Brandon Jew Pulls Out of Tacolicious' Chino Project

After Joe Hargrave, Telmo Faria, and the team behind Tacolicious took charge of the former Andalu space at 16th and Guerrero for their new Asian-centric project Chino, they brought on a top-notch chef for the job: Brandon Jew, the Bar Agricole alum who's been hard at work getting together his own still-unnamed Chinatown restaurant, focusing on Chinese cuisine made from all-local ingredients. While Jew said at the time that the Chinatown restaurant's delays would mean no trouble handling both gigs, the demands of juggling the two projects got to be too much, and Jew has decided to pull out of the Chino gig. "This was a tough decision for both of us," says Hargrave. "[Brandon and I] feel it will behoove both of our businesses if he can focus more intently on the restaurant concept he started before Chino came into the picture."

Going forward, Hargrave and Faria (who just returned from a research trip to Taiwan) will lead Chino's culinary efforts. "The concept remains the same," says Hargrave. "[It's] a Cal-Chinese restaurant with a menu celebrating dumplings, noodles, and strong cocktails." Though Chino has been incubating for a while, Jew's tenure with the project (which included a weekly pop-up at the Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market) has had an effect: "Brandon has taught us so much and is so passionate about Chinese cuisine...We look forward to Brandon's restaurant opening, and we will be there to support it when it does." We've reached out to Jew to confirm the split, and will update with his comments.

· Andalu Closing, Getting Chinese Takeover [~ ESF ~]
· Brandon Jew Opening a Restaurant in Chinatown [~ ESF ~]