Tokyo Central Specialty Market
Tokyo Central Sets Opening Date in Emeryville
Tokyo Central Specialty Market has announced an opening date of January 31 for its new location in Emeryville’s Bay Street mall, according to a Bay Street Instagram post. The sprawling 40,000-square-foot store will offer the popular Japanese grocery store chain’s standard selection of Japanese groceries, fresh-made sushi and bento boxes, imported snacks, sake, ramen, beauty products, and more. The Emeryville location will also be home to an upscale, full-service restaurant with details still to come on that concept. Grand opening celebrations “will last the whole weekend.” Tokyo Central is part of a larger trend of big Asian grocery stores opening across the Bay Area and will be the first of several to launch in the East Bay. Korean grocers Mega Mart and H Mart are both eyeing new stores in Dublin, with the latter rumored to be making good progress on its location at 7884 Dublin Boulevard (H Mart signage is apparently already up). And as first reported in Dish, local Japanese supermarket Osaka Marketplace is bringing a new 42,000-square-foot store (with a food court) to the former OSH hardware space in downtown Pleasant Hill. That’s now expected to debut next summer, according to a press release, which is earlier than what the market had originally estimated a month ago.
Prime Steakhouse and Martini Garden
Return of Diamond Dave Part of Expanded Menu at Prime Steakhouse
Prime Rib at the Garden is beefing up its menu. Local restaurateurs Amanda Crammer and Jeff Dudum have rebranded the downtown Walnut Creek restaurant, located in the Garden event space off North California Boulevard, to Prime Steakhouse and Martini Garden. As the name suggests, it’s now serving a wider array of cuts, including filet mignon, New York strip, rib eye, and tomahawk steaks, in addition to a pork chop and several seafood and pasta mains. Prime is also now open for lunch through the holidays until December 31. According to Dudum, it was a change that was driven by customer demand—although the restaurant’s 28-day aged prime rib is “still our bread and butter.” There are a couple of other additions that will be welcome news to old hands of the central Contra Costa County dining and nightlife scene. Prime recently hired as general manager Sebastian Campos, a beloved front-of-house GM for years at the now-shuttered Scott’s seafood in downtown Walnut Creek. And legendary local singer and performer Diamond Dave is back in the spotlight. Singer Dave Hosley, who packed them in for years at the former Petar’s in Lafayette with his eclectic range of covers, has been popping up occasionally at Prime to perform Frank Sinatra/Rat Pack standards (in a full tuxedo), and Dudum says he will be doing so more regularly on weekend nights moving forward—check their schedule for details and dates.
“It’s kind of like we’re kind of getting the band back together,” says Dudum. “People are really excited—it’s created a huge groundswell.”
Acclaimed Broth-less Ramen Restaurant Open in Dublin
Kajiken
Kajiken, the Japanese broth-less ramen concept with a cult following, debuted its newest location in Dublin over the weekend. The Michelin-recommended chain held a soft opening on Saturday in what looks to be a fairly large setting at 3978 Summit Road. Kajiken specializes in abura soba, fresh-made chewy wheat noodles that can be mixed with a custom variety of sauces and ingredients, such as chashu pork, fish powder, raw or poached egg, kimchi, mozzarella cheese, and much more. There are also rice bowls and a variety of appetizers. Kajiken has one other Bay Area location in San Mateo, which has been a hit since opening in 2023 and even landed a spot on this year’s San Francisco Chronicle’s top 100 restaurants list. According to the Chronicle, the dry ramen method works so well because “without the broth, the flavor of each bowl is concentrated, and the noodles retain a superb bounce.”
Costco in Oakland?
Speaking of large grocery stores, the San Francisco Chronicle reports that momentum may be building to bring a new Costco location to west Oakland. According to the story, city leaders are exploring a proposal to bring the membership-only store to a 22-acre parcel of the former Oakland Army Base just a few blocks from Raimondi Park and the new Oakland Ballers baseball stadium. Costco previously broached building a 150,000-square-foot grocery store and gas station on that same site back in 2003.
Standard Fare to Close in Berkeley
Sad news in west Berkeley, as Kelsie Kerr announced that she would be closing her celebrated lunch destination Standard Fare Kitchen and Pantry later this month. Kerr, who previously cooked at California cuisine landmarks Zuni and Chez Panisse, opened Standard Fare in 2014 and built up a rabid following for her salads and sandwiches bursting with fresh, seasonal produce. Kerr had recently launched a long-planned dinner service but announced on social media over the weekend that she would be retiring, with the restaurant’s last day of service on December 19. One bit of good news is that, according to SFGate, neighboring Mexican restaurant Café Bolita plans to take over the space in March.
Tacos Oscar Expands to S.F.
Tacos Oscar is now serving across the bay. The cult Oakland taco purveyor, known for its veggie-heavy tacos and tostadas on fresh tortillas served out of a repurposed shipping container in Temescal, announced that it would be taking over the kitchen at Woods Beer and Wine Co.’s Lowside taproom in San Francisco’s Lower Haight. According to the Chronicle, the menu will be similar with a few additions such as quesadillas, and the spot will be open for dinner only Thursday through Monday, with the possibility of Sunday brunch down the line. Diablo featured Tacos Oscar’s popular charred broccoli taco as part of its East Bay taco guide earlier this year.
Small Bites from Around the East Bay
Rumors are swirling that Calicraft Brewing Co.’s new rooftop bar could be debuting soon atop Va de Vi Bistro and Wine Bar in downtown Walnut Creek. Check back here for updates!
For the second year in a row, Condé Nast Traveler named Oakland the best food city in the United States.
There’s an update from Logan Jager, who said that he’s pushed the opening date for his planned Western Flyer brewery and taproom in Lafayette back to mid-January.
Espetus is hiring for its planned new Brazilian steakhouse in Concord’s Veranda shopping center, meaning an opening could be imminent.
We checked in with East Bay deep-dish pizza specialist Zachary’s Chicago Pizza on their new Livermore restaurant: No opening date yet, but they are getting closer.
No news on what, if anything, may replace the shuttered Pinstripes in Broadway Plaza. One thing it won’t be, however, is Punch Bowl Social: A rep from that eater-tainment chain, which recently purchased Pinstripes out of bankruptcy, said it had no plans to reopen in Walnut Creek.
Dad’s BBQ has apparently shuttered at Rossmoor in Walnut Creek, making it the second restaurant in two years to close at that location.
Try gourmet doughnuts in Fremont!
AloJapan.com