rubble rubble
in a community that values both beauty and usable space, we can't help but notice the many dark, long-dormant properties, including closed and blighted restaurants, that have become an oddly normalized part of the local landscape.
to mark friday the 13th, here's a partial list of long-vacant zombie spaces we pass on the regular that might deserve a little spotlight.
amausaan uji matcha, 1950 shattuck avenue, berkeley - chain shuttered, downtown berkeley location ghosted in 2024.
anthony's cookies, 2575 san pablo avenue, berkeley - moved to san francisco in 2024.
bangkok noodles & thai barbecue, 1958 shattuck avenue, berkeley - closed and papered over on shattuck since 2024.
le bateau ivre, 2629 telegraph avenue, berkeley - arguably the prettiest, most preserved restaurant on this list, dark since 2022.
broom bush cafe, 2725 san pablo avenue, berkeley - felled by a fire in 2023, deserted and untouched since.
kc's barbecue, 1235 san pablo avenue, berkeley - closed in 2023 after 55 years on san pablo avenue.
poulet, 1685 shattuck avenue, berkeley - vacant since 2023.
priya, 2072 san pablo avenue, berkeley - this former indian restaurant's exterior has been a graffiti canvas since it closed back in 2019.
sunny side cafe, bagel street cafe, cafe rio, cinnaholic, crave subs, daryoush, east bay spice company, easterly, moe sushi, purple cow, starbucks, top dog, ying ji chang feng, 2128 oxford street and 2132-2154 center street, berkeley - closed or moved one by one between 2019-2024. the new construction we've been waiting for will hopefully be worth the years-long elimination of more than half of center street's downtown restaurant row.
snack shack, 1828 euclid avenue, berkeley - northside property near la val's, closed since march 2020.
tasty wok, 2017 shattuck avenue, berkeley - closed since 2020.
empty businesses along san pablo avenue in berkeley include anthony's cookies, the spanish table, kc's bbq and the broom bush cafe, closed by a fire back in 2023. photo credits berkeley eats.
tea fever, john's ice cream, papa john's pizza, starbucks, shattuck cinemas, yogurtland, 2200-2240 shattuck avenue, berkeley - one of the most noticeable and notorious strips of blighted vacancies in berkeley, all retail, cinema and eateries closed on this block beginning with yogurtland in 2017. entire building still stagnating despite news of sale.
western pacific, 2284-2286 shattuck avenue, berkeley - closed after one very troubled year; empty since january of 2020.
two deserted rows of formerly bustling restaurants and retail in berkeley. left, 2200-2240 shattuck avenue, and right, 2132-2154 center street. photo credit berkeley eats.
outside berkeley
albany bowl & jj's cafe, 540 san pablo avenue, albany - bowling alley the size of a city block, closed and empty since 2020.
assemble restaurant and the craneway pavilion event space, richmond - private pickleball club failed a year ago; there have been chains on the doors of this gorgeous and vast richmond waterfront space ever since.
royal cafe, 811 san pablo avenue, albany - rumors of reopening continue to swirl around this large restaurant zombie, dead (?) or at least mostly dead since 2021.
trevino's, 11795 san pablo avenue, el cerrito - standalone mexican restaurant in el cerrito, closed and abandoned since 2017.
march 13, 2026 (missed a zombie restaurant? or a long-awaited revival? please let us know.)
updated.