One of only three three-Michelin Starred restaurants in San Francisco, the North Beach fine dining destination Quince is currently closed for renovations. But its ownership team of chef Michael Tusk and his wife and manager Lindsay Tusk (they also run the acclaimed next-door Italian spot Cotogna) have been busy with other North Bach locations. In February, they announced they were opening an espresso and gelato cafe at Kearny Street and Pacific Avenue. And now they’re putting their mark on one of North Beach’s most recognizable locations, as the San Francisco Business Times reports the Tusks are opening a private event space in the upper level above Vesuvio Cafe.
The Tusks have not announced this yet or explained what they're doing with the space, but the Business Times notes that “Boutique broker Maven Commercial, which represented landlord Vesuvio Towers in the deal, confirmed Monday a multiyear lease had been signed.” That publication adds that “the team applied for a beer and wine license for this new project at 253 Columbus.”
Even if you’re upstairs at Vesuvio Cafe, there is still another floor above, and that’s the space we’re referring to here. It’s seen above in a video from the previous private event space Cookhouse, and it’s obviously far more upscale than the exterior would indicate. Cookhouse had used the space for cooking classes and private events.
And the Tusks had also previously held events there. They offered a Cotogna dinner for up to 25 people there, at a starting cost of (gulp) $11,000. The likeliest scenario is that Quince sees a market for a full-time event space like this, so they're leasing it themselves.
The restaurant group's wine bar, Verjus, which was only briefly open before the pandemic, has spent the last three years mostly closed, but it is available as a private event space as well.
Cookhouse, for their part, appears to remain in operation. Their website says “We have closed our physical location and will be channeling our skills into two new ventures,” and say they “will be offering digital guides to help you put on stellar events wherever you are.”
