San Jose restaurant to close after breakins, rising costs
Jan 27, 2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) – A San Jose restaurant is closing for good because of expensive operating costs and the fact that they were broken into four times just last year alone. Three of those break-ins happened in the same month.
The Funny Farm says the non-stop break-ins over the last year set them back tens of thousands of dollars, but they also blame what they say is the high cost of operating a restaurant in Silicon Valley.
Since the break-ins at Funny Farm, local leaders have tried to protect the business with increased police presence. That helped to prevent crimes, but not other challenges.
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Co-owner Monica Levi said the restaurant’s PG&E bill went from $1,800 a month to more than $6,000 over just three years.
The restaurant has also been dealing with increasing costs of food, including eggs. Levi says deciding to close was not easy.
“One of my staff said this is not a business, this is our home and this is where we feel safe,” Levi said.
San Jose Councilmember Domingo Candelas sent KRON4 a statement saying in part:
“It is unfortunate that the cost of doing business in this city is so high. Especially for our local, family-owned restaurants which form the social fabric of our communities.”
As a restaurant that is dressed like a 24/7 party, The Funny Farm plans to say goodbye in style, with hours going late all week and celebrating the good times with its longtime fanbase.
“It’s a loss, but we all have to move forward, and it's like when you lose someone, you celebrate their life and that’s what we're doing here,” said co-owner Ron Levi.
Funny Farm will be open all week and even later on Sunday for its last day.
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