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37-year-old Castro bakery will close
Sweet Inspiration Bakery Café will close next week— just months after Ike Shehadeh (of sandwich chain Ike’s Place) and Ryan Scott (the celebrity chef who helped open Castro restaurant Finn Town) took over the 37-year-old Castro business. While Shehadeh and Scott dreamed of saving the restaurant at 2239 Market Street, they ran afoul of the city’s formula retail rules in a self-described “valiant” effort to do so, serving Ike’s signature sandwiches under the half-hearted pseudonym Mike’s Place. Since Ike’s operates more than 11 locations, Planning determined the effort an attempt to skirt formula retail laws. The city cited Sweet Inspiration, which resolved the matter for a $2,622.14 fee. Rather than attempt to create another original business in the space, Shehadeh and Scott will give up, leaving another vacant storefront in a neighborhood with no shortage of them.
Kronnerburger temporarily closed by kitchen fire
A small fire broke out in the Kronnerburger kitchen overnight when a pot of expended oil caught fire. Stay tuned for news of a reopening for the Oakland restaurant.
Is Instagram making croissants go crazy?
Citing bakeries like Supermoon in LA, SF-founded chain Mr. Holmes Bakehouse, and SoMa’s Vive La Tarte, some bakers are wondering if Instagram-inspired takes on traditional croissants are going too far. As one LA baker, Roxana Jullapat, put it to Eater, “[Americans] are really open to crossing lines and breaking the rules — and because that’s so great in other ways, you also have to put up with the bad.” There, she referenced a smoked salmon and nori croissant. “You don’t want to dampen people’s creativity.” Below: An SF croissant made with avocado and marscarpone.
L’Acajou Bakery open in the Oakland Hills
SoMa’s L’Acajou is now also Oakland’s L’Acajou, with a location in Woodminster Plaza open at 5020 Woodminster Lane. It’s serving breakfast and lunch with pastry and sandwiches.
Chicken Pharm adds late night dining to Petaluma
Starting tonight, Petaluma’s newly opened chicken joint Chicken Pharm will serve a late-night menu of popcorn chicken, nachos, and kennebec fries (plus half off draft beer, wine, and well drinks) from 10 p.m. to midnight. The restaurant from San Diego’s Patio group opened in the poultry capital last November.
