The Curious Case of Contigo's Oakland Location

Late last week, food critic Meredith Brody filed a highly-informative two-part summary of the abundance of Oakland's restaurant happenings. A valuable glossary on Oakland's rising status, the piece surveys everything from Hibiscus (a forthcoming "modern Caribbean concept") to Daniel Patterson's Bracina (now aiming for December) to the Ferry Building-esque market extravaganza slated for Jack London Square. But more than few local eyebrows were raised with this new tidbit:

Also delayed: Bocanova from Rich Hackett of MarketBar, and the East Bay branch of Contigo, the new tapas eatery in Noe Valley.

Wait, what? After it took so long for Brett Emerson's passion project to open and then quickly become a new darling on the food scene (not to mention industry hangout), Contigo is already replicating? Well, not quite ... or at all.

So, no, Contigo is sadly not opening another branch at this point, and here's the initial response from Contigo chef/owner Brett Emerson:

There are no delays. We're set to open tomorrow. Our Seattle branch opens the following week, then Vegas, New York, Tokyo, Barcelona ;)

And if that wasn't clear enough, Emerson sends along this bit of rumorsquashing:

We currently do not have any plans to open a branch of Contigo in the East Bay and we have no idea how that rumor got started.

Everyone, as you were. Now let's all get back to enjoying those oxtail croquettas.
· Planned Openings Clinch Oakland's Status as Emerging Restaurant Hot Spot [SFW]
· Oakland Rising: MarketBar, 14 Other Restos Involved in Jack London Square [~ESF~]

[Photo: Jennifer Yin, 3/10/09]

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Contigo

1320 Castro Street, , CA 94114 (415) 285-0250 Visit Website