Julius' Castle, the turreted restaurant below Coit Tower, may finally reopen soon. Owner Paul Scott told KTVU in mid-October that the reopening is targeted for the beginning of November. In July he told ABC7 he planned to reopen in September. He said he would first welcome neighbors and the workers who restored the building before opening to the public.
A 1920s landmark
Italian immigrant Julius Roz hired architect Louis Mastropasqua to build the restaurant, and city records date it to 1923. Roz lived upstairs and ran the restaurant until he died in 1943. San Francisco named it a city landmark in 1980. KTVU reported that the city's designation papers describe it as a favorite of people in politics, business, journalism and entertainment, and say some footage in House on Telegraph Hill (1950) was shot there. The restaurant closed in 2007.
A long road back
Scott is a San Francisco attorney who bought the property in 2012. He told ABC7 the work involved undoing unpermitted changes, "lawsuits, fires, landslides," and a lot of deferred maintenance. Planning officials told KTVU his project was approved with conditions in 2017. A neighborhood group, Friends of Montgomery Street, sued in 2018 over parking and vehicle access, and the court denied the petition. Telegraph Hill neighbors told ABC7 that parking is still a concern.
KTVU said the menu hasn't been announced. In the past the restaurant served Italian food and classic chophouse dishes. Neither outlet gave a firm opening date, so treat early November as a target.