Hunter Steakhouse closes

Santa Rosa’s Hunter Steakhouse is the latest restaurant to fall victim to rising food costs and the slumping economy, closing its doors Wednesday after 18 years in business.

The San Diego-based chain that owned the restaurant declared bankruptcy in May, listing $26 million in debts and $16 million in assets.

On Thursday, the contents of the Victorian-style building on Cleveland Avenue will be sold at auction.

The restaurant’s owner, publicly-traded Steakhouse Partners Inc., operated nearly two dozen restaurants in California, Arizona, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina and Utah. Its brands included the Hungry Hunter, Hunter Steakhouse, Tippecanoe, Mountain Jack’s and Carvers.