The new incarnation of the longtime SoMa Mexican restaurant Don Ramon’s could be just months from opening at the Embarcadero Center, but only if longtime fans come through on a new crowdfunding campaign to help finance its buildout.

There are certainly some encouraging signs that downtown San Francisco is bouncing back from the pandemic, but that pattern does not seem to extend to the moribund Embarcadero Center mall. Other than Osha Thai, can anyone even think of a reason to go there, or even name any current attractions there? Well, on Thursday, the SF Business Times reported on a number of new vacant-to-vibrant pop-ups are coming to Embarcadero Center, which could perhaps provide a boost, including one called Puppies & Yoga, which is exactly what it sounds like it is.

That article makes a quick mention of an attraction that would certainly draw many San Franciscans' interest to the Embarcadero Center, the return of the longtime favorite Mexican restaurant Don Ramon’s. Don Ramon’s, of course, closed its 41-year-old SoMa location in 2023, and was supposed to have already opened a new Embarcadero Four location that same year in a space previously home to a Rubio’s. Yet that effort has stalled for more than a year, for mysterious reasons.  

Then we got a big update on Don Ramon’s in this week’s Tablehopper newsletter. That report details that the Ramirez family who have always operated Don Ramon’s  launched a GoFundMe campaign to complete the plumbing and construction necessary to open the new version of the great old restaurant.

“With the help of family friend and seasoned restaurateur Greg Bronstein — who’s opened over 60 Mexican restaurants around the world — many of the interior upgrades are already done,” the GoFundMe campaign says. “We’re just 8 weeks from construction and reopening shortly after. All we need now is one final push.”

Today’s Chronicle piece goes into more detail about the struggles of the new Don Ramon’s, and why things stalled out for so long there. It notes that Embarcadero Center landlord BXP (formerly known as Boston Properties) offered Don Ramon’s a pretty sweetheart deal with discounted rent, and unexpectedly, former SFPD Chief Greg Suhr helped broker the whole thing. But now a few years after that deal, Don Ramon’s is already halfway through the new lease, and still has not opened its doors, despite “Coming Soon” signage plastered on its windows for years.

“We still need to do electrical and plumbing,” co-owner Leonilla Ramirez told the Chronicle. “We are almost there.”

The Chron details a litany of setbacks that have delayed the opening: a predatory lending deal that ended up causing the loss of the Ramirez’s former 11th Street building which they had owned, a series of severe illnesses in the family, and some reference to city support that the Ramirez family says did not come through.

But the grand reopening of Don Ramon’s is still supposedly on track, albeit at a much slower pace than planned. And despite a very different location, the new space would have a lot of the old Don Ramon’s charm, including the exact same chairs and tables we used to sit and eat at in SoMa.

It is well-established that many city power brokers like Willie Brown frequented the old Don Ramon’s. It may be incumbent on them — and us — to chip in some support if we want to see the sentimental favorite Don Ramon’s return.  

Related: Beloved Mexican Restaurant Don Ramon's Closing After 41 Years In SoMa [SFist]

Image via GoFundMe