Camino Team Plans New Berkeley Location of Casual Kebab Restaurant

After ten years of shaping the Bay Area food community, Camino put out the hearth fire and closed its doors at the end of 2018. Now, its sister restaurant, the Kebabery, a casual skewer-focused restaurant in Oakland’s Longfellow neighborhood, is growing with a second location in Berkeley (2929 Shattuck Ave.), in the former location of Simply Greek.

Initially inspired by the success of “kebab night” at Camino’s popular Monday night supper series, the Kebabery opened its first location in 2017, serving skewers and flatbread sandwiches with lamb, chicken, and king trumpet mushroom, and sides like sauerkraut, beet, or carrot salads, all piled with fresh herbs.

The second location will serve a very similar menu, including beer and wine, but with the very welcome addition of lunch. And, given the much larger footprint of the Shattuck space, Moore and Hopelain plan to grow the restaurant’s catering and delivery capabilities.

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When deciding to close Camino, owners Russ Moore and Allison Hopelain cited the typical Bay Area woes, like staffing and keeping prices reasonable, but also the physical demands of running a restaurant of that size and caliber. With the Kebabery, and partner Brian Crookes, they’re able to operate with fewer staff and a smaller, more predictable menu (at Camino, the menu changed daily).

Hopelain says she hopes to get it open “as soon as possible,” following some light renovations, including a few coats of white paint to match the Oakland restaurant, and the installation of a grill. That leaves the timeline vague, though she and Moore anticipate opening before the end of the year.

Stay tuned for more updates on the newest lunch option that will prevent hangry shopping at Berkeley Bowl, located just one block down Shattuck.