Cafe Jacqueline says "au revoir" after half a century, Big 4 says "hello again," and Restaurant Naides makes its debut on Nob Hill, all in This Week in Food.

The new year typically brings a wave of closure announcements, and this year was no different.

The week began with the terribly sad news that Café Jacqueline, SF's quietly iconic, soufflé-only restaurant, had closed after 46 years in business in North Beach. It was only a matter of time, and stalwart chef-owner Jacqueline Margulis, at age 89, certainly has earned a rest. The restaurant is up for sale, and we can only hope that some lover of perfect soufflés might buy it and recreate something similar — though it will surely never be the same. Margulis has offered to apprentice anyone who's interested.

In brighter news, on Nob Hill, Restaurant Naides has opened in the former Sons & Daughters space (708 Bush Street). The Filipino-inspired tasting-menu restaurant comes from Sons & Daughters alum Patrick Gabon, and partner Celine Wuu, who previously worked the front of the house at Benu. The restaurant offers an 11- to 13-course menu each night that is "shaped by the craft of preservation and fermentation.  Find reservations here.

Also, RT Bistro, the Rich Table team's new next-door bistro, which we mentioned before the new year, is officially opening tonight. Find reservations here.

We neglected to mention this last month, but news has arrived about the renovation of Nob Hill's 100-year-old Huntington Hotel, which is expected to make it open around March in time for its 100th anniversary. And that reopening comes with the revival of its marvelously moody ground-floor restaurant and piano lounge Big 4, which is set to re-debut this spring with a makeover by designer Ken Fulk. SFGate has one rendering here, and we should have more details soon. I can hardly wait.

We got some positive news about Union Square today, which is that Super Duper, the local burger chain, will be opening up a location in the kiosk space on the west side of Union Square Park, adjacent to Stockton Street. The space has been largely vacant for several years, but will come alive, with burgers and soft-serve, in Fall 2026.

Just after the new year we learned that Kitchen Story was closing in the Castro, after serving its last brunches on January 4. Owners Hoyul Steven Choi and Jiyeon Choi appear to have a new concept in the works for the space, so it likely will not stay dark for long.

We also learned of the closing of The Trident, the Sausalito waterfront bar and brunch spot known for popularizing the tequila sunrise in the early 1970s and being a legit rock-legend hangout, and that property is now up for sale.

And up in Calistoga, Michelin-starred Auro at the Four Seasons Resort has lost its star chef, Rogelio Garcia. Garcia won't be around when the restaurant reopens from its winter break on February 12, as he announced on Instagram, with his last official day being February 1.

Also, restaurateur George Chen of China Live fame is opening his planned new South Bay outpost, Asia Live, at the Valley Fair Mall this spring, as Hoodline reports.

And this week in reviews, Chronicle Associate Restaurant Critic Cesar Hernandez paid some visits to Chubby Cattle BBQ, the first Bay Area outpost of the Japanese-inspired "all-you-can-eat beef palace" that opened in Pleasanton last summer. (The LA-based chain reportedly has locations planned in Milpitas and Santa Clara, t00.) The place offers several tiers of slicef beef quality, including prized A5 wagyu, and there's some kind of membership situation which doesn't even exempt you from consistently long waits to get in. But if you're a carnivore who loves shabu shabu, hot pot, and an Asian BBQ situation with a Las Vegas buffet's sense of variety and abundance, this is for you.

Top image: Rendering courtesy of the Huntington Hotel