berkeley eats digest - october 7
fast weekly food news spotted in and around berkeley. (tips welcome. follow us on instagram if you'd like.)
openings
casual sandwich shop elmwood subs has opened at 2992 college avenue in berkeley. (thanks to all our tipsters!) 🥪
a tipster (thank you!) shared that new ethiopian cafe gioia coffee shop has opened at 816 san pablo avenue in albany.
new little gem salads, bowls and smoothies window is now open in oakland at 372 24th street in oakland.
55 coffee (with breakfast banh mi) celebrates their grand opening at 4395 piedmont avenue in oakland inside the saap avenue thai on october 10.
service updates
including three temporary closures in berkeley.
kabana at 1025 university avenue in berkeley is temporarily closed to mourn late owner mohammad chaudhry, who died in september. photos berkeley eats.
sadly, kabana pakistani restaurant in berkeley has announced temporary closure to mourn the recent death of the restaurant's owner mohammad chaudhry. his daughters hope to reopen the restaurant soon and will share details on instagram.
photos l/berkeley eats.
oh g burger and chimmelier on solano avenue in berkeley have gone temporarily dark. the sign posted says 'on a vacation, will be back october 15,' but with smish smash moving into the space shortly, that detail might change. we'll keep you posted.
our family table in downtown berkeley is closed for the month of october, reopening, if all goes to plan, on october 28.
other service updates:
broken dreams in oakland is now open later on friday nights, until 9:30pm.
reem's jack london in oakland has new morning hours beginning at 9am.
new souk savanh 2.0 in albany now serves lunch and dinner every day except tuesday.
banter wine bar in el cerrito has updated hours for fall, including later hours fridays and saturdays. (and more announcements coming soon, stay tuned.)
special events 🎈
chef sarah kirnon's skillet-fried chicken night at the ongoing holders house takeover at gold palm in oakland, october 8. (the holders house residency continues wednesdays-saturdays all month.)
good luck bakery at flowerland, october 10.
punks parade at gilman brewing in berkeley, october 11.
plan ahead: berkeley's three stone hearth 20th anniversary events on october 17, 22 and 24.
sales of oakland's flour + water pizza shop special stuffed-crust pizza (with pickled peppers!), in collab with eat. learn. play. and ousd the center, benefits oakland schools, all month through october 31.
coming soon 🔮
elaichi co. has revealed the upcoming location of their third chai cafe: the fred turner building, opposite panda express, at 2580 bancroft way in berkeley.
wagyu factory barbecue and hot pot coming to 528 34th street in oakland.
a new location for campus burgers coming to former knudsen's ice creamery in castro valley. [credit castro valley news]
closings
we noticed on a walk that simmer & steamer korean rice bowls in downtown berkeley is emptied out, and their online menus are down both in berkeley and palo alto.
on a shopping trip to el cerrito plaza, we spotted that m2 burger (formerly burgerim) at 174 el cerrito plaza in el cerrito is now closed, and has cleared out of the space.
down sather lane in berkeley, we noticed that the uc berkeley counter outpost of noodles fresh is now closed. the two noodles fresh full-service restaurants in el cerrito and downtown berkeley remain open.
in alameda, admiral maltings closed october 2, and the rake closes october 18.
reminder that oeste in oakland closes permanently on october 25.
october 7, 2026 (tips welcome; updated spooky local haunts; about berkeley eats.)