The days are numbered for Alioto's and its giant number 8 sign at Fisherman's Wharf, after the Port of San Francisco announced plans Friday to demolish the historic restaurant.

After several years of trying to attract a new tenant for the massive, three-story, 11,000-square-foot Alioto's Restaurant, officials with the Port of San Francisco have determined that the building has outlived its usable lifespan. The building is too much in need of renovation — and too huge — to make sense for the future of Fisherman's Wharf, and the Port announced Friday that it would be torn down to make way for a new public plaza.

As Port Director Elaine Forbes told the Chronicle Friday, "It’s just a relic, essentially, a relic of an important history, but it is not the future."

The Alioto family, generations of whom have worked at the restaurant — with other relatives who also worked in SF city government — likely have feelings about this, but they have not commented on the matter. The restaurant, which had shuttered at the start of the pandemic in March 2020, officially shut down as of April 2022 after 97 years in business.

Its iconic, giant number 8 sign signified 8 Fisherman's Wharf, the address of the original fish stall that Sicilian immigrant Nunzio Alioto Sr. once ran starting in 1925, before Alioto's became a full-fledged restaurant in 1938.

The demolition of the restaurant and the plaza construction are part of a multi-year, $10 million project to shore up and revitalize the Wharf, following on several years in which other large restaurant spaces nearby have sat empty.

"The Port recognizes the economic and cultural value that the Wharf generates for the City and beyond," said Forbes said in a statement. "We are excited to embark on this effort, in collaboration with the public and Wharf stakeholders, to buoy the endurable [sic] magic of the Wharf." (I think she meant "enduring.")

The Port envisions the new plaza on the site of Alioto's giving greater public access to the lagoon behind it, where as of two years ago, new regulations allow fishermen to sell fish and shellfish directly from their boats.

And along with the plaza construction, which is expected to be complete in 2026, three vacant restaurant spaces along Jefferson Street will be getting occupied. We previously learned about Oakland-based barbecue outfit Everett & Jones taking over the former Lou's Fish Shack, and we heard in April that the former Pompei's Grotto next door, at 340 Jefferson Street, is becoming a new Salvadoran restaurant called Chasca Rio, run in part by former Boudin Bakery owner Lou Giraudo. The Port announced Friday that Castagnola's at 286 Jefferson will be getting reopened, with a new operator still to be announced.

On the corner of Jefferson and Taylor, next door to Alioto's, the former Tarantino’s and Fisherman’s Grotto #9 will be used for pop-up activations or short-term tenancies on the ground floor in the near term, and the Port is "exploring other outdoor activation opportunities in this area." The plan appears to be to ultimately demolish these buildings as well, unless they prove to be in-demand.

These immediate changes at the Wharf are part of a larger $550 million project that the Port foresees undertaking in the next several years, which would bring a new event center, small hotel, and a brewery or winery to Pier 45 and the lot next to Boudin Bakery.

We learned back in October about the bigger plan, which the Port sees as vital to the economic sustainability of the Wharf, and the Port's own ability to afford the seismic improvements and long-term maintenance of the piers themselves. Still, fishermen and the current owner of Boudin Bakery, Dan Giraudo, have been pushing back on the plan, because they see it potentially limiting the amount of space they have to store fishing and crabbing equipment — which is currently being done on an open dock on Pier 45, on the site of the former Shed C, which burned down in a massive fire in May 2020.

Fishermen also worry about construction activity blocking dock access for trucks belonging to the wholesalers who come daily to buy fish at Pier 45.

Mayor Daniel Lurie issued a statement Friday voicing his support for the Port's proposals. "Fisherman’s Wharf is one of San Francisco’s most iconic neighborhoods and an essential part of our city’s economy," Lurie said. "With these investments, we’re bringing new life to the waterfront while strengthening critical infrastructure and supporting our small businesses. I want to thank the Port and all our partners for their vision and dedication to making the Wharf an even more vibrant place for generations to come."

Previously: One of San Francisco's Oldest Restaurants, Alioto's, Is Closing After a Century at Fisherman's Wharf