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Opa! Greek restaurant's Santa Clara licence drops from county active list

Opa! Greek restaurant's Santa Clara licence drops from county active list

Money Moves Santa Clara, CA local

A year after the chain's Chapter 7 filing, the Santa Clara Square location has disappeared from county food-licence records

Today: Licence missing from two consecutive county readings

Overview

Updated 55 minutes ago

Opa! Authentic Greek Cuisine's Santa Clara Square location has dropped off Santa Clara County's active food establishment licence list. The county data portal showed the permit through September 28; two readings since find it missing.

The lapse follows parent company OPA Signature Foods' Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing in September 2025, when the company said it would liquidate its assets. The Santa Clara restaurant was already listed as closed on Yelp and Google back then, yet its county licence stayed active for another year. The county publishes no licence dates, so why it lingered is unclear — this is an indication of closure, not confirmation.

Why it matters

The county licence list is the official record of what's approved to serve food; Opa!'s disappearance signals the local chain is formally gone.

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Key Indicators

2
Consecutive county readings missing the licence
The Santa Clara permit was present through September 28; two readings since show it absent.
$100K–$500K
Assets and liabilities in bankruptcy filing
OPA Signature Foods listed between $100,000 and $500,000 in assets and the same range in liabilities.
7
Peak number of Opa! locations
The Santa Clara Square restaurant was the chain's seventh location, per the Silicon Valley Voice.

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People Involved

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Timeline

January 2008 September 2026

6 events Latest: Today
Tap a bar to jump to that date
  1. Licence missing from two consecutive county readings

    Today Record

    The county list no longer shows Opa! at 2722 Augustine Dr Ste 130; two readings confirm the absence.

  2. Santa Clara licence last seen on county list

    Record

    The licence appears on the county active list for a final recorded reading.

  3. Santa Clara licence present on county list

    Record

    County data portal shows the active food establishment licence for 2722 Augustine Dr Ste 130.

  4. Santa Clara location reported closed

    Report

    USA Today reports the Santa Clara Square location listed as closed on Yelp and Google.

  5. First San Jose location opens

    Opening

    Opa! opens its first San Jose restaurant, launching the chain; exact date not stated.

Scenarios

1

Chapter 7 case closes; liquidation complete

Likely Resolves by Q1 2027

Discussed by: The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California, which oversees the case

The bankruptcy trustee sells Opa!'s remaining assets, pays approved claims, and asks the court to close the case. Small-company Chapter 7 filings typically close within a year to 18 months, so a final order could come in early 2027.

2

New operator takes over the Santa Clara Square space

Possible Resolves by Q1 2027

Discussed by: Santa Clara County data portal, the official record of active food licences

A restaurant group buys or leases the former Opa! space and applies for a new food-licence permit. The county list would then show a fresh licence at 2722 Augustine Dr Ste 130 under a new business name, ending the lapse and signalling a change of operator, not a permanent vacancy.

3

More former Opa! locations vanish from county records

Likely Resolves by Q1 2027

Discussed by: Santa Clara County data portal records of Opa!'s former addresses

As liquidation proceeds, other Opa! addresses in Santa Clara County — Campbell, Morgan Hill, San Jose — could also drop off the active list. Each lapse is verifiable on the same county data portal that now omits the Santa Clara licence.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

May 2020

Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes close permanently (2020)

Garden Fresh Restaurant Corp, which ran Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in May 2020 as the pandemic shut dining rooms. The company permanently closed all 97 locations rather than reorganize.

Then

Hundreds of employees lost jobs; locations across California and Arizona were auctioned off.

Now

The chain never returned; the case showed how a popular regional brand can vanish entirely in liquidation.

Why this matters now

Like Opa!, Garden Fresh filed Chapter 7 — liquidation, not reorganization — so the whole footprint disappeared rather than emerging smaller. Both leave local diners without a place that once felt permanent.

May 2024

Red Lobster files Chapter 11 (2024)

Red Lobster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2024 after years of losses and closed about 100 restaurants nationwide. Unlike Opa!'s Chapter 7, the company pursued reorganization rather than full liquidation.

Then

Dozens of locations closed and leases were rejected; the chain continued operating its core stores through bankruptcy.

Now

Red Lobster emerged from protection in late 2024 under new ownership, showing one path a troubled chain can take.

Why this matters now

Opa! chose the steeper path — Chapter 7 — so unlike Red Lobster there's no reorganized company to continue. The difference explains why Opa! locations are closing rather than being cut back.

Sources

(4)

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