After 51 Years, Steakhouse F.MCLintocks Suddenly Closes Their Doors

February 5, 2025

The note left on the door when the restaurant closed. (Shot by KSBY.)

F.MCLintocks was a staple in Shell Beach, California for the last 51 years and has announced their closing of the restaurant. The attention brought a great sadness to the area, and all the memories made there by the local people.

F. McLintocks had four locations, their locations being Arroyo Grande, San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles, and lastly Shell Beach. And all of them closed, even though the San Luis Obispo restaurant is still pending. Residents say that they think it is going to close just like the others. Victor Albarran, a former employee of the Shell Beach F. McLintocks wanted to start a new F. McLintocks restaurant. Albarran said, “My vision is, you know, working hard and making good food.” Albarran worked at the Shell Beach F. McLintocks restaurant for 29 years. But unfortunately he lost his job at the Shell Beach F. McLintocks because of sudden closure. "I started washing dishes in the early 90s. I worked so many positions over there. The last 10 years, I've been the head chef over there," Albarran said. "It's been my dream my whole life. I want to open my own restaurant, I'm really excited. Really excited," Albarran said.

The main reason for the closing of F. McLintocks was because of rising inflation, and the amount of money they had to pay because of the rising prices of food after the pandemic and just in general. And even though it had a lot of customers, they decided it would be best to close the whole restaurant instead of staying open and making it work.

A chef that was there during the last hours of F.MCLintocks said, “The last serving day was Saturday, and the checks were handed out to employees at F.MCLintocks on Tuesday.” The announcement came online after seven months of being closed at the location in Arroyo Grande, California. The F.MCLintocks in downtown San Luis Obispo, California, didn't last long either because it closed on the same Tuesday that the notice about the other location was released. The exact reason why the F.MCLintocks closed in San Luis Obispo isn’t known, as well as if the closing is permanent.

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