23-Year-Old Bel Forno Closes; Sebo's Chef Returns

BERKELEY—After 23 years holding down its corner of the Gourmet Ghetto, little cafe Bel Forno is calling it quits on December 31 as owner Fred Shokouh retires. The space has already been snapped up and will likely remain a cafe, reopening in February. [Berkeleyside Nosh]

THE MISSION—Been missing Sebo chef Michael Black since his Hayes Valley restaurant closed in October? He's reemerged at Local Mission Market, where he's become the fishmonger and is offering sustainable chirashi boxes ($14-20) for lunch on Mondays and Wednesdays. [Tablehopper]

OAKLAND—The Port Bar, a crowdfunded gay bar, is looking to raise $20K to open up in Uptown Oakland. Though their unpromoted Indiegogo campaign missed the mark, the investors (which include the team behind nearby Make Westing) are hoping for a white knight to help the project get off the ground. They'll also try crowdfunding again early next year. [SF Business Times]

OAKLAND—Also from the annals of East Bay crowdfunding: a group of Jack London Square locals are attempting to address one of the area's greatest deficits, the lack of a grocery store, with a project called the Portside Community Market. It just had a successful Indiegogo campaign, but still needs to clear more hurdles. [SF Business Times]