Some big news coming out of Jack London Square: COFFEE MANUFACTORY (as in Tartine’s coffee roasting arm) will be locating their 5,000-square-foot headquarters there, and in the fall, BELCAMPO MEAT COMPANY will be opening one of their sustainable butcher shops and restaurants there too. Coffee Manufactory will also be opening a pop-up coffee bar, serving coffee and espresso drinks, plus some pastries and baked goods.
And, as mentioned previously in tablehopper, Burmese GROCERY CAFÉ will be opening mid-June in Jack London Square. 63 Jack London Square (Franklin and Embarcadero West), Oakland.
Some big news out of the kitchen at ~CHEZ PANISSE~: chef Cal Peternell is leaving the restaurant on July 5th, after 22 years there. While his next steps are TBD, Scoop reports he has a third cookbook coming out, plus his new Cooking by Ear podcast. He’s also considering starting a cooking school to address the current cook shortage “that could offer scholarships that could help the applicants live in the Bay Area while learning from industry veterans.” Love that kind of thinking.
A couple of closures/moves to report: Uptown’s PICÁN has closed, but it sounds like they are remodeling their current hefty space to be a more manageable size, with plans to reopen in the fall. Or it may move elsewhere, it’s a bit unclear at the moment. The San Francisco Business Times (which I learned via Nosh) reported Picán’s space and the vacant Ozumo are being rejiggered into four smaller spaces, with BROWN SUGAR KITCHEN and Jack London Square’s BOCANOVA moving into two of the spots (Bocanova will be closing in its current space in the transition). 2251 Broadway at 23rd St., Oakland.
Japanese fried chicken fans will want to head over to the former Stag’s Lunchette (now Ironwolff), where they’ll find pop-up ABURA-YA Tue-Sat 5pm-10pm. You can sit down and enjoy fried chicken and seasonal izakaya sides. 362 17th St. at Webster, Oakland.
Fans of herring should know this weekend is maatjesharing (aka New Dutch Herring or New Catch Holland Herring) at SAUL’S RESTAURANT & DELI. You’ll be able to taste buttery maatjes New Holland Herring with onion and pickle, St. George’s gin or vodka straight, or Trumer Pils. Sat-Sun June 17th-18th, 11am-2pm. 1475 Shattuck Ave. at Vine, Berkeley, 510-848-DELI.
Wake up and smell the Coffee Manufactory. Instagram image via @coffeemanufactory.