CLICK HERE if you are having a problem viewing these photos on a mobile device
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Sammy Hagar has shuttered his upscale restaurant, El Paseo, after seven years in Mill Valley, the musician’s hometown.
In a message posted on El Paseo’s website, Hagar explained the sudden closure.
“This wonderful, beautiful, passionate labor of love has become far too time consuming for me,” he wrote. “I’m in the process of finishing a new album with ‘The Circle’ and need to concentrate on my music, my performances and my TV series.”
The former Van Halen frontman went on to explain that he also wants to be able to spend more quality time with his family.
“The day to day problems of operating a restaurant have prevented me from doing a lot of the things that I need to be doing,” he said. “You might say that I have been dealing with a lot of headaches and have simply run out of aspirin.”
But Hagar, who owns several other restaurants, including four outposts of Cabo Wabo Cantina and five locations of Sammy’s Beach Bar and Grill, promised that this is not the end for El Paseo. He plans to revisit the restaurant in October and hopes to build a team and start over.
El Paseo’s history in Mill Valley dates back to 1948. It was a French restaurant until Hagar and partner and celebrity chef Tyler Florence took over in 2011 and transformed it into a steakhouse. When that business partnership ended, Hagar changed the menu to Spanish cuisine with a Northern California focus under the leadership of executive chef Todd Shoberg.