Flour and Water Pizza Shop
Kristen Loken
Flour and Water Pizza Shop Debuts in Oakland
Acclaimed San Francisco chefs Thomas McNaughton and Ryan Pollnow have officially landed in the East Bay with the launch of Flour and Water Pizza Shop in Oakland. The duo’s second casual, takeout- and delivery-friendly pizzeria spinoff from their Michelin-recommended modern Italian flagship opened last week in the ground floor of the Lark Uptown luxury apartment complex in the Northlake district between Lake Merritt and Uptown. Boasting a sleek, airy, contemporary interior, the new fast-casual eatery delivers Flour and Water’s West Coast–style thin crust that merges Neapolitan and New York–style characteristics and features slow-fermented dough that is baked longer and at a lower temperature in electric PizzaMaster deck ovens. Popular flavors for red and white pies include a cacio e pepe; burrata with garlic, Sicilian dried tomatoes, oregano, chili, and lemon oil; and the Conrad with Taleggio, fresh mozzarella, mushrooms, kale, red onion, and roasted garlic. All pies are available in 13-inch round and Sicilian square versions, along with rotating individual slices. In addition, the pizza shop offers salads and apps such as mozzarella sticks, ricotta meatballs, and dry-fried chicken wings seasoned with a shake blend from Oaktown Spice Shop and green sauce inspired by Berkeley’s Cheese Board Collective. There is also beer and wine, plus Double 8 Dairy soft-serve ice cream offered with a choice of toppings for dessert. Featuring a 14-seat communal table and 19 counter seats, Flour and Water is open daily for lunch and dinner for dine-in (and delivery) and is located in a burgeoning foodie micro district across from Highwire coffee and James Beard–nominated bakery Tarts de Feybesse.
Flour and Water Pizza Shop
Kristen Loken
Speaking of Cheese Board Collective, the classic Berkeley pizzeria is in expansion mode for the first time in decades. The 60-year-old worked-owned institution is in the process of moving its bakery and cheese shop into the former grocery store space next door on Shattuck Avenue in north Berkeley. Construction on the space is expected to be done by early spring or late summer with Cheese Board selling its cheese, baked goods, and coffee out of an on-site shipping container in the meantime.
Sequoia Diner Changes Hands
Beloved neighborhood staple Sequoia Diner has changed hands. Opened in 2015 on MacArthur Boulevard in Oakland’s Laurel District by the husband-wife team of Andrew Vennari and Sequoia Broderson, Sequoia had become a go-to destination for its warm, updated diner vibe and scratch-made menu of breakfast, lunch, and brunch staples. Since the couple’s divorce, Vennari had been running the operation solo, which ultimately prompted him to sell the business, he told the Chronicle, so as to “have a little bit of sanity.” Expected to take over in the coming weeks, the new ownership group runs two other Bay Area breakfast spots, Solano Junction in Albany and Fandee’s Restaurant in Sebastopol, and is expected to maintain Sequoia’s name and menu.
H Mart
Courtesy of the City of Dublin
H Mart Opening Massive New Store in Fremont
Even as Tri-Valley shoppers patiently wait for the long-delayed opening of H Mart in Dublin, the Korean American–owned Asian mega grocery chain announced it is planning a massive new outpost in Fremont. A two-story, 100,000-square-foot location will be coming to Fremont’s Pacific Commons Shopping Center that will include a food hall, restaurant, and bar in addition to the grocery store, with construction expected to start later this year. Meanwhile, rumor is that fencing has been removed outside and refrigerators spotted inside H Mart’s anticipated 39,000-square-foot store set to arrive at the intersection of Dublin Boulevard and Regional Street—which is also expected to include a stand-alone food hall, plus outdoor seating area with a kids’ play structure. It’s one more example of a recent wave of big Asian markets targeting the East Bay (and greater Bay Area), which includes Japanese-owned Tokyo Central Specialty Market debuting in Emeryville’s Bay Street mall next weekend and another Japanese grocery, Osaka Marketplace, scheduled to come to downtown Pleasant Hill this summer.
Rock ’n’ Roll Kara Age Lands in Berkeley
Oakland’s rock-’n’-roll-inspired Japanese fried chicken specialist Aburaya has a new outpost in Berkeley. Known for its crispy kara age made with koji-marinated chicken thighs battered with potato starch and served with various seasonings and sauces, Aburaya began operating as a lunch pop-up out of Spats bar on Shattuck Avenue near the UC Berkeley campus last year. It’s proved successful enough that owners recently expanded hours to be open every weekday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a full lineup of fried chicken in addition to new menu items such as a grilled chicken teriyaki bowl. Founder Adachi Hiroyuki, who moonlights as a rock bassist, started the original Aburaya in downtown Oakland as a pop-up before taking over a permanent Uptown space on 17th Street in 2017.
Small Bites From Around the East Bay
North Italia could be arriving in downtown Walnut Creek in a matter of months. The upscale Italian chain with nearly 50 U.S. locations lists March 25 as the opening date for its first East Bay location in the Plaza Escuela shopping center next to the Cheesecake Factory (its parent company).
Vanessa’s Bistro has, miraculously, announced it will not be closing its flagship Vietnamese restaurant on Berkeley’s Solano Avenue after coming to a last-minute lease agreement with its landlord.
Perhaps not unrelated, Solano Avenue is on the rise with new food and drink operators such as Yonsei Handrolls, Starter Bakery, and Best Friends wine bar leading the charge.
Meza n Moka, combining Mediterranean cuisine with “gourmet coffee and chai” is now open on East Stanley Boulevard near the Trader Joe’s in Livermore.
Longtime Chinese mainstay Three Brothers from China looks to be opening a casual offshoot, Three Bros from China Express, right next door to its recently shuttered location in Pleasant Hill.
Taco Bell shuttered its 50-plus-year-old Lafayette location, one of just a handful that still sport the chain’s original Mission-style design.
Mamacita is now dishing Mexican fare in Emeryville’s Public Market, taking over the space previously occupied by C Casa, which closed last year.