Since 1954, Marin locals have been feasting on prime rib, Caesar salad and lasagna at old-school Italian joint Marin Joe’s. But after 71 years of being owned by the Della Santina family, change is afoot: The family sold the Corte Madera restaurant to a new owner earlier this year, the Marin Independent Journal reported. As of Monday, the new owner has temporarily closed Marin Joe’s for renovations to bring it up to modern building codes.
The new owner appears to be Chris Henry, a restaurateur who grew up in Marin County and owns Barrel House Tavern in Sausalito and Tommy’s Joynt in San Francisco. While Barrel House Tavern general manager Attila Danku declined to share Henry’s name, he confirmed to SFGATE that the new owner of Marin Joe’s is the owner of Barrel House Tavern.
Henry also owns Herringbone Tavern, Inc., the company behind Fisherman’s Grotto and Tarantino’s: two historic Fisherman’s Wharf restaurants that closed in 2020. The Port of San Francisco attempted to evict the two restaurants in 2023 for alleged unpaid rent; Herringbone Tavern bit back with its own lawsuit in 2024, arguing the city of SF owed the restaurants millions for maintenance costs as well as for failing to “maintain the character of Fisherman’s Wharf.” In 2018, Henry was accused of being a “slumlord” over conditions at a Fresno apartment complex he owned, reported the Fresno Bee…