Popular Coastal Bay Area Seafood Restaurant Closes After 48 Years

Ketch Joanne Restaurant and Harbor Bar, the 48-year-old institution in Princeton-by-the-Sea, an unincorporated community just north of Half Moon Bay, is calling it quits. 

“The Ketch has been the heart and home of this community for nearly half a century and it is with heavy yet hopeful hearts that it is time to say goodbye and set sail for a new adventure,” read the restaurant’s recent Instagram post announcing the news. SFGATE could not reach Ketch Joanne for comment in time for publication.

The family behind Ketch Joanne has sold their lease to new owners who intend to keep running a restaurant in the space, according to the Half Moon Bay Review. The new owner is Pelagic Restaurant Group, a collective of 15 local residents and business owners who plan to maintain the “Ketch” name in their new restaurant and open a fish market at the Pillar Point Harbor building.

Joanne Franklin first opened Ketch Joanne in 1975, with her daughters Wendy and Heidi eventually working there as well. When it first opened, the restaurant was a 400-square-foot sandwich shop with one table that catered mostly to the fishing community. It grew over the years into a much larger restaurant with a long brass bar and a lengthy menu of seafood omelets, bloody marys, clam chowder, burgers, tacos, and fish and chips. 

Ketch Joanne has been temporarily closed for most of 2023, according to the Half Moon Bay Review. In January, it began renovations on its bathrooms to make them ADA compliant, and has not reopened since. 

The San Mateo County Harbor District has also been planning to renovate the aging building that houses Ketch Joanne as well as Mavericks Surf Shop and Princeton Seafood. In May, The Harbor District’s board met to discuss whether it would choose to move the building’s businesses to a new location or completely renovate the existing building and add a second floor of retail spaces, reported the Half Moon Bay Review. As of August, no design has been decided on yet for the retail center replacement, Harbor District director of operations John Moren told SFGATE. 

“From the bottom of our hearts, we wanted to say thank vou to all of our customers and staff whom throughout the years have filled the Ketch with love, laughter and memorable moments,” continued Ketch Joanne’s Instagram post. “… It is on to a new chapter for us but the Ketch will continue to sail.”