James Syhabout is closing Hawker Fare in Oakland (2300 Webster St.) on Feb. 18.

The reason is relatively straightforward. Syhabout said there are uncertainties questions surrounding his month-to-month lease. And a group of investors just bought his building, and a few others on block, with a rumored intent of building living spaces.

So instead of trying to hold onto the spot, and eventually ending up paying more in rent each month, he said he’s letting it go.

It’s a numbers game and as his mother advised him, it’d be silly to keep it open and end up “working for free” once the costs were laid out.

While the numbers reasoning is simple, the feelings surrounding the decision are more complicated.

I asked Syhabout how he felt shutting down the Webster Street space. He said it was hard to explain. He’d only told his staff this afternoon.

“Sad, happy, I don’t know. It hasn’t settled in yet,” he said.

It makes sense. Syhabout is an Oakland guy. He can point out new buildings all around Uptown that were either empty lots or stores that most have long forgotten.

Hawker Fare in Oakland still has the feel of an authentic mom-and-pop spot, the types of places he reminisces about.

It was once a restaurant run by his mother, which she opened in the late 90s. In 2011, Syhabout stepped in and opened Hawker Fare.

“I can’t be emotionally too attached. When you get emotionally too attached to something anything, you’re bound to make dumb business decisions,” he said.

“It’s just a good time. We had a good run.”

Syhabout said there were a lot good things that came out of the space over the last 15 years. He has a cookbook coming out soon. Much of it stemmed from the restaurant.

“I got to kick it with Anthony Bourdain in Laos. That was pretty dope. It all came from this restaurant,” he said.

He also got a chance to connect with food that, for a while, he never truly thought he’d want to cook again.

“I kind of ran away from it,” he said.

The restaurant itself was never in Syhabout’s business plan. When it crystallized, he had only recently opened Commis, his Michelin-starred project, also in Oakland (3859 Piedmont Ave.). A few years later, he opened another branch of Hawker Fare in San Francisco (680 Valencia St.). Both Commis and Hawker Fare SF will remain open.

Now, he said he’s going to have fun with the Oakland Hawker Fare space before he lets it go. He plans to experiment with the menu, add some new dishes.

Then, he’s just going to see what happens next.

“I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished,” he said. “I’ll be here the whole last week. We’re just going to blow it out.”

Hawker Fare: 2300 Webster St., near 23rd St; (510) 832-8896 or hawkerfare.com