Los Amigos, Salvadoran and Mexican restaurant on Valencia, closes (2024)

Five years after replacing Panchitas #2 at 530 Valencia St., the casual eatery Los Amigos closed its doors last month. Its blue-and-white sign with a green flower and a Salvadoran map still remains atop the building at 16th and Valencia streets, alongside the word “bienvenidos” above the entrance.

During its five years of operation, Los Amigos offered a variety of Salvadoran and Mexican dishes that included ceviche, tamales, empanadas, pupusas, nachos, burritos, and even paella. Although this reporter never had the chance to try its menu, some of its reviews called the restaurant’s food and service worthwhile.

“Excellent pupusa spot. It didn’t get a 5/5 because I’ve definitely had ridiculously delicious pupusas in Los Angeles, but this place knows what they’re doing,” read one of the reviews.

Despite positive reviews, the restaurant couldn’t make it.

Nearby business owners and their employees said that both owners Miguel Ramirez and Luis Rodriguez told them they were having trouble getting customers, and that the rent was getting too expensive. Neither owner could be reached for comment.

The owner of Sextant Coffee, Kinani Ahmed, still remembers a conversation he had with one of the Los Amigos owners when he came to get some coffee, shortly before the closure. “He said business was low, and that things were not looking good for them,” said Ahmed, who said he was sad to see another small business close its doors.

There are now at least three empty spaces just across the street from Sextant, on the block of Valencia between 17th and 16th streets: Five and Diamond, which closed in January; West of Pecos, which closed last October; and now Los Amigos.

Ramirez and Rodriguez had to close the second location of Los Amigos in the Castro at 2295 Market St. last September, just six months after its opening.

Neighbor Maureen Bogues said she had planned to meet a friend who was visiting from out of town at Los Amigos on Monday night, but instead found the space dark and empty.

“It is so sad to see another business close. The food was really good,” said Bogues. “I’m not an expert in Salvadoran food, but it was always hot and tasty. The pupusas were delicious, and the service was attentive and friendly.”

Bogues still remembers a combo plate of tamales and pupusas she had during one of her last visits. “So yummy,” she said.

One of the owners of Muddy Waters Coffee House, located just across from the Los Amigos, said it’s scary to see the number of businesses struggling to stay afloat. He said the center bike lane on Valencia has contributed to slower sales throughout the corridor after the loss of 48 parking spaces.

In a San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority meeting last week, Ted Egan, the city’s chief economist, said the corridor had experienced one of the slowest recoveries in the city, but rejected the idea of blaming the bike lane for it.

“After accounting for these other changes, those bikeway improvements do not contribute to explaining why Valencia has had weak business performance,” he said. The bike lane, he continued, “does not have any effect, either positive or negative.”