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Beloved Yellow Moto Pizzeria at 18th and Valencia streets is having its last day of service today, after five years at the corner.
“I’m heartbroken, really,” said Allison White, 40, wife of Yellow Moto owner David White. “It always felt like an extension of my home, and it’s going to be hard to say goodbye.” Allison and David’s kids used to hang out in the back of Valencia Street Vintage, a small business right next door to Yellow Moto that Allison owns.
In earlier press interviews and on Friday, White and her husband David, said that business has slowed. But other factors played into their decision.
The family that used to live four blocks away at 14th and Guerrero streets moved across the ocean to Valencia, Spain in August.
“We did it for our kids. We have three kids — 8, 11 and 12,” said Allison White, who travels back to San Francisco every three months. “And ironically, my shop is Valencia Street Vintage, but we live on San Francisco Street in Valencia.”
On top of that is the passing of the good old days.
The couple started at Yellow Moto’s location at 702 Valencia St. in the spring of 2019 as Flour + Water Pizzeria, which was rebranded into Yellow Moto in mid-2022. The place was named one of the top 50 pizzerias in the country in 2023.
“We’ve seen a significant change in the last few years” on Valencia Street, said Allison White whose husband is in Spain and was unavailable for an interview. “That sense of community … hasn’t gone away. There’s just less volume of people in this neighborhood for some reason. Whereas I feel like other neighborhoods are not having that issue.”
According to city data, however, the Mission is faring relatively well: Retail vacancies in the neighborhood hover at 4.3 percent, less than half the citywide average of 9 percent, according to the San Francisco Planning Department. Sales tax revenue, meanwhile, which is a gauge of commercial activity, is back to pre-pandemic levels — unlike the rest of the city.
An atmospheric river that flooded Yellow Moto in December 2023 also took a big bite out of its traffic.
Ironically, back in Valencia, Spain, the White family has been again coping with torrential rains, which have recently claimed over 200 lives. While Allison returns to San Francisco, David is staying in Valencia to care for the kids.
White said they tried to be creative to save the business, changing opening hours and staffing things, but there are simply not enough customers to let them balance the rising cost of goods while maintaining reasonable prices.
Allison, for her part, thinks the Mission needs better PR. “There’s still magic here. And I don’t know why people aren’t coming to experience it,” she said. “There’s a narrative like, ‘If you come here, you won’t find any parking. You will get jumped.’ None of that is true.”
She’s also tired of the endless discussion on the Valencia bike lane.
“Every time I go, everybody’s always like, ‘Oh, you have to deal with the bike lane,’” she said. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I really don’t. I want to move forward. I want to go where it’s warm.”
And that may have played big in the decision. Even on Friday night the restaurant appeared to be doing a brisk business and its tables are often filled.
Employees at the nearby Mission Pet Hospital were surprised when they learned about Yellow Moto’s upcoming closure from a Mission Local reporter. The place is usually full, they said.
That’s true, an employee of Yellow Moto’s other neighbor, Korean restaurant Matko, added. But that still means a slowdown for the pizzeria, since just two years ago they would see lines of people waiting for a table, she added.
After announcing its closure last weekend, Yellow Moto has been filled with locals who came to say goodbye, according to waitress Aydo, who also handles some social media work for the restaurant. Wednesday, for instance, saw some 60 reservations and over 200 customers, including one who tipped an extra $50 for a $50 meal. That was a young couple who had had their first date at Yellow Moto, said Aydo.
Yellow Moto will stay open on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. It will keep rolling afterward if people are there, according to Allison, who said she will miss the community, the regulars and the mozzarella sticks. (Meanwhile, Valencia Street Vintage will remain open, unaffected by the pizzeria’s closure.)
“I don’t think any of us ever want this to happen,” said Allison, eyes glimmering with unshed tears. “I am hopeful that things will change. Unfortunately, we just can’t stick around anymore to wait for it.”
“But I feel like the neighborhood will bounce back.”
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Source: missionlocal.org