UC Riverside's Getaway Cafe Closes After Nearly 3 Decades

RIVERSIDE, CA — After 28 years in business, hosting generations of UC Riverside students through finals, game days and nights out, the iconic Getaway Cafe has closed.

Despite an initial campaign on Change.org to save the struggling business, which garnered 2,538 signatures and counting as of Wednesday afternoon, the bar has closed likely for the last time, according to the bar's Instagram.

Owner Shahram Sabbagh shut the doors to his business with a heavy heart at 1 a.m. — three hours later than they normally closed, The Press Enterprise reported.

Sabbagh told the newspaper that the university raised his rent and started charging him for energy utilities as an add-on in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which stripped the business of its customer base for two and a half years.

Coupled with the rising costs of food and labor, Sebagh said: “We just couldn’t survive it.”

In response, John Warren, a spokesperson for the university, emailed this statement to Patch:

"The university has worked with the owner of Getaway Café for several years to remain in the location. Also, during the COVID-19 pandemic, UCR excused all retail tenants from paying rent. Regrettably, the establishment is in serious default with payments, and UCR has been compelled to file an unlawful detainer action. The deadline for the tenant to respond is April 30."

The Change.org petition, which was organized by Allyssa Richards, calls on the university to help the business survive.

"Save Getaway. Save a piece of Riverside. Save a piece of UCR history," Richards wrote.

The Getaway Cafe has long been a meaningful melting pot for students, faculty and staff on the Bannockburn Village mixed-housing part of the campus. It was beloved for its pitchers of beer and famous Blazing Chicken Pizza.

"We had to move far away in 2020, but we still make a trip out there at least once a year just so I can get that pizza," Katria, a signer on the Change.org petition, said.

Elizabeth, who signed the Change.org petition, wrote that the bar was a huge, important part of her PH.D experience from 2017 to 2023.

"Relationships were formed, scientific ideas were discussed, and pizzas were eaten," she wrote.

Mohanned wrote: "30+ years in a community should count for something! From amazing experiences and people from all walks of life this local watering hole brought out collaboration and engagement to young and old."