Quintana Road in Morro Bay, for prescriptions and more.
Oki Momo Asian Grill
Pandemic-related issues also played a role in the closure of popular San Luis Obispo Asian fusion restaurant Oki Momo Asian Grill.
Owner Jon Yeh told The Tribune in January that his restaurant was struggling due to the ongoing labor shortage as well as supply chain issues and inflation driving up costs.
By October, the restaurant had closed its dining room at 2256 Broad St., No. 120, indefinitely.
Customers can find “a limited menu of Oki Momo favorites” at Yeh’s other eatery, Oki Kohi Espresso Bar, which is located at 2252 Broad St., Suite 130, in the same shopping center as Oki Momo.
Ross Dress for Less
Ross Dress for Less closed its store in downtown San Luis Obispo in January, leaving another sizable commercial vacancy in the area.
The discount retailer shut its doors at 868 Higuera St. on a centralized block that has seen the closure of two other large retail stores nearby — Beverly’s Fabrics & Crafts, which closed in 2020, and Charles Shoes, which shuttered in 2019.
A separate Ross store in the Madonna Plaza shopping center remains open.
Ruddell’s Smokehouse
Ruddell’s Smokehouse, the tiny Cayucos take-out restaurant known for its smoked fish tacos, closed in January after two decades.
Founder Jim “Smoker Jim” Ruddell opened his eatery in 2001 about a block from the Cayucos Pier. Over the years, it earned recognition from the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Sunset magazine and celebrity chef Bobby Flay.
The restaurant’s closure also marked the end of an era for the 250-square-foot building that housed it at 101 D St. It has been slated for demolition.
Señor Sancho’s
After more than three decades, Mexican restaurant Señor Sancho’s closed its doors permanently in Paso Robles in September.
Owner Carlos Leyva said the difficult decision to close the eatery at 1902 Creston Road was due to his declining health. The move also gave him more time to focus on his music career.
At the time of the closure, the North County Restaurant Group planned to purchase the property and open a Paso Robles-based Jack’s Bar and Grill there. The restaurant group currently operates Jack’s Bar and Grill in Templeton, along with other North County eateries.
The Porch Eatery
The Porch Eatery closed in Santa Margarita in October after more than 15 years and multiple name and ownership changes.
Owner Randi Pust took over management of The Porch, formerly known as The Porch Cafe, in March and then purchased the restaurant from its previous owners in June. “I bought it to try and save it,” she told The Tribune.
But Pust said rising food costs and supply chain issues made it impossible to run The Porch, located at 22322 El Camino Real, without raising prices.
She’s since pivoted to other business ventures — reopening the former Clementine Cupcake Co. in Santa Margarita under a new name, Black Pearl Baking Co., and opening a new barbecue company, Smokehouse Catering Co.
