Laurel District café SEQUOIA DINER hosted a soft opening this weekend and will be softly open again this Thursday and Friday; it officially opens for business on Saturday May 30th. The project, which we reported on in April, comes from partners Andrew Vennari and Sequoia Broderson, who have worked in East Bay restaurants like Duende and Camino. The café is darling, with cute vintage details and a clean, white, green, and gray palate. The café is open for breakfast and lunch Wednesday through Sunday, and most of the menu items are made in-house, including the breads, jams, sausages, and bacon. Follow along on their Facebook page for further updates. Hours are 8am-2pm Wed-Sun. 3719 MacArthur Blvd. at Loma Vista, Oakland, 510-482-3719.
SALSIPUEDES, the upcoming project from Jay Porter (of Oakland’s Half Orange), Luis Abundis (of Nieves Cinco de Mayo), and Bradford Taylor (of Ordinaire Wine Shop) that we mentioned a year ago, is getting ready to open in North Oakland in June. The team has announced their new executive chef, Marcus Krauss, who previously worked at the Restaurant at Meadowood. Salsipuedes will be serving “rustic California” food in the communal, festive environment of a dinner party or barbecue. Everything will be designed to be enjoyed family style, and the food will be inspired by the flavors of Baja California and Asia, as well as California’s own ingredients. The wine and beer list, from Porter, will consist entirely of West Coast producers. 4201 Market St. at 42nd St., Oakland.
We’ve been tracking this one for a while, and now an announcement on Facebook confirms that the Temescal location of ROSAMUNDE SAUSAGE GRILL is now open. The menu offers the same selection of beer and sausage as the previous locations, and they are celebrating the opening with a party on Thursday June 11th from 6pm to 10pm. They’ll be grilling sausages, offering beer specials, and generally having a grand old time. The restaurant’s hours are Sun-Tue 11am-10pm and Wed-Sat 11am-11pm. 4659 Telegraph Ave. at 47th St., 510-338-3536.
Washington D.C.-based chain SWEETGREEN is opening a location in Berkeley, according to Eater. They’ve already opened in Los Angeles, serving salads, healthy bowls, and more, using seasonal and local ingredients; here’s the LA menu. The Berkeley location will be housed in the iconic Oscar’s Burgers building, and they plan to preserve the architectural charm of the space, if not the style of food. Construction begins in the next month, and they are planning a fall opening. 1890 Shattuck Ave. at Hearst.
The breakfast spread at Sequoia Diner. Photo from Facebook.