Square Cuts Cafeteria and Pushes Oakland Employees to Eat at Restaurants

Square’s new office won’t have a cafeteria

Payment processing company Square tells the San Francisco Business Times that its new Uptown Oakland office, slated to open in early 2020, will be constructed without a cafeteria. Shedding the traditional tech company perk was intentional, spokesperson Ahmed Ali Bob says, as this way the 300 workers in the office will head out to local restaurants for sustenance. It also seems like a way to get ahead of the criticism levied against Square’s San Francisco flagship and other Mid-Market offices, whose free food offerings were a major competitive hurdle for restaurants in the neighborhood.

The Castro Squat & Gobble is transforming into a Mexican restaurant

Squat & Gobble has operated out of the same spot at 3600 16th Street for the last 22 years, but that’s ending soon, Hoodline reports. According to owner Issa Sweidan, a format change is in order, and the space is set to become the second location of Bonita Taqueria y Rotisserie, a restaurant Sweidan opened five years ago in the Marina. The Squat & Gobbles in West Portal and the Marina will continue as is, but the Castro spot’s new attitude should kick in next year.

Restaurants in Santa Rosa are closing in droves

The Press Democrat reports that though Santa Rosa put $10.5 million into renovating the city’s Old Courthouse Square area, restaurants are struggling to remain in business. Spots like the Jade Room Wine Bar & Oysterette, Stout Brothers, Mercato, Tex Wasabi’s, La Vera Pizza, and 2 Tread Brewing Co have all closed downtown, with owners saying that the combination of recent wildfires, poor foot traffic, “frustrating” parking, and concerns over homeless people all helped sink their venues.

Le Trio found a way to capitalize on Muni Metro’s weekend delays

Last weekend’s heavy rains snarled travel on Muni’s light rail system and appeared to spur N-adjacent Vietnamese cafe Le Trio to beckon riders indoors until their rides appeared. “We have arrival times inside,” a sign outside the bahn mi and bowl destination read, suggesting that folks at the Judah and 31st Avenue stop wait out the delays inside the restaurant, which displayed the N’s progress from one of its large-screen TVs. Why don’t more places do this?

With commercial Dungeness crab season delayed, sport fishers are flourishing

Commercial crab season won’t kick off until December 15, which leaves a bounty of the beasts for recreational fishers, the SF Chronicle reports. Sport and party boats are the only ones allowed to fish for crabs until commercial season starts, and companies are cashing in, packed with hobbyists that pay $150 per head. Some docks even offer to clean and cook the captured bounty for an additional $25 fee.