Openings & closings

Temescal Brewing to open new production facility

It’s only been a year and change since

Sam Gilbert opened the doors to his East Bay brewery and taproom, Temescal Brewing, but for Oakland craft beer lovers, it might feel like longer. The brand built its cult following through hoppy brews and smooth pilsners, not to mention an exceptionally cozy outdoor seating space. Now, as Oakland becomes overrun with craft beer and the corresponding beer gardens, Temescal almost seems like an elder statesman. Cruising toward its two-year anniversary, Temescal Brewing has plans to expand its operation. A Type-23 small beer manufacturer liquor license application was submitted for 621 Fourth St. by Temescal Brewing earlier this month. The license is pending. Gilbert said there are still moving parts but that the West Oakland space will be for beer manufacturing and not a taproom with a retail component. The new Temescal Brewing digs are only a few blocks from Urban Legend

Winery on Second Street. Stay tuned for more details. Temescal Brewing: New project at 621 Fourth St., Oakland.

Brasserie Saint James quietly shutters on Valencia

Almost two years after opening its doors on Valencia, Brasserie Saint

James has served its last drink. The San Francisco outpost of Art Farley’s Reno operation recently listed its 7barrel brewing equipment for sale on Craigslist. The post was also shared on the brewery’s Facebook page. The Brasserie Saint James in Reno remains open. “We were originally planning on closing the first week of the year for repairs and a bit of retooling,” Farley said. “Then we looked at the financial reports for the end of the year and just knew we couldn’t keep going.” The brewery’s Valencia Street space won’t be vacant for long. The prime real estate — the onetime home of the shortlived Abbot’s Cellar — is next to Dandelion Chocolate between 18th and 19th streets, a strip of Valencia with high foot traffic. Farley said there have been businesses in talks to take over the space since it closed Jan. 1. “The climate in California just isn’t great for restaurants,” Farley said. “If I were to try again with something new in San Francisco, it wouldn’t be with food, and l would want to be my own landlord. Brasserie St. James: 742 Valencia St., San Francisco

Locol partners with Whole Foods in San Jose

The third location of Locol, Roy Choi and Daniel Patterson’s socially conscious burger outfit, officially opened to the public on Tuesday, Jan. 16, at the Whole Foods in San Jose. Putting the timing into context, the San Jose Locol opened the week after the Locol in West Oakland returned from a holiday hiatus, and only a day or so after the flagship location in the Watts area of Los Angeles celebrated its twoyear anniversary. The menus at all of the restaurants have been streamlined, with an emphasis on burgers and “foldies” (the taco-type dishes). The Whole Foods partnership remains an interesting one for the Locol brand, considering the mini-chain focuses on providing healthier fast-food options to lower-income areas, while Whole Foods is generally known as a preferred destination for more affluent clientele. The Whole Foods, at 777 The Alameda, already has a Floodcraft Brewing taproom, as well as a coffee and juice bar. Locol and Whole Foods’ differences aside, Choi recently told Nation’s Restaurant News that Whole Foods could boost Locol’s community-focused goals. “Now we can start using more organic ingredients, and we can expose our brand to an audience at Whole Foods Markets that really care. And so maybe that can go both ways,” he said in the article. Choi added that there’s a possibility Whole Foods will look into opening in areas that Locol calls home as well, lower income neighborhoods devoid of quality food options.