CLAYPOT AND NEIGHBORS The southeast corner of Dwight and San Pablo is seeing a lot of new business activity. Vietnamese restaurant Claypot opened on Monday in the old Bacheeso’s space. A Yelp reviewer was quick off the mark, noting the food was “good and spicy”, although he wanted more noodles in his pho. The very cool Cruz skate shop (already reported on Berkeleyside) is next door, and vintage clothing store Liz Vintage Mix has the third retail space (hat-tip: Michael Fox).
ASIAN DELIGHTS Sheng Kee Bakery opened at 2307 Telegraph last month, to largely rave reviews on Yelp. Typical, from Christine H: “i hate sheng kee. i’m going to get sooooooooo fat now.” Sheng Kee offers a wide range of Asian pastries, boba milk tea, sandwiches, as well as Peet’s coffee. Apparently the long lines of students move pretty quickly. Berkeley is the 12th Bay Area location for the Sheng Kee, which traces its roots back to family matriarch Mrs. Kao opening a bakery in Taipei 40 years ago.
A CLOSURE, AN OPENING Ned’s Berkeley Bookstore at 2480 Bancroft, which specialized in university textbooks, has closed. The space has been filled by the Cal Student Store which moved to the new location because the MLK Student Union is closed for construction through fall 2015. The store sells rafts of Cal-branded merchandise, as well as textbooks and other supplies. Textbook prices remain staggeringly high, but the retail business has been severely disrupted by Internet retailers.
Shop Talk is Berkeleyside’s 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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