The Townhouse Restaurant at 5862 Doyle Street in Emeryville closed June 22 after 36 years in a building that dates to 1926 — and the operator is still looking for a buyer who might reopen it.

The Townhouse Restaurant served its last dinner on June 22, ending a 36-year run at 5862 Doyle Street in Emeryville inside a building that opened as a Prohibition-era speakeasy in 1926.

The room — known for pasta, steak, and the kind of sustained neighborhood loyalty that makes three and a half decades possible — closed with its centennial year still unfinished. President Dan Seng confirmed the closure in a message to customers and acknowledged the timing bluntly: the building turns 100 in 2026, and what it got was a closing rather than a party.

"As we mark the 100th anniversary of this historic 1926 building in 2026, we recognize that this closure may simply reflect the realities of changing times in the restaurant industry and our community," Seng wrote. "The Townhouse has endured for a full century, and we are proud of the role it has played in Emeryville's history."

The situation isn't settled. Seng said he is actively searching for a private lender to purchase the property, keeping open the possibility of a Townhouse revival. What ultimately closed the door — lease terms, rent, the math of operating a full-service room in a 100-year-old building — isn't spelled out in the public record.

The closure was first reported by the E'ville Eye and confirmed Friday by Berkeleyside's Nosh desk as part of a wider East Bay roundup that also included the June 20 closure of Kuboba Spot, the Filipino-inspired empanada and boba shop at 2618 Telegraph Ave. in Berkeley; the Saga Kitchen food hall in Alameda; and the Broadway location of True Burger in Oakland, which went dark after 11 years. Line 51, the Oakland brewery near Jack London Square that has operated since 2013, announced July 19 — the day of the World Cup final — as its last day of service.