Julius' Castle

06/30/2021

Yesterday was a very special day at Julius' Castle. We have been working for years to reopen the Castle, with every conceivable obstacle imaginable - from permitting & bureaucratic challenges, legal action, and COVID - delaying our return to reopening. But yesterday we were reminded why this nearly decade-long effort to restore one of San Fransisco's oldest restaurants has been worthwhile.

Marcia and Robert Popper celebrated their 65th anniversary yesterday by stopping at the Castle where they had their first date in 1954. As we are still under construction, they planned to just snap a picture and perhaps have a toast in front. But unbeknownst to them, their sons had tipped us off in advance and we were ready for them. We "spontaneously" walked them through the construction project to a surprise in the Mayor's Room in the turret on the top level of the Castle. The table set there was complete with fresh linens, ample local delicacies and a bottle of fine wine. Needless to say, the surprise was a huge hit with the dynamic couple who are both evidently set on proving ninety is the new forty - still regularly visiting Tahoe to go skiing every season.

Mr. Popper escaped Austria just prior to Kristallnacht and made his way after the war to the Bay Area, where he attended Stanford Medical School and subsequently aided the lives of countless children as a pediatric cardiologist.

Mrs. Popper worked as a social worker and volunteer for the San Francisco School District where she also helped children for decades. She has a smile that absolutely lights up the room and is an avid hiker, having walked all the way from San Francisco to Mexico.

It is easy to see that this beautiful couple are still very much in love.

Sharing a romantic day at the Castle with folks like the Poppers is what makes our entire venture worthwhile. We are looking forward to the days ahead when others can also return. We are still hoping to get there by year end and will keep everyone apprised as we get closer to finally reopening.

Thanks to everyone for your patience and support.

All the best.

Paul Scott

04/20/2019

Just in case you missed this recent story in SF Gate.

Everywhere one turns inside the 1920s-built restaurant is a bank of windows opening to impressive views of the water and Bay Bridge, and now owner Paul Scott is finally readying for something he's dreamed about since purchasing the property: The eventual reopening of Julius' Castle.

03/18/2019

Devin Fehely at CBS ran a nice story today about the Castle and our plans moving forward. More cool drone shots as well. https://cbsloc.al/2F82EhQ

If anyone has old pics from back in the day, please let us know!

The new owner of Telegraph Hill landmark Julius' Castle says he's encouraged by all the people who have fond memories of the historic restaurant and hopes to have it open again by the end of 2019.

03/15/2019

Hi Everyone,

Terrific news!! The court just came down with its decision in the lawsuit filed to try and prevent us from reopening Julius Castle. It denied the petition "in its entirety." Just as the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors both voted unanimously in favor of the project, the court came down the same way. It was a complete and resounding victory for old time San Francisco.

Now that we finally know we can reopen the restaurant, we can start moving ahead with our remaining efforts to restore the Castle to its former glory.

Thanks very much to everyone for your support through this entire process!

Cheers,

Paul

01/03/2019

Happy New Year everyone. As we await the result of the latest hearing (expected February 2019), here is a news story from July discussing our progress. Be sure to check out the video for some nice shots of the Castle.

Thanks for your ongoing support!

https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2018/07/20/owner-struggles-reopen-san-francisco-restaurant-telegraph-hill/

More info on the lawsuit:
https://www.facebook.com/juliuscastlesf/posts/1285705551569737

A landmark restaurant atop San Francisco's Telegraph Hill stands at the center of a new controversy.

12/07/2018

Hi everyone. We have had a number of questions asking about the status of the project to re-open Julius' Castle Restaurant, so here's a quick update:

On September 17, 2017, the San Francisco Planning Commission unanimously approved our application for a Conditional Use permit to re-open. A few folks appealed that decision to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, which unanimously upheld the Planning Commission decision. We thought that was it, but then a few neighbors filed a lawsuit against the City challenging the Board of Supervisors' decision. We had the hearing on that lawsuit in November 2018, and we are hoping to have a decision by February 2019.

Thank you all for your continuing support and be sure to Like our page for further updates.

12/06/2017

A huge shout out to the Steremberg family for showing some holiday love with a brilliant gingerbread version of Julius Castle. Having created molds with their 3-D printer, the Sterembergs have kicked off a holiday tradition that others will be able to enjoy for years to come!

10/20/2017

Call for Old Photos!

Hello Neighbors and Friends

As you may have noticed, we are hard at work restoring Julius’ Castle to its former glory.

Many of us have fond memories of birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, and other special events at the Castle. If you happen to have any old dog-eared photos gathering dust in your armoire from those occasions, we would love it if you could share them here along with the date it was taken and any stories of your times at the Castle.

Please feel free to share this post with your friends, particularly old-school San Franciscans and we’ll see what we can dig up from the past.

Thanks!