DOWNWARD DOG Innerstellar Pilates & Yoga opened in mid-November across the street from Berkeley Bowl. It includes two movement studios, a wellness center and a retail boutique for yoga and pilates props and lifestyle clothing. Its website stresses that Innerstellar offers “only the most potent styles” of pilates and yoga.
DIM SUM DELIGHT Shen Hua, an Elmwood fixture for 13 years, has a new repertoire on its menu: dim sum. Owner Edward Chu has been wanting to add the small plates for years, but finally introduced the service this summer. Lunch customers have a choice of 15 to 20 dim sum items but the dinner selection is more limited. Shen Hua serves standards such as ha gow and sui mai, but creates unique dishes every few weeks. The current specialty is vegetable dumplings.
MMM, SAUSAGES Tivoli Caffè opened recently at 2554 Bancroft Way, just across from Barrow Lane. It does the usual range of coffees, teas, pastries, sandwiches and panini. The city has just approved its permit for an oven hood, so Tivoli will shortly be offering full, cooked breakfast (Aidells sausages promised) and pizza. The plan is to open from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m., although the friendly woman serving coffee at noon assured Berkeleyside that she wouldn’t be there at 2 a.m.
THANK YOU AND GOODBYE Café Gratitude on Shattuck is likely to close in the next few months after its owners, Matthew and Terces Engelhart, announced they are dissolving the company and shutting down or selling all six of their Northern California locations. As well as Berkeley, this includes the Mission in San Francisco, Oakland, San Rafael, Healdsburg, Cupertino, and Santa Cruz. The reason, given by the owners in a letter posted on the company’s website, is a “series of aggressive lawsuits” surrounding wage and hour disputes which, they say, cost them too much money.
SCOOT ALONG One of the world’s two Green Choice Moto stores — Berkeley and Toronto — has been open since earlier this year on Bancroft Way. The bright, white space is filled with scooters and electric bicycles. Products are sourced from manufacturers China Xingyue and Tianneng. Green Choice promotes that scooters and electric bikes require no license, no insurance, no gas and no registration.
Shop Talk is our regular column in which we post updates on Berkeley businesses — openings, closings, new directions, relaunches, relocations. If you’re a Berkeley business with news, or a Berkeleysider who has spotted a change in your neighborhood or on your travels, shoot us an email with the details. Read previous Shop Talk columns here.
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