Openings…
44 RESTAURANT & BAR Mark Jones and Ramone Smith have just opened 44 Restaurant & Bar at 3290 Adeline St. in the space that used to be Addie’s Pizza Pie, and was, for a short while, Next Door Restaurant. Jones and Smith moved from a smaller location in Hercules to the 4,000-square-foot Berkeley space. Kenneth Wynn is the executive chef, and the menu is described as “new American.” Next Door, which was opened by Henry Alvarez, the former head of San Francisco’s Housing Authority, and his wife Dionne Roberts, closed a couple of weeks ago and posted a sign saying it was “redecorating/creating a new concept.” Of 44, Berkeleysider Marcus tells us: “The food has always been good at the old location: give them a shot.” 44 is open from 4 p.m. for dinner Wednesdays through Sunday.
TOWNSHIP Abeni Massey, founder of inner-city urban farming program, City Girl Farms, is getting close to opening new downtown Oakland restaurant Township, at 1542 Broadway, near 16th St. Inside Scoop reports that the 80-seat restaurant will be serving dinner only, but there should be a café that doubles as an urban farming supply store next door, serving take-out soups, sandwiches and Red Bay coffee. Massey told Nosh she’s also set to begin work on a rooftop garden soon that will eventually supply some of the restaurant’s produce, much of which will be sourced from the 220 acres of farm land Massey owns in the Capay Valley. Crystal Wilnos, formerly of Plum Bar, is heading the cocktail program. An opening is slated for May. Meantime, Massey is planning a Township pop-up at the Guerilla Café at 1620 Shattuck Ave. in Berkeley on Saturday March 29, 8-11pm. “We will showcase some of our bar menu items, small plates and desserts,” she said.
ONE INTERNATIONAL CAFE One International Café opened last week 3932 Telegraph Ave according to East Bay Dish. The three partners Alex Asefaw, Von Luong and Patrick Vaughn are Eritrean, Filipino and American, so the spot offers “an organic twist on those cuisines,” Christina Mitchell reports. Her Filipino Tocino ($6.95) was salty, sweet, flaky, gooey and not too filling. Perfect for a Sunday morning, she concluded.
CLOVE & HOOF Expect nose-to-tail eating at the unapologetically carnivorous restaurant called Clove & Hoof that is set to open at 4001 Broadway (at 40th St.) in North Oakland. (A burgeoning nosh destination with the recent opening of Blue Bottle and a True Burger ostensibly on the way.) The project, which also includes a neighborhood butcher shop, is a collaboration between Analiesa Gosnell, who recently worked as a butcher at Berkeley’s Café Rouge, and chef John Blevins, whose résumé includes stints at Gather and Lalime’s, according to the East Bay Express. The restaurant will mainly focus on lunchtime takeout, with a small dining room — about 24 seats — for customers who would like to dine in. Expect “bold, intense flavors”on a menu that might included a sandwich of braised lamb shoulder, curried cauliflower pickles, fried chickpeas, sun-dried tomato pesto, and black-garlic aioli. Clove & Hoof is hoping to be open in the fall.
SODOI COFFEE Looks like a new store offering coffee beans, coffee-making equipment rental, maybe even coffee, may open at 2438 Durant Ave. in the Telegraph-Channing Mall in southside Berkeley. Sodoi Coffee owner Jae Chung has applied to the city to open what he describes as a “coffee tasting house.” “Coffee is a social mainstay which establishes common ground between people,” Chung, described as an entrepreneur, writes on his application which is on the March 25 City Council consent calendar. We’ll keep you posted if Chung gets the go-ahead.
PERDITION SMOKEHOUSE We brought you the news last week that a BBQ spot called Perdition Smokehouse would be taking over the space that was (very) briefly Amadeus at 2050 University Ave. Inside Scoop reports that Chuck Stilphen, who runs The Trappist in Oakland, Ol Beercafé & Bottle Shop in Walnut Creek, and Mikkeller Bar in San Francisco, is behind the venture. With chef Michael O’Brien at the grill, the plan is to provide Texas-style barbeque. Stilphen, known for his craft beers, told Inside Scoop: “Our main goal there is to provide good barbeque. The beer just kind of goes with it.” Stilphen hopes Perdition can be open in June.
PEPPLES DONUTS AT COFFEE CONSCIOUS Coffee Conscious in Berkeley’s Westbrae neighborhood reopened earlier this week, offering vegan-organic donuts from Pepples Donuts, vegan pastries and organic coffee. Espresso is coming soon. With the Westbrae Biergarten nearing completion, this quiet corner of Berkeley could become a new noshing hotspot. Berkeleysider Rachel writes in to note that, with Doughnut Dolly planning to open in the new Gilman District development on 10th and Gilman, “we might have a little bit of a Donut Hole going on in my own neighborhood.” Coffee Conscious is at 1312 Gilman St.
FROM BANZAI TO SANCTUARY BISTRO Owner and sushi chef Hide Nagano is retiring and will be closing Banzai, 1019 Camelia St., in the next month or two, reports Berkeleyside’s own Siciliana Trevino. “My all-time favorite Japanese restaurant in Berkeley. Darby and I have been going there practically since it opened 25 years ago last Monday.” A new restaurant, Sanctuary Bistro, has the public notice for change of ownership in the window.
What else is going on…
LIBRARY POP UP AT OFF THE GRID The Berkeley Public Library is partnering with Off The Grid’s North Berkeley BART food truck market throughout April. The library will set up a mobile hotspot “pop-up” through which anyone attending will be able to use their mobile device to access free e-books, magazines, and streaming music. Connect with our mobile hotspot @Off the Grid. Every Sunday from 5-8 p.m.
Recent stories on Nosh (in case you missed them):
Lemony fennel cupcakes: citrus burst meets fragrant herb
Off the Grid pulls plug on Southside Berkeley market
Nosh on the Town: Centouno in Jack London Square
Kingston 11: Come for the party, stay for the chicken
Neighbors stop a new Starbucks opening in Berkeley
Artisanal vegan specialty shop opens in Berkeley
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