Oakland Projects and Business Development (San Francisco, Sacramento: garden, prestigious, areas)

[ssmaster]

Originally Posted by jade408

Bakesale Betty is notoriously "lazy" for lack of a better word. They only want to do x volume and will reduce hours to hit the target. Temescal is now only open 90 minutes a day. I bet it was too much for them.

sadly,that makes sense.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by ssmaster

sadly,that makes sense.

It is confirmed:
Weekly Dish: Ike's Coming to Walnut Creek and Danville - Diablo Dish - September 2012

Check out the story above --

More baking news as Bakesale Betty, home of the famous fried chicken sandwiches, has shut down its Uptown Oakland location that it opened to much fanfare two years ago. Owners Alison Barakat and Michael Camp had previously slashed hours (to the irritation of many customers) at that location in an attempt to cut down on their workload and focus on the Temescal location—and, most importantly, their three young children—and they've made the decision to close it for good.

"It was a great opportunity and it's such a wonderful location, but we just spread ourselves too thin," Barakat (a.k.a. Betty) told me. "We want to go back to being just a single mom & pop store, because that’s really what we are, and we had lost the spirit of what Bakesale Betty was all about... It was a hard decision, and we hate to disappoint people, but I think it's better in the long run—we didn't want to jump the shark."


Long lines at Bakesale Betty Temescal
Barakat said they would soon start looking for someone to take over their lease (email her here if you're interested, it's a pretty prime corner spot in a hopping area). At the Temescal location, meanwhile, Barakat said they would soon be upping their hours a bit to be open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (versus noon to 2 p.m. now) Tuesday through Saturday, but don't expect them to return to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. anytime soon—"I don't think we could ever go back to that," she said. And most importantly... look for apple pies and chicken pot pies to return to the menu this fall!

[athleticsfan72737489]

A new beer/pizza joint is opening up in the 66 Franklin Building at Jack London Square, called "The Forge". This is a good sign that Jack London is trending up. The article neglected to mention that Navis has moved its headquarters to the same building.

The Forge, beer and pizza joint, to open in Jack London Square - San Francisco Business Times

[jade408]

The owners of Chop Bar are working on a new place in the Tribune Building. I imagine it will be pretty great -- Chop Bar is one of my fave Oakland restaurants.

Construction is about to begin on Tribune Tavern, a new 150-seat restaurant and watering hole on the ground floor of Oakland's landmark Tribune Tower (409 13th St.). The project comes from restaurateurs including Chris Pastena, co-owner of Chop Bar. Pastena says that Tribune Tavern will channel "the essence of Chop Bar" with an emphasis on local ingredients and purveyors and making as much in-house as possible, including cheese, bread, charcuterie, and juices/shrubs/mixers for a full cocktail program. There will also be 12 local wines (many from Oakland) and 12 local beers on tap, including exclusives made by Oakland's Linden Street Brewery, and a full wine list featuring 100 California wines.
....

Oaklandish is working on the restaurant's brand identity, the first major design project for the clothing company outside of its own products. The target opening date for Tribune Tavern is mid-March of next year.

Tribune Tavern Moves Into Oakland Landmark - Plywood Report - Eater SF

Another interesting note? Oaklandish is doing the branding.

[athleticsfan72737489]

Originally Posted by jade408

The owners of Chop Bar are working on a new place in the Tribune Building. I imagine it will be pretty great -- Chop Bar is one of my fave Oakland restaurants.



Tribune Tavern Moves Into Oakland Landmark - Plywood Report - Eater SF

Another interesting note? Oaklandish is doing the branding.

Thanks for posting about this. I can't wait. I hope this will transform "South of Broadway."

[Eastshore Empire]

Love the concept, it is such a nice building and the area could use some life.

@athleticsfan: Careful, before you know it people will start calling it SOBRO!

[athleticsfan72737489]

Mitch Kapor is investing in Oakland and predicts Oakland to be the next SoMA.

Tech legend sees SoMa -- in Oakland - San Francisco Business Times

Mitch Kapor and Freada Kapor Klein talk tech and other topics - San Francisco Business Times

[athleticsfan72737489]

New York Times article on the success of Art Murmur.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/11/us...-its-name.html

[mayorhaggar]

Originally Posted by athleticsfan72737489

Mitch Kapor is investing in Oakland and predicts Oakland to be the next SoMA.

A bunch of desolate abandoned warehouses with zero foot traffic? Doesn't sound like Oaktown to me.

[18Montclair]

This morning I heard Mayor Quan on KCBS talk about 2 positive economic indicators for Oakland:

1 Unemployment has fallen to 13% from 15% 1 year ago.

2 Business tax revenue is up 11% from 1 year ago.