MR. MOPPS’ BOOKSTORE We brought you the news in August that much-loved toy store Mr. Mopps’ would be opening a standalone bookstore. Mr. Mopps’ Children’s Books is opening on Saturday Oct. 19 at 1417A Martin Luther King Jr. Way, near Rose Street, and just four doors down from Mr. Mopps’ toy shop. Co-owners Devin McDonald and Jenny Stevenson wanted to expand their selection of books in the toy shop and seized the opportunity when the lease was made available at 1417A a couple months ago. The grand opening will include a book signing with Parker Jacobs, author and illustrator of The Goon Holler Guidebook and co-creator of TV shows “Yo Gabba Gabba” and the “Aquabats!” Customers can also purchase silk screens of the bookstore’s new poster, which was designed by Jacobs (pictured left). There will also be face and glitter painting for children. The grand opening will run from 9:30am to 5:30pm.
PARIS BAGUETTE A new restaurant is moving into the old Tully’s Coffee location at 2150 Shattuck Ave. in downtown Berkeley. Paris Baguette, run by manager June Park, a recent graduate of UC Berkeley, will be opening sometime in early December in the prime location very close to the downtown Berkeley BART. There is also a Paris Baguette in downtown Palo Alto. The Berkeley café will serve a variety of pastries, breads, and fresh cakes. Stay tuned for further updates.
DIRECT URGENT CARE A local urgent care center opened last week in Berkeley at 3095 Telegraph Ave. Direct Urgent Care provides most of the services found in an ER department, including treating lacerations and infected wounds, putting in IVs, dispensing some medications, diagnosing and setting broken bones in splints, and the use of an on-site lab and x-ray machine. The staff consists of clinicians who all have training in emergency medical care. The owners are Sean Parkin, Seth Kaufman, and Caeser Djavaherian. Parkin and Djavaherian also run a mobile medical service called ER Direct that operates out of a car or van and goes to homes, offices and hotels to treat people on site. Direct Urgent Care is open Monday through Sunday, 8am to 8pm. Appointments are not required.
LEVANT CAFÉ The Levant Organic Café finally opened a couple weeks ago at 2177 Kittredge St. and the corner of Fulton Street, after a delay in receiving a certificate of occupancy (we tipped you about it in June). Levant is the second restaurant Shihadeh Kitami’s opened this year (Arabica Mediterranean Cuisine opened in May), and his third in total. He also owns Razan’s Organic Kitchen. Kitami’s new café serves panini sandwiches (like grilled fresh salmon on herbal bread), yogurts and fruit parfaits, meat and vegetarian dishes, coffees and teas. Kitami says he hopes to eventually open a rooftop garden on the café to grow his own produce and herbs.
GRUB N GO The Grub n Go snack shop on 2109 Allston Way in the Trumpetvine courtyard has closed its doors after deciding not to renew its lease. Its owners also run the North Side Café at 1878 Euclid Ave. and will continue their business there. Shop Talk will keep you posted when we find out who moves in to this downtime location. [Hat tip: Siciliana Trevino]
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.
-By Eli Wolfe
