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THE CASTRO—Over on 14th Street, Amber will join the ranks of the 2009 shutterfolk and will close after one last New Year's Eve shindig. Slated to replace one of the city's last smoking bars in mid-January after a quick makeover is "a cocktail club that will feel like your home away from home." [EaterWire]
OAKLAND—Oh, East Bay. Police found 1,000 marijuana plants in the former Kar Mee Fortune Cookie Factory after the building caught on fire. There's a "getting baked" joke in here somewhere. [AP]
THE MISSION—Per Lady Hopstress, there's been a split between Weird Fish and The Corner. Timothy Holt is only at the former now, and a new chef (Alex Jackson) is aboard there too. [TH]
CHAIN REACTIONS—Ready to fight the froyo joints, Haagen-Dazs has announced an aggressive Bay Area expansion for the coming year: "...market company executives see as ideal for expansion, and plan to double the number of shops here, from the 11 now in the region to as many as 25." [Merc]
[Photo: Flickr/tkamenick]
