However, success may be the downfall for owner Ike Shehadeh.
Residents living above the shop have been complaining and then the San Francisco Planning Department ordered Ike's Place evicted for not having the right permit.
"The problem is the neighbors. We've been open for three years. If there was a real problem with the permit, we would have heard a lot sooner than yesterday or last week or whenever it was," Shehadeh said.
Ike employs a staff of 47 to keep up with orders. Two of them work the line outside to keep customers orderly and quiet. Neighbors have marked their entryways, "keep clear."
"You've got a local place that got national exposure on a cable network, and you want to close it because one or two neighbors might be unhappy?" patron James Manley said.
ABC7 tried to contact the neighbors, but no one responded to knocks or doorbells. We left messages for the residents' attorney, the landlord's attorney and the city's code enforcement planner and no one responded.
The president of the Merchants of Upper Market and Castro, Steve Adams, supports Ike.
"Ike's part of the fabric of the neighborhood, and he's an important asset. He's a great individual. He gives back to his community, and the majority of people who live in the neighborhood like Ike's," he said.
Even though there are efforts to keep Ike's in the neighborhood, Ike says it's likely he will close and focus instead on an Ike's Place he already has in Redwood Shores and one that will open soon at Stanford.
