Bay Area sandwich shop shuts after online backlash over $22 grilled cheese

An artisanal sandwich shop in California’s Bay Area has shut down both of its locations after becoming the target of intense online backlash over its high menu prices — including a $22 grilled cheese that went viral.Brutal trolling over a $22 grilled cheese led to the closure of a Bay Area cafe (Representational image)Kendra Kolling, owner of the upscale cafe The Farmer’s Wife, confirmed that she closed her final brick-and-mortar outlet in Point Reyes Station, north of San Francisco, in early January. Her Sebastopol location at The Barlow Market had already closed late last year.The closure of San Francisco sandwich shopKolling said the closures were driven a slowing economy and a viral Reddit thread in early 2025 that mocked the cost of her sandwiches, triggering what she described as sustained online harassment.“They were calling me the most vile things, that it was beyond sandwiches,” Kolling told SFGATE. “It was so hurtful and personal.”Reddit post brings down ratingsThe Reddit post quickly spilled over onto other platforms, prompting users to review-bomb the cafe on Yelp and Google, dragging down its ratings and, Kolling believes, discouraging customers from visiting.“When everyone was feeling the economic pains, someone’s got to be the target,” she said. “Someone has to be the poster child for everything costing so much.”Owner defends high pricesAt The Farmer’s Wife, a grilled cheese sandwich cost $22 ( ₹2,000 approximately). The most expensive item on the menu was a steak and eggs sandwich that cost $34 ( ₹3,100).Kolling defended her pricing, saying it reflected the cost of premium, locally sourced ingredients used in her food, including “house-made toasted fennel pork sausage” and hyper-local products such as Point Reyes Farmstead’s Toma cheese and Wild West Ferments sauerkraut. Each sandwich also came with a large side salad made from seasonal produce — a feature she said was non-negotiable.While she acknowledged that she could have reduced portion sizes or switched to cheaper ingredients to lower prices, Kolling said that compromise was never an option. “That doesn’t get me out of bed in the morning,” she said.“Brutally attacked”Beyond the online criticism, Kolling said the financial strain had become increasingly difficult to manage, particularly as both locations depended heavily on seasonal tourism.“I didn’t make the money that I was used to making in the summertime, and it would have been a lot tougher,” she said.She added that a series of personal setbacks ultimately influenced her decision to step away. “My brand and my identity became brutally attacked, and it crushed my spirit,” Kolling said.