Splash Cafe to close San Luis Obispo restaurant, expand bakery, catering and online sales
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Splash Cafe announced on Wednesday it will close its San Luis Obispo restaurant later this month in order to focus more on its bakery and delivery services.
Splash Cafe's popular flagship Pismo Beach restaurant is not affected by the move and will remain open.
Owner/CEO Joanne Currie announced she is planning to sell the San Luis Obispo building, which is located at 1491 Monterey St., and will close the restaurant Oct. 30, 2023.
"We have loved every minute of the 18 years we have been in SLO and all of the relationships we have made with the local residents and the community," Currie said in a press release. "This decision did not come lightly. There are so many people we will miss, and I want to say that it has been an honor and a privilege to have gotten to know you."
The closure will provide Currie and the company an opportunity to move into a commercial space in order to expand its bakery, catering and online sales.
"Moving the Artisan Bakery to a commercial kitchen with a new, professional-grade oven and equipment will allow us to expand our bakery and catering operations," said Currie. "We’ll also be able to fill more online orders, which is something we’ve been working toward the last couple of years."
The company said it will provide employees affected by the closure with a severance package, as well as a transition program that includes job opportunities at either the new commercial kitchen location or at the Pismo Beach restaurant.
"Taking care of our employees, the Splash Family, has always been important to us," Currie said. "We created this program to give them as much notice and support as possible during the transition."
The original Pismo Beach location first opened its doors on Pomeroy Avenue in 1989. Two years later, Currie, along with her husband Ross, bought the business and have owned it ever since.
Over the years, Splash Cafe has become one of the most successful restaurants on the Central Coast, typically attracting customers that line up outside the doors, who visit to enjoy its popular seaside-inspired menu items, particularly the legendary clam chowder.
In 2005, the Curries opened the San Luis Obispo restaurant, with a menu that includes many of the same items found in the Pismo Beach location, but also with several different offerings, including an artisan bakery featuring freshly baked breads, pastries, desserts, and custom cakes.
