World Famous Hotboys Opens Their Scorching Chicken Sandwich Shop This Month

World Famous Hotboys will open a permanent Oakland spot this month

World Famous Hotboys will open its doors at 1601 San Pablo Avenue on December 30, the Chron reports. Owners Berk Gibbs and Victor Ghaben have been bringing their Nashville-style hot chicken sandwiches to pop-ups at Forage Kitchen for months, and told Eater SF that they are “trying to build a space that has a good sense of community to it that offers good food.” That said, they’re not opposed to bringing that community to tears, as their sandwiches are served at five levels: mild, medium, hot, hot hot, and hella hot, with only the first three varieties comfortable for human consumption.

The team behind The Butcher’s Son is opening a vegan Italian spot in West Berkeley

Berkeleyside reports that West Berkeley’s Pizza Moda served its last pie Sunday after six years in the game. Now, owner Elliot Harrison has partnered up with Peter Fikaris and Christina Stobing (the brother and sister behind The Butcher’s Son) to create a spot called the King’s Feet, a vegan Italian joint to open in early 2020. Menu items will include dishes like a “calamari” dish of mushroom and banana blossom, linguini with maitake mushroom “clams,” and a mock-fish puttanesca.

Salt & Straw is opening its fifth Bay Area location

The Portland-based small batch creamery Salt & Straw will open its fifth Bay Area spot at San Jose’s Westfield Valley Fair in March of 2020, the company announced this week, but that’s not the company’s biggest news: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and his business partner/producer/ex-wife Dany Garcia announced their investment in the ice cream company in the pages of Fast Company, saying the 19 location-chain has a “proven commitment to connecting with local communities through their storytelling and creativity.” So, if one smells ice cream in San Jose this March, it’s presumably what The Rock is cooking.

Off The Grid announced its food truck lineup for Emperor Norton’s Holiday Bazaar

Makers market Emperor Norton’s Holiday Bazaar has already been named one of Curbed SF’s best holiday markets of the year, and now organizers Off The Grid have announced the food trucks that will be vending their wares during the Salesforce Transit Center/Plaza event. The East Bay Times reports that food trucks including Bacon Bacon, Cielito Lindo, Curry Up Now, Koja Kitchen, Little Green Cyclo, Me So Hungry Too, Momolicious and Spork & Stick will be parked during the event (which runs from 11-8 Monday-Thursday, 11-9 Friday, and 11-6 Saturday and Sunday through December 24), and Gerard’s Paella, Gio Gelati, Grilled Cheez Guy, Marley’s, Ocean Malasada, and Wingman will boast stand-alone stalls.

Urbano Cellars is closing in April

The East Bay Express reports that the owners of West Berkeley winery Urbano Cellars will retire and shutter their venue in April, but Napa winery Maître de Chai will take its place. Urbano owners Bob Rawson and Fred Dick founded the winery in 2006 and have been working six-day work weeks since, one of the reasons they’re eager to hang things up.