Quinn’s Lighthouse Restaurant & Pub, a quirky maritime-themed eatery located in a historic lighthouse on the downtown Oakland waterfront, is closing this week after four decades in business.
A manager who picked up the phone Monday, and who goes only by Grady, said the last day will be Jan. 31 – “that’s if we’re still open, it might just be half the day.”
The owners were not available for an interview.
Quinn’s Lighthouse has been a fixture on a gritty part of the Oakland Estuary since 1984. The original building was constructed in 1903 as the Oakland Harbor entrance light, which was deactivated in the 1960s and moved to its present location where it became a restaurant. Locals and passing mariners knew it for its classic seafood dishes, its peanut shell-covered floors and its sea-shanty singalongs.
Grady, who’s worked there for almost 25 years, said there were many possible reasons for the shuttering.
“It’s too expensive – minimum wage is going up, food costs are going up,” he said. “The Warriors left (Oakland), and that killed us. The Raiders left, that killed us too. The A’s are terrible and that’s slowly been killing us over the years. Then Covid hit, and with everybody working from home, we don’t get the corporate parties we relied on nearly as much.”
Grady said there’s somebody trying to buy the place, but he doesn’t know if it will re-open under the Quinn’s name.
So far, there’s no wake scheduled for closing day, but there’s already one occurring on the Oakland Reddit, where people are sharing their memories of the salty watering hole.
“Went to eat there today, and the server was nearly in tears,” wrote one person. “The beers aren’t really being restocked, so half the taps are still avail. Really wish this downward slide would stop.”
Said another: “I’ve sort of shrugged off most of the closures I’ve heard about, but this one really hits me.”
