Oakland Food News

Time again for some Oakland food news, with updates on recent openings, upcoming openings, and more. All the news that's fit to nom.

First up, the Oakland Tribune reports that Borgo Italia in Old Oakland that I reported on last month is now open. I'm looking forward to trying it.

Diablo Magazine reported that Somerset, a restaurant on College Ave. in Rockridge, closed suddenly in August. And they note the liquor license has been transferred to a new restaurant called Destino at 3909 Grand Avenue. That's the former location of Taste of Joy BBQ, and another restaurant (or two) before that.

The same article also reports that the Trappist Provisions beer store/bar in the works by Chuck Stilphen from The Trappist (and ØL beer cafe and bottle shop in Walnut Creek) won't open before November. The space is near Wood Tavern, a ways up College from the former Somerset location. The windows were covered in paper when I went past today.

And speaking of the former Somerset location on Collage, Inside Scoop SF reports that James Syhabout's next restaurant will be in the Somerset location. Syhabout is behind both Commis and Hawker Fare, two Oakland restaurants I haven't yet tried but have heard nothing but good things about.

The above Dialog Magazine article also has updates on Forge, the pizza place planned for next to Bocanova in Jack London Square.

Shoutout to @jameane of Oakland 411 for the info on these next two items.

First, College Ave. is getting another noodle shop at 5812 across from Zachary's. Though I guess technically Noodle Theory is on Claremont, and it's known for soba noodles versus the ramen that this application specifies.

@jameane also directed me to this news from sf.eater.com about Township, an "uber-locally sourced" restaurant moving into 1545 Broadway. Read more on the City Girl Farms / Township Kickstarter page.

Speaking of College Ave., Diablo Magazine again has the story on the long-empty space at 5634, the former home of the Water Lounge. Rumor has it it will be French bistro-style, but a major renovation means it won't be ready any time soon.

Luke Tsai at the East Bay Express reports on a novel idea from the 25th Street Collective: rent a food cart. The start up costs and permits needed can be fairly substantial, so this would be a way for more people to try the market. The idea is still in the planning stages.

Shelly Butcher at Examiner.com reports a new Mexican restaurant called Nido is scheduled to open in Jack London Square sometime in October.

The above article and GrubStreet SF both report that right next to it will be a PieTisserie pie window. Yum!

Some updates on some of the new o-shaped foods in Oakland. SFoodie has more on Doughnut Dolly in the Temescal. They sound tasty, but sell out fast. More o-shaped food news, Inside Scoop SF has a report from opening day at Beauty's Bagels on Telegraph, which features Montreal-style bagels.

Here's a fun video on Art Is In Coffee which was at Park(ing) Day.

I rode past Commonwealth Cafe and Pub last week and heard they're aiming for an early October reopening after the fire several months ago. This nice story from Oakland North about Oakland businesses helping Commonwealth get back in on its feet confirms the early October timeline.

Finally, there's a piece focusing on Arbor Cafe in Oakland Local, as part of their Small Business Month feature.