![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/threonefour-meson-cesar.jpg\")
The former team from C\u00e9sar is taking over the Three.one four pizzeria space on Gilman Street in Westbrae. Credit: Tovin Lapan\/East Bay Nosh<\/p>\nC\u00e9sar, the beloved North Shattuck tapas spot that sparked protests and petitions when its closure was announced in 2022, is back \u2026 sort of.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The new restaurant, opening in Westbrae, is named Mes\u00f3n and will be modeled after C\u00e9sar and led by many of the same core staff.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For the past few years, Cameron McVeigh, the former general manager of C\u00e9sar for seven years, had been searching for a location to open a new restaurant after C\u00e9sar closed in 2022. The idea for the new restaurant was always \u201cpatterning it after C\u00e9sar, with a lot of the same people and some of the same employees,\u201d McVeigh said.<\/p>\n
Mes\u00f3n\u2019s menu will be led by head chef Juan Gomez, former sous chef at C\u00e9sar. Another key member from the C\u00e9sar team joining Mes\u00f3n is Maggie Pond, who was the opening and head chef at C\u00e9sar when it launched, and is now Mes\u00f3n\u2019s consulting chef. Pond co-authored the cookbook, \u201cC\u00e9sar: Recipes from a Tapas Bar.\u201d<\/p>\n
After a bumpy road, including finding a location on Solano Avenue at the Fonda location for a brief moment, but needing to let it go after an investor pulled the rug due to high renovation costs, McVeigh found this location in North Berkeley. McVeigh, a majority owner of the restaurant, solidified the rest of his investment group, including Berkeley resident and best-selling author Michael Lewis, who joined picket lines protesting C\u00e9sar\u2019s closure.<\/p>\n
Lewis said he\u2019s been encouraging McVeigh to open his own restaurant since C\u00e9sar closed.\u00a0\u201cThe people who ran it created this sort of community vibe that I just loved,\u201d he told NOSH.<\/p>\n
The former team from C\u00e9sar is taking over the Three.one four pizzeria space on Gilman Street in Westbrae. Credit: Tovin Lapan\/East Bay Nosh<\/p>\n
The restaurant and bar will replace the shuttered Three One Four Pizzeria<\/a>, located at 1329 Gilman St., as first reported by Berkeley Eats<\/a>. The group has signed a lease for the property, but an opening date is to be determined. The space was also once home to the lauded Lalime\u2019s Restaurant, which operated there for 35 years until the COVID-19 pandemic<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMes\u00f3n\u201d typically refers to a rustic restaurant or inn in Spanish.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe space we\u2019re in kind of feels like a home, having a backyard and patio,\u201d McVeigh said. \u201cI want people to know we\u2019re welcoming, and a little on the rustic side.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The menu will include familiar items to C\u00e9sar fans, including small to medium plates of Spanish dishes and a full cocktail and bar menu. The menu may include patatas bravas, fried potatoes; montaditos, or small open-faced toasts; bocadillos, or small sandwiches; avocado and little gem salads; brussels sprouts with a parsley garlic sauce; and paellas. He said there are about 80 recipes they will draw from, but will make some updates and changes.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe will have several dishes that people will recognize, and also new stuff,\u201d McVeigh said.<\/p>\n The menu will still be seasonal, and there will be choices for patrons looking for a light bite or a full meal, according to McVeigh. The plan is to be very bar-focused, with McVeigh leading the bar menu.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe hope to continue with the cocktail program that was very popular.\u201d Also on board is bar manager Robert Bouldin, a longtime bartender at C\u00e9sar, as well as other former staff.<\/p>\n Pond, who now resides in Spain, will share recipe ideas with Gomez and the rest of the team. Just last week, Pond popped into the kitchen on Gilman Street during a visit and tested some recipes with Gomez. Together, they\u2019ll work on new ideas and creations, with Pond visiting at different times during the year.<\/p>\n Lewis, a former C\u00e9sar patron and local author of hit non-fiction works that have been turned into movies, like Moneyball and The Big Short, was among the most outspoken during the 2022 protests organized to help save the restaurant.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI have come up with six of my books at C\u00e9sar,\u201d Lewis told NOSH<\/a> in 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lewis is an investor in Mes\u00f3n, but is not involved with the planning. \u201cI\u2019ll be a regular in the new place. I\u2019ll just be delighted \u2013 we\u2019ll get our Cheers back,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Mes\u00f3n will also be co-owned by Eric Wright, who also owns Humbowl in Berkeley and is also co-owner of Baker & Commons in Berkeley; he was Director of Operations at C\u00e9sar.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jim Mellgren, a longtime C\u00e9sar server and host who served as a spokesperson for the shuttered restaurant during the protests, will likely be involved when the restaurant opens.<\/p>\n \u201dAll of our old customers are going to be really happy, and I hope we are going to attract new customers as well,\u201d said Mellgren, who also co-authored the cookbook with Pond.<\/p>\n McVeigh is hoping Mes\u00f3n will open as early as this summer, but the debut could possibly be delayed to later in the year. The former pizzeria space will get a facelift, a little bit of new construction, and will need to be approved for various permits from the city.<\/p>\n The space will have a variety of seating options, including a big dining room in the front with large windows facing Gilman Street, an outdoor side patio, a cozy bar area, and a backyard that he hopes to transform into a space for games.<\/p>\n C\u00e9sar was a unique space, McVeigh noted, a casual place with fine dining sensibilities that\u2019s \u201creasonable and yet polished.\u201d One former staffer told NOSH<\/a> that she was hired by both Chez Panisse and Cesar, but chose C\u00e9sar for the \u201cvibes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt had a great following of people, and a lot of great people came out of it, with a collection of people who enjoy working in the industry,\u201d McVeigh said about what made C\u00e9sar so special.<\/p>\n C\u00e9sar was forced to close<\/a> over four years ago when its neighbor, Chez Panisse, wanted to use the space to open its own bar. Chez Panisse leased the space from a landlord, and was subleasing it to C\u00e9sar at the time. (Bar Panisse just opened in the former C\u00e9sar\u2019s space this past December<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n The move roiled the community<\/a>, generating picket lines in front of Chez Panisse. People described C\u00e9sar as a place where friends were made, where people gathered, a space where ideas and creativity flowed alongside the small plates of Spanish food and drinks.\u00a0<\/p>\n Many protestors said they felt emotionally connected to the space and were torn, as they both enjoyed Chez Panisse and C\u00e9sar. It was like an ugly divorce, with people publicly choosing sides. The fact that C\u00e9sar was opened in 1998 by a team close to Chez Panisse\u2019s founder, Alice Waters, including longtime Chez Panisse alum (and others \u2013 read about some of the backstory here<\/a>), made it seem more emotionally heightened. Besides protests, there was a Change.org petition<\/a> that gained more than 4,300 signatures and media attention.<\/p>\n Many of C\u00e9sar\u2019s alumni have gone on to open restaurants, including Jessica Maria of Hotsy Totsy Club in Albany and Scott Baird of Trick Dog in San Francisco.<\/p>\n \u201cC\u00e9sar always hit that right spot, of quality, but somewhat fine dining but in a comfortable, casual atmosphere,\u201d McVeigh said, which attracts both diners and staff.<\/p>\n While McVeigh was planning for a new restaurant, he held pop-ups under the name Nomada, which were so popular at times that McVeigh knew there was still a strong following.<\/p>\n He plans to keep Mes\u00f3n closed on Tuesdays, and wants to host pop-ups or other events.\u00a0<\/p>\n McVeigh said the neighborhood feels like \u201cthe heart of Berkeley,\u201d with the few blocks of restaurants, shops, and the Monterey Market nearby.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c[Mes\u00f3n\u2019s] going to be a comforting place, warm, and with options on how people want to dine and drink,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRelated stories<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\tChez Panisse reopens to a polite protest, as C\u00e9sar fans ask Alice Waters to leave their bar alone<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\tMarch 9, 2022Aug. 4, 2022, 10:32 a.m.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\tFermenters unite! Sourdough donuts find new home at West Berkeley winery\u00a0<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\tMarch 19, 2026March 23, 2026, 10:12 a.m.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/large-IMG_9674.jpg\")
Author Michael Lewis (center) joined picketers who protested the closure of C\u00e9sar in March 2022, and is now an investor in Mes\u00f3n, the forthcoming restaurant from several former C\u00e9sar staff members. Credit: Kelly Sullivan for East Bay Nosh<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Chez](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/large-IMG_9607.jpeg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Fermenters](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774916172_689_Hammerling-Sodo-horizontal-BexWyant.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Inside](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774916172_948_large-Natera_Nosh_CafeBolita_260305_001.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n