Tullio’s in Walnut Creek shuts its doors
Say ciao to Tullio’s minestrone, his linguine with clams and the mural of Venice’s canals in the dining room.
The family behind a long-running Italian family-style restaurant has closed the doors on their Walnut Creek venture.
Tullio’s — the full name Tullio’s Family Style Italian Restaurant and Pizza was emblazoned on a sign — had operated on North Broadway since 1995, according to the East Bay Times archives.
But patriarch Tullio Giannini had cooked in restaurants for another 20 years prior to that, giving him a good 40 years in the business.
As the restaurant’s recording says, “Tullio has been told by his doctors that it’s time for retirement!”
In recent years, wife Nancy ran the front of the house along with sons Matt and Dean.
In a note posted on the restaurant’s front door, the family said:
“It’s with a heavy heart that the Giannini family is announcing that after 40 years of serving the East Bay community, that Tullio’s Italian Restaurant will be closing its doors for business on Saturday, July 14, 2018.
“We thank you for letting us be a part of your lives, as you’ve been such a big part of ours. Thank you for choosing Tullio’s throughout the years and sharing your time and families with us. Our family and dedicated staff has made a million memories in this restaurant, and you’ve been a huge part of that. It’s been an honor serving you, our loyal customers, friends and extended family.
“To the next chapter in life!” Although Tullio’s has closed, the restaurant is accepting a limited number of catering and togo orders through July. For details, call 925-938-3367. www.tulliosrestaurant.com
Meet Fresh’s Taiwanese delights come to Fremont
Craving an Icy Grass Jelly or Winter Melon Tea at 11 p.m.?
Meet Fresh, a wildly popular late-night Taiwanese dessert and drink specialist, has plans to expand widely in the Bay Area.
The company’s second NorCal location has just opened at Fremont’s Pacific Commons center. That follows a 2016 launch at Main Street Cupertino.
What’s next? Look for Meet Fresh to branch out to Livermore, San Mateo, Oakland and Daly City later this year or in early 2019.
The concept, created by the Fu family in 2007 (youngest brother Johnson Fu is the CEO), has already grown to more than 700 restaurants internationally.
A whopping 150 ingredients — all without artificial flavors or preservatives — can be found on the menu. Mixing and matching is encouraged with your dessert order. Add mung beans or barley to your Icy Grass Jelly. Or order sweet potato for your tofu pudding.
Tea selections are equally vast, with more than 50 variations on jasmine, oolong, herbal, winter melon, lychee, pineapple and milk teas available.
Meet Fresh also specializes in late-night hours. Both the Fremont (43337 Boscell Road) and Cupertino (19449 Stevens Creek Blvd.) locations are open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until midnight Friday and Saturday. Details, menus: www.meetfresh.us.
Outback closes, making way for new Campbell steakhouse
Campbell residents will have to drive a little for their Bloomin’ Onion.
Outback Steakhouse has closed at the Pruneyard, making way for Orchard City Kitchen chef Jeff Stout’s new concept.
The shutdown leaves the South Bay with three other Outbacks: San Jose/ Blossom Hill, Cupertino and Milpitas/ Great Mall. There are 10 total in the Bay Area.
In May, the Pruneyard and Stout announced that he would tap into his Michelin roots to create a new Italianthemed steakhouse at the center.
Although Stout says the restaurant won’t open until 2019, it already has a name: Be Steak A. That’s an American play on the Italian word for steak, “bistecca,” which on menus is typically seen as “Bistecca alla Fiorentina,” a Tuscan-style porterhouse.
“I like it as it tells everything: Steak. Italian. American. Big. Bold,” he says.
High-end steaks figure prominently in Stout’s résumé. At Alexander’s Steakhouse in Cupertino, he and his staff earned a Michelin star for three consecutive years. In 2014, he jumped out on his own with Orchard City Kitchen, which specializes in creative small plates and craft cocktails.
Hult expanding Flights restaurant concept to Mountain View
How many restaurants make an empire?
If the number is four openings in just over a year, then former pro hockey player Alexander Hult is now running an empire.
After successfully expanding his Flights restaurant concept from Campbell to Los Gatos and recently Burlingame, he and his team are now building out their newest location in downtown Mountain View.
“It’s going to be such a good location for us,” Hult said of the high-profile corner of Castro Street and California Avenue, about a block from the city’s Performing Arts Center.
He first launched the “flights” idea — a trio of small plates (aka “comfort food tapas”) or drinks — in downtown Campbell in June 2017. There, and at other locations, the flight of margaritas (classic, passion fruit-lime and mango-jalapeño) is the definite cocktail favorite. Among the savory plates, the mac and cheese, shrimp, ahi tuna and french fry flights rank as best-sellers.
Expect the Mountain View Flights to open this fall at 800 California St., where Shiva’s restaurant had formerly been located.
Next up? Hult, who is also a poker player, has set his sights on a Las Vegas location.
Details, updates: www.flightsrestaurants.com
Save the date: Oakland’s inaugural Cocktail Week
The East Bay’s great mixologist minds are getting to work.
The first-ever Oakland Cocktail Week is coming Sept. 15-23, with O-Town-inspired creations going for $10.
Among the restaurants and bars already signed up are the Ramen Shop, Hopscotch, Starline Social Club, Dyafa, Camino, Nido, Alamar, Forbidden Island, The Cat House, Cosecha, Drexl, Bardo, Fort Green, Kon-Tiki, Make Westing, Mari at Angela’s, The Miranda, Oakland Spirits Co., Plum Bar, Spice Monkey, Julie’s, Copper Spoon, Bar Cesar, Lake Chalet and Umami Mart.
The event, sponsored by event organizer See.Eat.Love, will help raise funds for ROC the Bay, the local chapter of the nonprofit Restaurants Opportunity Center.
Look for details on participants and their cocktails as the week draws near. www.oaklandcocktailweek.com.