This is the empty shell of Trattoria Pinocchio, a Sicilian restaurant in North Beach closed due to the pandemic. This restaurant’s closing has an odd story associated with it.

On July 28, the owner posted a series of signs in the restaurant’s window causing controversy throughout the neighborhood. The signs, written in English and Italian, questioned the gender of the former First Lady Michelle Obama and call San Francisco a “cesspool.” The owner told reporters he was going to leave the city because its leaders are failing him. The president of the North Beach Business Association said the signs were “clearly racist and bigoted” and the owner of the restaurant is known to be “intolerant.”