Having staved off City complaints about the home paint and landscaping, the owners of "the Flintstone House" are in a new fight.
Florence Fang, the owner of Hillsborough, California's Flinstone House, announced a partnership with Stoneage Omakase to throw some themed dinner parties in the famed location. Upon hearing of the unpermitted and unlicensed event, the City of Hillsboroug quickly declared it an illegal restaurant in a residential district and shut it down.
"You and the restaurateurs may not have been aware that this use would be illegal," read the letter obtained by SFGATE. "Since you are now on notice about this restriction, please inform the operators that they may not open for business."
Stoneage Omakase's co-founder is Sean Fang, Fang's grandson, according to the San Francisco Chronicle (the Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but have separate newsrooms). Fang and co-founder Tim Cheung, the TikTok food influencer behind Bay Area Foodies, told SFGATE that Stoneage Omakase is actually not a restaurant, as purported in the letter.
"We would like to clarify a misconception: we are a catering company specializing in 'homakase' — bringing Michelin-starred chefs to create bespoke omakase experiences in private homes — not a restaurant," they wrote in an email to SFGATE. "Unfortunately, we have been incorrectly classified as a restaurant, which has led to this misunderstanding."
A preview of the 15-course omakase experience hosted at the Flintstone House's cave-like private dining room started circulating on social media just recently, promising a menu featuring Wagyu beef and uni from Michelin-starred chef Masa Sasaki, who previously worked at now-closed San Francisco restaurants Maruya and Sasaki, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Dinners were slated to launch July 12.
SF Gate
Seems very typical of a Northern California "small town." Once you are on their radar, look out. You'll be hassled forever.
Previously:
• New owner of California's 'Flintstones' house sued by city after adding dinosaurs
• Owner of Flintstones house in California can keep character statues on her front lawn
