Rasselas, a San Francisco jazz club and Ethiopian restaurant launched in 1986, has closed its doors, according to a post on the venue’s website. In a letter to the city’s mayor, Edwin M. Lee, reprinted here, Rasselas owner Agonafer Shiferaw blamed the closing in part on the city’s failure to follow through on its revitalization and redevelopment plans for the historic Fillmore Jazz Preservation District of lower Fillmore Street.
Rasselas was originally situated at the corner of California and Divisadero Streets, but moved to 1534 Fillmore in 1999, across from the legendary Fillmore Auditorium. Shiferaw also claimed that the city’s promotion of nearby Yoshi’s, perhaps the best known jazz venue in San Francisco, negatively affected Rasselas.
