October 8, 2019
It's been in the process for over a year, but The Red Fox Steakhouse & Piano Bar will close next month. Fans of the historic San Diego steakhouse and pub shouldn't fret, as for the third time in the eatery's more than 400 year history, it will relocate, this time directly across the street from its current location at North Park's Lafayette Hotel for an anticipated 2020 reopening.
The Red Fox Steak House began its life around 1560 as a pub in the county of Surrey in Southern England. In 1926, the tavern was dismantled and the interior walls were shipped to Santa Monica, CA, where the medieval accents were used in the construction of the private beachfront home of actress Marion Davies. When Davies' Ocean House was sold and turned into a hotel in the late 1950s, the Red Fox materials were dismantled and moved into to storage, before heading to its current address as part of the ground floor steak house in San Diego's Lafayette Hotel. John Demos bought the restaurant in 1966, and his son, Jim, took over management of the historic restaurant after his father retired.
Red Fox was originally set to close in March of this year after its lease with The Lafayette ended, but a month-to-month extension was arranged as Lafayette sought a new tenant. Red Fox has announced an official closing date of November 13. Upon shuttering, it will begin its move from its current location at 2223 El Cajon Boulevard into the standalone yellow structure that last housed a salon almost directly across the street at 2200 El Cajon Blvd. The free standing building will receive a complete top-to-bottom renovation to turn it into the new home for The Red Fox Steakhouse & Piano Bar, which ownership ensures will be nearly identical to the current restaurant, only better.
The Lafayette Hotel is currently finalizing a new tenant to install within the space currently occupied by The Red Fox Room. San Diego-based which manages The Lafayette, is hoping to get a more modern restaurant for its North Park property. RAR also manages several Hilton, Marriott International and IHG branded hotels and several independent, historic boutique hotels in San Diego County, including The Keating Hotel in the Gaslamp Quarter and El Cordova Hotel in Coronado.
For more information on The Red Fox Steak House & Piano Bar, visit .
