After a little more than one year in business, The Market by The Meat Cellar at San Juan Capistrano’s River Street Marketplace has announced its closure. The final day of service will be on Sunday, March 1.
Owners Anthony and Sara Villegas shared the news via Instagram, citing, in part, a difficult road for the “mom and pop” operations since opening in November 2024. Despite a steady start, the duo noted that revenue never reached the levels needed to sustain the business following a lengthy construction process.
“As pretty much everyone knows, we are literally a mom and pop restaurant — entirely self-funded with no partners or investors or business loans,” the husband-wife owners shared in an announcement on Feb. 21. “So when even December fell wildly short of our projections (and the sales in any of our previous restaurants) we knew it was time to call it. We gave it everything we had, quite literally. We set out to create a unique space where people could connect over food. Within these walls we wrote a love letter to living.”
The closure points to increasing pressure put on independent restaurateurs who struggle to make ends meet in today’s California. The Villegases, who also own and operate The Meat Cellar in Claremont, indicated that soaring operating costs over the last decade have had a ruinous effect, warning that without community support for “small” dining, the industry risks turning entirely corporate — or what they described as “the hospitality equivalent of AI.”
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“This is so much bigger than our market. Small businesses are struggling, and it feels like local restaurants in particular are approaching extinction,” their announcement continued. “We know firsthand that people who choose to open restaurants in their communities do so with genuine hearts and a desire — sometimes a NEED — to serve their neighbors. But the costs and logistics of operating a restaurant have skyrocketed in the 10 years since we opened our first location, and at this point, restaurant ownership is almost out of reach for real people. If we don’t do something about it, the future of hospitality businesses will be completely corporate.”
While the River Street chapter is closing, the owners expressed hope for “a forever home” elsewhere and are scouting potential locations across Orange and Los Angeles counties. Unlike the previous self-funded ventures, the owners noted they are open to partnering with investors for future endeavors.
The Market by the Meat Cellar was noted for, as its name suggests, cuts of mean from Premier Meat Company and its nontraditional format that combined a butchery, cheese shop, culinary boutique and a full-service steakhouse all in one spot. Fans of The Market by The Meat Cellar have one final week to say goodbye. The restaurant will maintain normal operating hours through Sunday.
In a candid request, the owners have asked patrons to consider leaving tips in cash to ensure the staff received the full benefit immediately.