Restaurateur’s influence was farranging
Richard Mazzera, the founder of groundbreaking tapas restaurant César in Berkeley and the first general manager of Chez Panisse, has died of cancer. He was 62.
Opened in 1998, César served tapas and other Spanish dishes long before the rest of the culinary industry showed much interest in the cuisine. It was also a pioneer in barcentric dining, spawning a training ground for some of the region’s top bartenders.
At his restaurants, Mazzera was known for being a welcoming, witty and energetic host, loved by diners as well as employees.
Mazzera was born in Stockton, attended California State Polytechnic University and entered the restaurant industry at Ken Frank’s critically acclaimed La Toque in Los Angeles.
He moved to the Bay Area in 1985, and after just a year, got a job at Chez Panisse as the Berkeley restaurant’s first general manager. He spent 12 years there working for Alice Waters before branching off on his own, opening César next door to Chez Panisse in a slice of North Berkeley that is now considered one of the most important restaurant hubs in the Bay Area.
With bocadillos, paella and other Spanish eats made with a California sensibility, César was immediately distinct in the Bay Area’s restaurant landscape — and far ahead of its time.
Back then, Oakland chef Paul Canales was cooking Italian food at Oliveto in Oakland. He said dining at César influenced him to open a restaurant rooted in his Spanish heritage. In 2012, he finally opened that restaurant: Duende.
“I was so inspired to see things we just didn’t see in the Bay Area: jamon iberico and jamon serrano” — highend Spanish hams — “tapas and a bar scene. That was Richard’s brain,” Canales said. “He really had a futuristic view of what could happen.”
The bar at César also proved to be impactful. Mazzera compiled a huge collection of Sherry, eau de vie and innovative cocktails, which drew ambitious bartenders who would go on to open some of the region’s top cocktail bars. It led to an era where restaurants focus just as much on what comes out of the bar as the kitchen.
Mazzera created a work environment where everyone was treated like equals, said Jessica Maria, who worked as a bartender at César before opening the Hotsy Totsy Club in Albany. That atmosphere, she said, made his business a rarity in the bar industry.
“He was so supportive of the staff and very trusting,” she said. “He had this convivial nature that was tangible.”
In 2006, Mazzera opened a bigger location called Bar César on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland. In 2013, he and his wife, Terumi ShibataMazzera, opened Assemble Restaurant, a New American spot, in Richmond. Three years later, they added a restaurant in San Diego County that has since closed.
After battling cancer for a year, Mazzera died in his El Cerrito home on Sunday.
He is survived by his wife; his children, Jack Mazzera, Kate Mazzera, Kiyomi Doty and Serena Doty; his first wife, Lori Mazzera; his sister, Nancy Mazzera McGregor, and his mother, Virginia Mazzera. The family will hold services privately.