The Salted Pig, an influential gastropub in downtown Riverside, has closed on the Main Street Pedestrian Mall.
Owner Ronaldo Fierro, a former Riverside city councilmember, said by phone Wednesday, Jan. 15, that he wants to move the business to its original location at 3700 12th St.
On Thursday, Jan. 15, he released a statement that described the closure as temporary with “plans for a bold comeback” in fall. It did not mention the relocation.
Yelp’s listing says The Salted Pig is “scheduled to reopen” Jan. 1, 2026.
The closure is due to “challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ever-changing economic landscape.”
Fierro also owns W. Wolfskill, a bar around the corner from the 12th Street property at 4281 Main St. Fierro said it is unaffected by the Salted Pig closure and has its own clientele.
The Salted Pig’s website was not updated to reflect a long-term closure, but its homepage said the restaurant would be closed through Sunday, Jan. 12, for staff vacation.
Screen shots of Instagram posts emailed to this newspaper suggest the closure was sudden. They lamented the closure and expressed sympathy for the restaurant’s unemployed staff.
The Salted Pig was considered one of the Inland Empire’s first gastropubs when it opened on Valentine’s Day in 2011 in space that had formerly been an antiques shop. It has a scratch kitchen with a wood-burning grill, sous vide cooking and a bar with a large selection of beers. The menu included bacon fat popcorn, foie gras in a jar and onion ale soup.
Fierro announced the move to the mall in March 2018. The new restaurant at 3750 Main St. would anchor Imperial Hardware Lofts, a new development built around the 1930s art deco facade of a historical building. Fierro had planned to make the move in September, but a series of construction issues delayed the opening until mid-January 2020. A few weeks later, the coronavirus pandemic hit, forcing the closure of dining rooms throughout the state.
After the 12th Street restaurant closed, the space was briefly occupied by Roots Restaurant & Bar, which closed in 2023.
Fierro was elected to Riverside City Council in 2019 to represent Ward 3. He held the office until April 2024. Fierro, a Democrat, ran for the California State Assembly in 2024, narrowly losing the March 5 primary to Clarissa Cervantes.
