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4th Street Eatery, located in Downtown Hollister, closed its doors March 28. The sudden closure came following an announcement on the restaurant’s Facebook page the previous Friday. The post read: “Due to rising economic costs—such as food, labor, overhead, and more—we have made the difficult decision to close this location.”
The restaurant operated for six years, and had been a regular spot for many to get their morning coffee. BenitoLink met with owner Jeannette Pulido on the restaurant’s final day of business, catching her just after their final busy breakfast service. Pulido said the restaurant had been busy during its last week with regulars coming to say their goodbyes and to get their favorite coffee drink or meal one last time.
Pulido said a number of factors led to the decision to close, including rising food costs.
“Everything we use here has gone up,” Pulido said. “Every ingredient from eggs, bacon, every lunch meat that we use, everything across the board has gone up for us.”
She said she could not bring herself to raise her prices to cover the rising costs.
“I just don’t see people paying outrageous prices for food,” she said. “I’d rather not do that to the customer.”
Eggs—a mainstay on her menu—are a case in point. Pulido said a box of eggs, which contains 15 dozen, costs anywhere from $150-$180, and that same box six years ago cost $20-$30. She said food distributors at the moment can give her no timeframe as to when there will be some relief.
Rising wage rates were another factor that played into Pulido’s decision to close. While the minimum wage in California has jumped since she opened—it was $11 per hour in 2019 and is $16.50 per hour today—that was not a factor. She said most of her employees were earning above minimum wage, having been with her for many years. “I never want my employees to feel I’m giving them less,” she said. “I always want to give them more, because they deserve it.”
Pulido said she will miss “meeting new people, hearing their stories, and seeing people I haven’t seen in a long time.” She said she’ll also miss providing a safe space for those who attend Hope Services, a developmental disability program that is located just next door. She said many of them came to 4th Street daily for coffee. And Pulidos said she hopes to find a home for photos of local veterans that adorned a wall and greeted customers as they walked through the front door.
4th Street Eatery will still be available for catering when Pulido has the time. For now she will be going back full time to her job in San Jose, and working on selling all of the equipment, furnishings and fixings that are inside the building.
Just two days before 4th Street Eatery announced its closure, Inaka Japanese Restaurant in San Juan Bautista also announced that they would be closing their doors at the end of the month. In February, Calavera Coffee also closed its doors citing rising costs of goods and labor. Last year Dona Esthers Mexican Restaurant and the 18th Barrel Tasting Room in San Juan Bautista also closed their doors, and The Baler and The Smoke Point Outpost in Hollister closed.
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