1) Big changes are in store for James Syhabout’s The Dock (95 Linden St., Oakland), which closed this past weekend to gear up for a major reboot, the Chronicle reports. Of particular note: Syhabout and longtime business partner Adam Lamoreaux will take over the space next door currently occupied by Linden Street Brewery. They plan to reconfigure the entire building into a restaurant/brewery/taproom combo, with Lamoreaux taking on the role of head brewer. (You may recall that Lamoreaux co-founded Linden Street Brewery and was its original head brewer; the company’s board members removed him from that position in 2014.)
[jump] No word yet on what Syhabout and Lamoreaux will call the new incarnation of restaurant-brewery, or on where Linden Street Brewery is planning to move. Look for an early 2017 opening for the restaurant. In the meantime, the more casual Beer Shed component of the business will remain open.
2) As first noted by Berkeleyside Nosh, longstanding vegan favorite Herbivore has closed both of its remaining locations — in San Francisco’s Mission District and at 2451 Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley. It’s unclear why the restaurant’s owners decided to close. Saha, a Middle Eastern restaurant that was previously located in San Francisco, will take over the Berkeley space.
3) Eater reports that a former Nopa pastry chef and a Sonoma Coast wine entrepreneur are partnering to open a new cafe-pub in Rockridge called Duchess (5422 College Ave., Oakland) — it will take over the former Conga Lounge/Cafe Rustica spot.
4) The E’ville Eye reports that Farley’s has sold its Emeryville cafe location at 1195 65th Street, which will continue to run under new ownership, more or less unchanged, as Dee Spot Cafe. The other two Farley’s locations (in San Francisco and on Grand Ave.) will be unaffected.
5) Downtown Berkeley will be the site of a new Off the Grid food-truck market. Berkeleyside Nosh reports that eight trucks will convene in Civic Center Park on Sundays, 11 a.m.–3 p.m. starting on Sunday, September 11.
7) The Freedom Farmers’ Market (5316 Telegraph Ave., Oakland) has declared this Saturday, 10 a.m.–3 p.m., to be Urban Farmers’ Day. There will be a DJ, the Stockton-based Black Urban Farmer Association will be on hand, and everyone gets a free slice of Kelley Farms watermelon.
8) ICYMI, I followed up my recent cover story about cultural appropriation and media hype by putting together a list of East Bay “ethnic” restaurants you may want to check out.
Got tips or suggestions? Email me at Luke (dot) Tsai (at) EastBayExpress (dot) com. Otherwise, keep in touch by following me on Twitter @theluketsai, or simply by posting a comment. I’ll read ‘em all.
