Openings…
PIEOLOGY Newly opened this week at 2468 Telegraph Ave. in Berkeley (between Haste and Dwight Way) is pizza spot Pieology which specializes in custom-made pies. The menu also offers a number of regulars — including a pizza topped with mozzarella, gorgonzola, chicken, red onion, fresh cilantro, BQ sauce, and olive oil — and there are a couple of salads for sale too. Pieology is part of a chain that has numerous restaurants around the state. The restaurant space has been designed with a palette of mint green and white and features exposed ceiling beams. Brendan Duggan, general manager of the Berkeley restaurant, said he was hoping the new spot would help neighborhood redevelopment. Pieology is next door to the long-vacant retail space that was Cody’s bookstore. [Hat-tip: Ted Friedman]
PACIFIC COOKIE COMPANY Also helping to rejuvenate Telegraph Ave., and close to Pieology, is Pacific Cookie Company which opened on Wednesday this week. (We first told you about them in July.) The new store is at 2309 Telegraph Ave., within striking distance of Cal, and has opening hours that are in tune with student life. Today, for instance, the new store will stay open until midnight. The cookie company has been going for over 23 years and was founded by partners Larry and Shelly Pearson in 1980 on the Pacific Garden Mall in Santa Cruz. Follow Pacific Cookie Company on Facebook for updates on what it’s baking and its opening hours.
SALSIPUEDES What promises to be an exciting new restaurant is coming to the Longfellow neighborhood in North Oakland. Salsipuedes is the brainchild of Jay Porter, who has run successful restaurants in Southern California and made waves in the food world by advocating for tipless restaurants. The new spot, which Porter will run with his wife Katie Mayfield, will be at Market and 42nd streets, and is expected to open later this year. Read Berkeleyside Nosh’s interview with Porter in which he outlines his vision.
SOURCE MINI Vegans and those who love vegan food were thrilled to read our scoop in Shop Talk this week that San Francisco restaurant Source is to open up a second location in the Gourmet Ghetto’s Epicurious Garden at 1511 Shattuck Ave. in Berkeley. Source Mini is taking over the spot formerly occupied by Flavor Mediterranean Food, which closed as it wants to open a sit-down restaurant elsewhere. Source owner Mitchell Fox told us the Berkeley spot will be a smaller, take-out version of the restaurant. “It’s like a Subway or McDonald’s-esque vegan fast food menu,” he said. That means: vegan burgers and sandwiches, gluten-free tacos and quesadillas, dosadillas (as pictured), and more. Fox hopes to open Source Mini within two weeks.
SEASONS OF JAPAN Japanese and sushi restaurant Seasons of Japan opened at 2122 Shattuck Ave. on Jan. 6 in the space formerly occupied by Mexican taqueria Casa Bernal, very close to BART (astipped by us in June). The restaurant, part of a chain, offers menu items include bowls, rolls, wraps and bento boxes. Seasons of Japan is open 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and serves lunch, dinner and snacks in between.
NATURE’S EXPRESS Many readers were thrilled to hear that Nature’s Express, at 1823 Solano Ave., which said it would close Dec. 31, 2013, after four years on the Berkeley street, has found a way to stay open. The healthy/vegan fast-food business, owned by Carl Myers, reported on its Facebook page that it is staying open due in part to “heartfelt support” from customers, and to “the huge public response” to the news that it would be shuttered. Visit Nature’s Express online for opening hours and menus.
Recent stories published on Berkeleyside Nosh (in case you missed them):
Salsipuedes aims for heartfelt cooking in North Oakland
Nosh on the town: Bourbon & Beef
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver visits Alice Waters at Edible Schoolyard
Bites is Nosh’s round-up of restaurant openings, happenings and closings in the East Bay. Got a tip or scoop? Send it our way to nosh@berkeleyside.com. Catch up with previous Bites columns.
