On University Avenue, the corner of Milvia Street stands out: Blue double doors stand wide open, with yellow patio furniture speckling the gray concrete sidewalk. Soft music and the whir of a coffee grinder fill the silence between the sounds of passing traffic. A line of customers stand on a black and white checkered floor, most of whom are gazing at the ruby red bottles of wine along the wall or perusing the cafe’s menu, contemplating if it’s a day for a sesame bagel spread with herbed cream cheese, or maybe it’s an occasion for a fennel bagel draped with burrata.

2000 University Ave. (at Milvia Street), Berkeley; www.cafebrusco.com

Open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday – Saturday (bagel service stops at 3 p.m.), 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays

Starting Oct. 31, hours will change to 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays

Alexis Rorabaugh and Gerad Gobel, the husband and wife team behind Berkeley’s Rose Pizzeria, opened the doors to Cafe Brusco Sept. 17, offering bagels with both sweet and savory options and drip coffee, espresso drinks, tea and wine.

Berkeley and Oakland have seen an influx of new bagel shops popping up in the past few years. But, if Cafe Brusco’s debut and early popularity are any indication, the East Bay still has room for another quality bagel, though Cafe Brusco was never meant to be a bagel shop.

“We thought, this is actually a really good corner space since there’s not much coffee between the middle of University and where Blue Bottle is,” Rorabaugh said. “People at the pizzeria ask us for coffee all the time.”

Rorabaugh and Gobel had originally envisioned a menu of typical Italian cafe fare: think espresso, sandwiches and pastries. Bagels were not in the picture until a month or so before the cafe was set to open its doors, when Rorabaugh and Gobel received a resume from Chris Warden, a now-hired employee at the pizzeria. Warden came to Rose Pizzeria with standout baking experience, including stints at Meadowlark Farm and Mill in Wisconsin, Bub & Grandma’s bread in Los Angeles, and even operating his own in-home sourdough microbakery while living in Portland, Oregon.

Cafe Brusco has both bar and table seating that can get crowded during the early morning rush. Credit: Ximena Natera for East Bay Nosh

“We knew we could use the help making pizza dough, but also wondered what else Chris could help us with at the cafe. Then we realized pizza and bagels are kind of a similar process: We have the mixer, we have the oven, so why not make something that we thought would be fun?” Rorabaugh said.

Gobel, Rorabaugh and Warden put their heads together to rework and improve upon Gobel’s bagel recipe that Cafe Brusco now serves daily, baked fresh every morning in the ovens at Rose Pizzeria.

“The process was a few trials and errors, mainly Gerad making bagels and having our staff try them and figuring out what works and what doesn’t. It took about a month, but like our pizza dough, it’s constantly evolving,” says Rorabaugh. “We just wanted to use great flour and have a good bake on the bagels, and avoid a big ‘doughy’ bagel that still has some heft but doesn’t weigh you down.”


Cafe Brusco bagels are available as half orders, so customers can mix and match the signature open-face creations. Credit: Ximena Natera for East Bay Nosh

Both the pizza dough at Rose Pizzeria and Cafe Brusco’s bagel dough use grains from Cairnspring Mills, a regenerative flour mill located in Burlington, Washington dedicated to sustainability and transparent farming practices. Bagel flavors include plain, sesame, everything, and the unique fennel and orange, Gobel’s original creation made with fennel seeds, orange zest and honey.

With Rorabaugh and Gobel’s shared admiration of Italy, they chose the name “Brusco” both for its ties to Lambrusco (a lightly chilled, sparkling red wine from Emiglia-Romana) and for the word’s translation: “It kind of means cheeky, a little bit rude, tart. But it also means flavor-profile tart,” Rorabaugh explains.

What sets Cafe Brusco apart from a run-of-the-mill bagel cafe is its numerous customization options: For the minimalist, bagels are available with cream cheese, butter or jam, but for those willing to venture, the open-face bagel topping menu is where Rorabaugh and Gobel’s penchant for flavor pairings really shines. Take, for example, the cafe’s namesake bagel, the “BRUSCO:” The bagel is topped with Calabrian chili-spiced cream cheese (a nice nod to Rose Pizzeria’s famous spicy Caesar salad, also flavored with the heat of Calabrian chilis), mortadella, honey, and pickled peppers for a harmonious union of creamy, spicy, salty and sweet. Seasonal options, like the “Flirty fig” (figs, honey and basil) and “Summer Girl” (tomatoes and burrata), will rotate depending on seasonal produce. Each open-face bagel is also available as a half portion, allowing customers to try more than one open-face option on a full bagel if they choose.


(Top) Cafe Brusco’s lead Barista, Dominic Hughes, prepares one of the signature coffee drinks, the “shakerato” (bottom). Credit: Ximena Natera for East Bay Nosh

“We don’t do a lot of customization at Rose Pizzeria in our space. Our pizza takes longer to bake; we limit toppings and substitutions because we want you to have a good pizza,” Rorabaugh said. “But with the bagels, it’s basically toast. It’s fun to mix and match things and I think people really like that.” 

The cafe also offers three bagel sandwiches: the ham and fig with ham, butter and fig jam, the turkey deluxe with turkey, herbed cream cheese, mustard, avocado, tomato, and red onion, and the “Cal-Ital” with all the fix-ins: mortadella, ham, turkey, Calabrian chili cream cheese, burrata, avocado, tomato, red onion, basil, and even honey to finish it all off.

For the beverages, Rorabaugh and Gobel wanted to stick to the Italian theme and brought in Sam Sobolewski, co-owner of the late Bartavelle Cafe, as the beverage director to help create the coffee menu and develop the Italian-focused specialties: the caffe con panna (espresso with whipped cream), the shakerato (espresso shaken with ice and simple syrup), and the affogato: a scoop of vanilla bean gelato topped with a double shot of espresso. The cafe uses Counter Culture coffee beans, locally roasted in Emeryville. Also available are wines by the glass and bottles for purchase, including, of course, Lambrusco.

Those needing a pastry fix will be happy to know that the East Bay’s own Good Luck Bakery provides their seasonally-driven pastries to the cafe Wednesday through Sunday.


Cafe Brusco opened up in a new development on University Avenue in September with a selection of wines for sale in addition to pastries from Good Luck Baker which are available Wednesday through Sunday. Credit: Ximena Natera for East Bay Nosh

With (almost) two pizzerias and a bustling cafe, the Rose Pizzeria team has its plates full to the brim. When asked about further expansion of the Rose Pizzeria empire, Rorabaugh seems uncertain but open to the possibility of more.

“Two years ago I would never have thought we’d be doing bagels. But for now, I’ll stick with pizza and some bagels,” Rorabaugh says with a smile. “We don’t do much planning, but we are always on the lookout for new spaces. If we see an opportunity, we take it.”

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