Foggy Fleet Week still brings thousands to SF; Boosts local businesses
SAN FRANCISCO -- The weather may not have been ideal for Saturday's Fleet Week air show, but many restaurants around the city still welcomed thousands of hungry diners.
It was the second Fleet Week for Peruvian rotisserie Jaranita on Steiner Street in the Marina. The restaurant said it brought in extra staff to handle the big crowds.
The dining room was buzzing with chatter Saturday evening.
Jaranita was bursting with even more business this Fleet Week.
"This year it looks like we're fully out of COVID, and we are fully open, and you can see that it's much, much busier this year," said general manager Masha Prikhodko. "It's a lot of walk-ins. A lot of people at Crissy field watching the show and then they come in here to have an amazing meal."
Marina resident Elizabeth Davis and her friends were among the walk-ins.
"We were on a roof, we were having some drinks, we were chillin' it was a great time, but we couldn't see the planes," Marina resident Elizabeth Davis said. "But it was a great time."
San Francisco's famous fog obscured some of the city's landmarks throughout the day, but that didn't stop thousands of locals and visitors from trying to take in all the sights during the annual Fall tradition.
For Jaranita, it was a noticeably busier Saturday, a sign that things are trending in the right direction since the height of the pandemic.
"This month was one of the busiest since we opened, which is amazing, we have a lot of private events," said Prikhodko.
Two blocks away on Lombard and Scott streets, Maybeck's restaurant and bar said the wait during peak dinner times was an hour.
"The reservations have been high, but they're normal for a Friday, Saturday night," co-owner Lori Baker said. "The walk-ins, the people walking in the bar, that's more than usual, which is great."
This is the first Fleet Week for Maybeck's, which opened under new ownership and a new California-inspired menu, after a two and a half year pandemic-related closure.
"It's fantastic, it's good to have it back, it's good to be seeing so many people walking by and so many people in the neighborhood," Baker added.