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Historic San Francisco mochi shop Benkyodo has closed after a 115-year-run.

Benkyodo was one of the few places left in Northern California making fresh, handmade mochi.

As part of our ongoing reporting on the closures of local restaurants, here is a list of Bay Area establishments that closed in March 2022. Notable shutterings include historic San Francisco mochi shop Benkyodo, Oakland fixture Miss Ollie’s and longtime Berkeley bakery Vital Vittles. See February 2022’s list of closings here.

Beloved Bay Area mochi destination Benkyodo closed for good on March 31 after a 115-year-run. San Francisco’s Japantown, where the shop was located, held a farewell celebration for the institution on Thursday. The Okamura family, which has owned the shop for generations, retired, prompting the closure of the establishment. Fans had been lining up around the block for weeks prior to Benkyodo’s closure for its revered handmade mochi. This now leaves San Jose’s Shuei-Do Manju Shop and Sacramento’s Osaka-Ya as the only full-scale handmade mochi destinations in Northern California.

Miss Ollie’s has officially closed. The Oakland spot was known for fried chicken.

Oakland fixture Miss Ollie’s officially closed after a decade in business, KQED first reported. Chef and owner Sarah Kirnon had previously announced her intention to close, citing pandemic-related losses. Miss Ollie’s, including its popular fried chicken, will likely live on from a takeout window somewhere in Oakland, Kirnon told KQED. Kirnon still plans to focus on the new nonprofit project she announced in 2020.

Following a 46-year-run, Berkeley favorite Vital Vittles has permanently closed. Berkeleyside first reported on the closure of the bakery, which was known for its whole wheat bread. Kass and Joe Schwin started Vital Vittles as a milling business that sold whole wheat flour to local bakeries. The Schwins ultimately sold the bakery to the Tran family; Huong Tran started working there in the 1980s and was responsible for creating many of its vegan treats. The Trans are hoping to sell the space to the Altamirano Restaurant group, according to Berkeleyside.

San Francisco Japanese restaurant Izakaya Kou has closed. The Fillmore Street restaurant is being replaced by Ban Sang, a modern Korean restaurant that’s led by two chefs with Michelin cred and has the backing of Korean stalwart Daeho. It appears that Izakaya Kou served its last meals in January.

Gay4U, the West Oakland restaurant that served as a safe haven for the Bay Area’s queer and trans communities of color, has closed. The restaurant served its last meal on March 27, according to KQED, which first reported on the closure. Gay4U was known for its vegan dishes like its quesabirria and kimchi chilaquiles. While its permanent space has closed, the restaurant will pop up throughout the country until at least September.

Hotbird has closed its San Francisco outpost for a brick-and-mortar location in Oakland.

Nashville-style hot chicken sandwich pop-up Hotbird has closed its S.F. outpost in favor of a brick-and-mortar establishment in Oakland. The restaurant made the announcement on Instagram, which was first covered by Eater SF.

Restaurant chain Marie Callender’s closed its San Jose outpost after 48 years. The East Bay Times first reported on the closure, noting that a sign posted out front informed customers of the end. The chain is best known for its pies but also serves classic American fare like a meatloaf and a New York strip steak. Only one Marie Callender’s outpost now remains in the Bay Area, in Sunnyvale.

Hayes Valley Mayan-Yucatecan pop-up Akna has closed. The restaurant made the announcement on Instagram and served its last meal on March 13. Employees at Akna will continue to work out of other Absinthe Group establishments like the nearby Absinthe Brasserie and Bar and Arlequin Wine Merchant, according to the post.

Petaluma’s April Pantry, known for its sandwiches and other comfort fare, closed just two years after it opened. The restaurant debuted less than a month before the Bay Area’s pandemic-related shelter-in-place orders took effect and it was never quite able to gain momentum. The Petaluma Argus-Courier first reported on the closure.

Decade-old Berkeley sports bar Pappy’s shuttered abruptly, according to SFGATE, which first reported on the closure. (SFGATE and The San Francisco Chronicle are both owned by Hearst but operate independently.) A sign posted out front informed customers of the end. The bar was previously in the news over alleged discriminatory hiring practices and selling alcohol to minors.

Italian and Mediterranean restaurant Ardiana has closed, Tablehopper first reported. Owner Sharon Ardiana told Tablehopper that she wanted to focus on her other San Francisco restaurants Gialina and Ragazza and that running all three at once had become untenable.

Tanay Warerkar is the San Francisco Chronicle’s assistant food & wine editor. Email: tanay.warerkar@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @TanayWarerkar

Tanay Warerkar joined the San Francisco Chronicle as the assistant food and wine editor in 2021. Previously, Tanay covered the New York restaurant world at Eater and prior to that did stints at Curbed, the New York Daily News, and DNAinfo, covering topics including housing and real estate, crime and politics. In his spare time, Tanay is probably plotting his next neighborhood restaurant crawl or planning what to prepare for dinner from his ever-expanding cookbook collection.