What Happened to 20th Century Cafe After Food Paradise?
Current status
As of September 2026, 20th Century Cafe has closed — confirmed via hoodline.com, April 29, 2021.
Last verified
What the source shows: Hoodline's April 2021 article, quoting owner Michelle Polzine, reports the cafe's closure that June, and the business's site is now unreachable while a Google Places listing marks it permanently closed.
- Season / episode Season 17, Episode 13
- Address 198 Gough St, San Francisco, CA 94102
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What happened after Food Paradise?
20th Century Cafe was a Vienna- and Prague-inspired pastry cafe and bakery in the Hayes Valley neighborhood of San Francisco, best known for its Russian honey cake as well as strudel and blintzes. According to Hoodline (April 29, 2021), owner Michelle Polzine announced the cafe would close in June 2021 after eight years on Gough Street, citing the difficulty of running a small business in San Francisco, conflict with neighbors over homeless encampments outside the cafe's door, the physically demanding pastry work, and a 2020 health scare. The same Hoodline article reported that Polzine had installed a front gate in response to the encampments, which drew accusations from other residents that she was hostile toward unhoused neighbors. Hoodline quoted Polzine saying, 'I've been through a lot...enough is enough.' A Google Places listing checked 2026-09-08 marked the business as permanently closed, and the restaurant's former website (20thcenturycafe.com) did not respond.
Featured on Food Paradise
- Show
- Food Paradise
- Season / episode
- Season 17, Episode 13
- Original air date
- Not confirmed
- Episode title
- Blast From the Past
- What was featured
- Vienna- and Prague-inspired pastries and Russian honey cake
- Role
- Featured restaurant
- Name on the broadcast
- 20th Century Cafe
Frequently asked questions
Is 20th Century Cafe still open in 2026?
As of September 2026, 20th Century Cafe has closed — confirmed via hoodline.com, April 29, 2021.
What happened to 20th Century Cafe after Food Paradise?
20th Century Cafe was a Vienna- and Prague-inspired pastry cafe and bakery in the Hayes Valley neighborhood of San Francisco, best known for its Russian honey cake as well as strudel and blintzes. As of September 2026, 20th Century Cafe has closed — confirmed via hoodline.com, April 29, 2021.
Is 20th Century Cafe permanently closed?
As of September 2026, 20th Century Cafe has closed — confirmed via hoodline.com, April 29, 2021. We publish a closure only with a dated source behind it, and we say plainly when it has not been independently confirmed.
Where is 20th Century Cafe located?
198 Gough St, San Francisco, CA 94102. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.
What season and episode of Food Paradise featured 20th Century Cafe?
Season 17, Episode 13 of Food Paradise. The episode is titled “Blast From the Past”.
Every status on this site carries a confidence label and a date, and names the source it rests on. Read the Editorial & Corrections Policy for what each label means and how quickly we act on corrections. The questions above are generated from this record's own published fields — we never publish a question we cannot answer from the data.
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Visit info
- Address
- 198 Gough St, San Francisco, CA 94102
- Venue type
- cafe
- Official website
- 20thcenturycafe.com
- State hub
- TV restaurants in California
Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.
Sources
- hoodline.com — https://hoodline.com/2021/04/hayes-valley-s-20th-century-cafe-to-close-in-june/
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Record fp-1451 · last verified .