Some heartbreaking losses this month, as with every month, but for Nosh, this time it’s personal. Please send any food and drink closing tips to nosh@berkeleyside.org. Or maybe don’t, as many of these closures are hitting us where it hurts.
Berkeley
MISE EN PLACE KITCHEN For its time and place, Mise en Place Kitchen did everything right. Opened by Brazilian-born chef-owner Theully Calderwood in August 2020, at a tricky corner in the thick of the pandemic, Mise en Place’s team catered to and celebrated its neighborhood customers. The cafe had a pretty little parklet before parklets were even really a thing, it had kind and fast service, and the menu varied often to accommodate pandemic needs. Calderwood packed some of the most flavor, comfort, care and value into to-go meals available during the darker months, including a fancy take-out dinner in December that kind of saved this writer’s Christmas. True to classy form, Mise en Place’s Instagram farewell was filled with images of favorite customers and their stories. It sure will be mised. Mise en Place Kitchen was at 2020 Kittredge St. in Berkeley.
VOLUPTAS Andrew Lottmann’s small-batch bakery “experiment” quietly closed during the pandemic, leaving fans of his Japanese milk bread, cookies, and batards wanting more. The business opened just as quietly in late 2019, and quickly gained a following for its thoughtful bakes, but fans of carbs will soon find a new destination there, as the Daily Cal reports that farmers market pretzel fave Squabisch has moved in, with an opening date in early 2022. Voluptas was at 1585 Solano Ave. in Berkeley. — Eve Batey
Oakland
BELCAMPO JACK LONDON Presented without comment: The flagship Belcampo in Jack London Square has closed, along with all Belcampo retail outlets and restaurants, in an abrupt shuttering following a SoCal meat mislabeling scandal. Belcampo’s Oakland flagship was at 55 Webster St. in Oakland.
DOSA BY DOSA Tipsters have been telling Nosh that Dosa by Dosa, the fast casual restaurant from the Bay Area’s once-flourishing mini-chain of upscale Indian restaurants, would not reopen when the pandemic waned, but representatives of the company denied those claims. That is, until they didn’t — once a change-of-ownership sign appeared on the window saying that Split, the sandwich spin-off of salad chain Mixt, was moving in, Dosa co-owner Anjan Mitra confirmed to Nosh that “yes, it is closed.” This was the last brick-and-mortar location for Dosa, which closed its San Francisco spots in recent years and filed for bankruptcy in September 2020. Dosa by Dosa was at 2301 Broadway in Oakland. — Eve Batey
JUNE’S PIZZA Nosh doesn’t know what it will continue to crave most — June’s naturally leavened pizza dough, the fresh, seasonal topping combinations, or the finishing snowfall of shaved Grana Padano cheese. Craig Murli’s unassuming presence at the helm of the restaurant will certainly be missed, after (as Nosh’s Flora Tsapovsky reported last month) county officials shut June’s down when they realized it was completely without permits to operate. Here’s hoping for a permitted brick-and-mortar and some angel investors to help the pizza gentleman-pirate go legit. June’s Pizza was at 2311 Magnolia St. in West Oakland.
Beyond
HIP HOP JUICE BOX All the “Beyond” closures this month are out of Emeryville, casting a little bit of a pall over that vibrant square mile. Opened in 2019, Hip Hop Juice Box was just too good for this world. Owner Eric Turner broke the news on Instagram, and The E’ville Eye first spread word of its sad closure. Hip Hop Juice Box was at 3960 Adeline St. in Emeryville.
KARA’S CUPCAKES EMERYVILLE Closed in the pandemic, then miraculously reopened, the Kara’s Cupcakes Bay Street location is once again fully papered over and has been removed from the local cupcake chain’s website. Kara’s Cupcakes was at 5615 Bay St. in Emeryville.
MOOMIE’S CAFE Moomie’s lasted an impressive four years at the Emeryville crossroads of Hollis and Stanford, serving savory, Peruvian empanadas, robust sandwiches and coffee drinks to neighborhood regulars and office workers. Moomie’s Cafe was at 1366 Powell St. in Emeryville.
WAZWAN INDIAN CUISINE Opened in the original Public Market in Emeryville in 1987, Wazwan was one of the only O.G. market stalls that remained after the food court’s renovation and refresh in 2017. (For more than a decade, it was this writer’s local go-to for fast, warming, budget-friendly Indian food.) According to The E’ville Eye, a related new Indian eatery called Konarq is to take over the kiosk, and will keep on some of Wazwan’s long-familiar staff. Though Konarq is less fun to say than Wazwan, we are hopeful for the product and service. Wazwan was at 5959 Shellmound St. inside the Public Market Emeryville.
Temporarily closed
MAGNOLIA MINI MART WEST OAKLAND Attention Food Lovers: Please order your Magnolia Mini Mart goodies for pickup at either their East Oakland location at 1014 Fruitvale Ave., or shop their seasonal holiday pop-up gift shop at 494 9th St. in Old Oakland for now. The flagship West Oakland location on the O2 property near Soba Ichi is under construction. It is expected to reopen in January 2022. Thank you. Magnolia Mini Mart West Oakland is at 2311 Magnolia St.
SOLANO CELLARS WINE BAR Venerable Solano Cellars at the Albany end of Solano Avenue is open for retail and online sales, but its 43-year-old wine bar has been closed since March of 2020. “We do plan to reopen the bar early next year,” a spokesperson told Nosh. We shall stay tuned. Solano Cellars Wine Bar is at 1580 Solano Ave. in Albany.
STATES COFFEE X BREAD MLK We didn’t hear the reason before press time, but States Coffee’s location on Martin Luther King, Jr. Way is temporarily closed. Luckily, there is another one right up the street on 40th Avenue. (And a brand new States in Berkeley.) States Coffee X Bread MLK is at 4008 Martin Luther King Jr. Wy. in Oakland.
