The iconic Balboa Cafe—the 112-year-old Marina District institution with ties to Governor Gavin Newsom—has been cited for serious rodent infestation and multiple health code violations following a routine inspection on January 13. The restaurant now has just one week to correct the violations, but some expressed doubt about meeting that deadline.
“It’s a major rodent Infestation according to the report, and they have just a week to fix it,” one exterminator told Hoodline San Francisco. “They might not be able to get it corrected in time.”
Multiple Violations, Repeat Offenses
According to the inspection report from the San Francisco Department of Public Health Environmental Health Branch, inspectors found “lots of mice droppings” throughout the restaurant. Droppings were discovered on the bottom shelf of a food prep table among bulk food containers in the upstairs prep room, inside a floor storage shed at the exterior upstairs area, throughout the back alley storage room, and on the floor at the bar area. The report notes this is a repeat violation for the facility, which was previously cited for similar issues.
Beyond the rodent infestation, inspectors observed kitchen staff “constantly wiping their hands with a dry wiping rag” instead of properly washing hands. A handwash sink located by the cooking area was found to be obstructed and inaccessible. The restaurant was also cited for deteriorated white cutting boards on prep line coolers and a back alley storage room with “deteriorated and unapproved floor, wall, shelves,” along with dirty floors throughout the bar area.
The PlumpJack Connection
Balboa Cafe has been part of Newsom’s PlumpJack Group empire since 1995, when the then-27-year-old businessman—backed by billionaire Gordon Getty—purchased the historic saloon. According to SF Gate, Newsom sold his San Francisco business interests when he became mayor in 2004, and later placed his PlumpJack holdings in a blind trust when he became governor in 2018…