01/25/2024
RESTAURANT NEWS
with Alexander Kent
We booked it! Dinner for two at the brand new “HURRICA” Restaurant at Westpoint Harbor in Redwood City, which is celebrating its Grand Opening this Friday, January 26th!
In 2022, I had the pleasure of racing the 1924, mint-restored, 60 foot, Nicholson Ketch sailing yacht called “Hurrica V” in the Rolex Big Boat Series at The St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco with her owner and the developer of the Westpoint Harbor and Yacht Club, Mark Sanders. http://www.hurrica-v.com/
Our Team Hurrica was then featured on the front cover of Sailing Magazine in November 2022, and had been previously featured in the Great Gatsby movie scene where a young James Gatz played by Leonardo DiCaprio, rows out to rescue the yacht and her owner. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUJ_f_BLAs4
I enjoyed crewing the 60 foot Ketch, Hurrica, with Parke Ulrich, the Executive Chef of Waterbar, Epic Steakhouse, Mersea and now “Hurrica” Restaurant!
The illustrious Hurrica yacht will be berthed near the new Hurrica restaurant. And, the restaurant will provide food service for the new Westpoint Yacht Club, just above the restaurant.
Parke’s a great sailor, a good guy and a wonderful leader for his restaurant group, so we’re looking forward to trying the long-awaited restaurant this weekend! https://www.hurrica.restaurant/
The Bay Club Redwood City’s private “Club 77” bar and restaurant is reinventing service with “Local Kitchens” in April 2024, which delivers a “Micro Kitchen” array Sushiritto, Oren’s Hummus, The Melt, Curry Up Now, Milk, Nopalito Taqueria and more. Owned by the likes of Golden State Warrior’s Steph Curry, DoorDash founder Tony Xu, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey and even CAA founder Michael Ovitz, “Local Kitchens” is sure to make a slam dunk for both Bay Club members, visiting neighbors at its public-facing section and via delivery to the greater community. https://www.localkitchens.com/order/store/mountainview/popular
I was told that the Bay Club’s front drop-in office space will become the public-facing service area, they’ll remodel the existing commercial kitchen, and Club 77 will maintain its private club feel with huge TVs, pool table and bar for members only.
I messaged with the Bay Club’s CEO several years ago about one of my restaurant real estate clients, American Bull, that was looking for a new location for their thriving sports bar. He invited us to consider the Club 77 space, but I knew that it would have to be more open to the public in some way to get enough volume for fresher ingredients and a broader menu and to keep American Bull’s huge existing customer base. As a member of the Bay Club for ten years myself, I believe that “Local Kitchens” will be a perfect food and beverage service partner.
We’ve seen the re-opening of “Izzy’s” Restaurant in San Carlos on January 10th, with its remodeled dinning room and gorgeous back patio. Izzy's on the Peninsula | Steakhouse Restaurant in San Carlos, CA www.izzysonthepeninsula.com
We do all miss the music from Savanna Jazz, a few blocks from our house on Elm Street in San Carlos. The space at 1189 Laurel St in San Carlos got gutted and is getting relaunched as a more mellow “Bober Tea”, which will serve Bobba Tea and treats with an opening in “early 2024”. Home | Bober Tea & Coffee www.boberteausa.com
San Carlos misses our Cuisinette French bistro at 1105 San Carlos Avenue, but former owner Geoffroy Raby assures us that he’s shopping the market for more consistently busy location. The new restaurant going into the former Cuisinette space promises to deliver a “High Tech Burrito”. https://www.hightechburrito.com/
Similar to the new Robot smoothie maker at The Bay Club’s former café space, I’m not sure that “high tech” food is what most restaurant-goers want, but if they’re open late, high tech burritos, and also the new “Sunshine Hong Kong Café” that I sold “Jood” restaurant’s fixtures, furniture and equipment to should power us all for another lap around Laurel Street.
Both the 4,600 square foot “Sneaker’s” space and the 4,000 square foot “Paxti’s” space on Laurel in San Carlos has been up for lease recently. We hear that Sneaker’s is going to be another Bar and Grill concept, and the jury is still out on Paxti’s future. Leasing too big of a restaurant space has killed many fine concepts. How does Laurel Street pizza pan out? Blue Line? Paxti’s? Doppio Zero is somehow sublime with every dish, fresh pasta and pizza included! Ohh…la…la! https://www.dzpizzeria.com/san-carlos-menu
Piacere gone Ta**us on Laurel in San Carlos is still dark, but the outgoing tenant is working to sell their FFE with a few prospects in the oven.
In Belmont at The Carlmont Shopping Center, the former Waterdog Tavern, gone The Tavern, gone Jim Burg's is going to be reopened as "AMARA" restaurant by Ajay Walia. Ajay is the owner of the previously one-Michelin-starred Rasa in Burlingame (originally earned by Chef Sri, who then earned two Michelin stars at The Taj Campton Hotel and who now co-owns Ettan, etc with Ayesha Thapar) and Saffron Indian Bistro in San Carlos. https://www.thesaffronrestaurant.com/about Will Amara be Indian? Italian? Greek? I've got an email into Ajay Walia, and you'll be the first to know!
In San Mateo, we’re looking forward to the reopening of Nini’s Coffee Shop as “Kiki’s Coffee Shop”. I had the good fortune to meet the Kiki’s co-owner, Sarah Marotta, when she toured one of my restaurant real estate listings at The Port of Redwood City several years ago. Vibrant, beautiful and trained as a pastry chef at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, she’s been selling her pastries at the weekly San Mateo Farmer’s market the “Beurre Pastry Shoppe” brand since 2015. Sarah and her brother, Jacob, who also trained at Le Cordon Bleu, are partnering on what will undoubtedly be a delicious Kiki’s Coffee Shop. We can’t wait! https://www.kikiscoffeeshop.com/
Don’t’ forget, Friday, February 9th is the Kick Off for “Beer Week” in the Bay Area, and our local Breweries like Alpha Acid, Blue Oak, Devil’s Canyon, Hapas, and Alpha Acid’s little sister, Ale Arsenal are sure to join in on the frolicking! https://sfbeerweek.org/schedule
My last Restaurant News got well over 10,000 views on Nextdoor. Please feel free to submit any restaurant news that you’d like to share with me to alex.kent@symphonic-inv.com I hope to post Restaurant News once a month. Cheers!
Alexander Kent, Commercial Real Estate Broker
https://www.linkedin.com/in/leasebuysellpermitfinance/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUJ_f_BLAs4
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