farewell darband, welcome hopscotch

update: hopscotch chicken's soft opening inside berkeley's epicurious garden was on august 22. watch instagram for hours and grand opening information.

original post: persian counter kiosk darband opened inside north berkeley's epicurious garden at 1511 shattuck avenue in 2022, and permanently closed so recently (and quietly) that its ghosted space hasn't yet been noted by local media or even its own website. we'd like to say a respectful farewell to their kabob plates, stews and other specialties. darband was at 1511 shattuck avenue in berkeley.

however, already, the "coming soon" signs now posted around the empty kiosk have locals buzzing, including a sharp-eyed reader and her fried-chicken-loving family (thank you for the tip!).

opening soon in the counter spot will be the first berkeley location for kyle itani's hopscotch. for 11 years, itani's uptown oakland restaurant was widely heralded for its japanese-inflected, upscale-retro comfort cuisine, including notable fried chicken. the restaurant closed in 2023, but hopscotch has since remained in operation as a take-out and catering business.

the prospect of a fast-casual hopscotch counter spot in north shattuck seems an ideal match for busy, back-to-school-soon berkeley. the upcoming opening is part of what seems to be a continued, gradual expansion northward for itani, who along with hopscotch also owns oakland's itani ramen, itani sushi and yonsei handrolls. (yonsei recently opened a new location in albany.)

in fact, if all goes to plan, itani businesses will soon dominate the threshold of berkeley's epicurious garden – directly across from the future hopscotch space, itani sushi berkeley replaced old-timer kirala 2 in the upscale food court almost exactly one year ago, and recently added new counter seating for around 10 diners for a sit-down, sushi-bar experience.

hopscotch will be at 1511 shattuck avenue inside the epicurious garden in berkeley. look for updates in the coming weeks.

august 4, 2025