Brown Sugar Kitchen Opens for Chicken and Waffles in the Ferry Building

After her original West Oakland restaurant closed in August, chef Tanya Holland has left Brown Sugar Kitchen fans pining for her fried chicken and waffles, gumbo, and other soulful favorites. Yesterday, that wait finally came to an end, when Holland opened the doors to her long-awaited San Francisco location in the Ferry Building.

The new Brown Sugar Kitchen lands in the former Il Cane Rosso space and functions as a counter-service accompaniment to her upcoming flagship restaurant in Uptown Oakland, which is expected to open later this week.

Open daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., the Ferry Building stall serves up all of the dishes that made Holland’s original restaurant so famous: buttermilk fried chicken with a cornmeal waffle, buttermilk biscuits with jam, smoked chicken and shrimp gumbo, cast iron skillet cornbread, cheddar cheese grits, pulled pork sandwiches, and blackened catfish po’boys.

The most notable absence is Holland’s popular shrimp and grits — but it makes sense, as she only served it on Sundays in Oakland, and the Ferry Building menu emphasizes items to be eaten on the go. That includes a number of sandwiches, including a vegetarian muffaletta, fried chicken sandwich, and breakfast egg sandwich, as well as salads and sides.

Stay tuned for details on Brown Sugar Kitchen’s opening in Oakland, featuring a much larger space, prime location, elegant interior, and, for the first time, dinner service.

• West Oakland’s Brown Sugar Kitchen Has Permanently Closed [ESF]
• Tanya Holland Will Bring Brown Sugar Kitchen to the Ferry Building [ESF]
• Brown Sugar Kitchen Celebration Begins, But New Restaurant Won’t Open for Weeks [ESF]