For more than 60 years, people have lined up for food at the St. Anthony’s Dining Room in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood. But the last meals at the facility on Jones Street were dished out on Wednesday.

But it’s not all bad news as St. Anthony Foundation is building a brand new, bigger dining space that is expected to be ready to serve the poor and hungry in two years at a cost of $23 million.

The Foundation has served over 38 million meals since opening its doors in 1950. But St. Anthony Foundation Executive Director Shari Roeseler said the old dining room was just too small to serve the nearly 3,000 people a day and the equipment needed to be upgraded.

There will be a temporary space for people looking to get meals at the St. Anthony Foundation’s headquarters at 150 Golden Gate Avenue.

Along with the new dining room, the upgraded building will also include 91 affordable apartments for seniors above the new facility.

Photo Credit: St. Anthony Foundation

• Tag: closure, Dining Room, Hungry, New Facility, Poor, St. Anthony Foundation