Liba Falafel Expanding to Oakland, Eventually SF As Well

As originally announced earlier this year, longtime food-truck favorite Liba Falafel has been on the hunt for a space in Oakland—and it appears they've finally found one. The East Bay Express reports that Gail Lillian's falafel truck will be going brick-and-mortar in Uptown Oakland, taking over the former Ichi Japan to launch the concept. As with the truck, the centerpiece of the Liba brick-and-mortar will be a toppings bar loaded with a variety of pickled vegetables, sauces, hummus, and other goodies for customizing the falafel wraps. And that's not all: Lillian says she's also scouting locations in SF, with plans to open a second Liba brick-and-mortar once the Oakland shop is up and running.

Lillian, who founded Liba back in the truck movement's early days in 2009, plans to keep her truck running in addition to the restaurant. The menu will mostly be the same at both the stationary and mobile locations, but may expand to include more seasonal fruits and vegetables at the Uptown location. Liba is the second food truck to go permanent in the neighborhood, with Jon Kosorek of Jon's Street Eats opening Marrow there earlier this year. (He's already on the hunt for a bigger space in the neighborhood.) Lillian is currently raising funds, and plans to open Liba's brick-and-mortar in summer 2014.

· Liba Falafel to Open Restaurant in Uptown Oakland [EBX]
· Fiveten, Liba, Jon's Street Eats to Get Brick-and-Mortars [~ ESF ~]