Guy Fieri’s Chicken Restaurant Opening First Bay Area Location

Flavortown 49ers

NorCal native son Guy Fieri (he was actually raised in Ferndale, not Flavortown) is bringing a location of his chicken chain restaurant, Chicken Guy! to the Bay Area for the first time. The location is pretty much what you might expect: It’s coming to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, serving chicken tenders with 20 sauces including, of course, whatever Donkey Sauce is (update: it’s aioli). New, local items will be there, too, including a crab sandwich. Chicken Guy! is set to open on September 22 for the first game of the season, with Fieri himself in attendance. More new food vendors this season will include locations of Slice House by Tony Gemignani and burger chain Super Duper.

Thomas Keller and investors buy former home of Yountville’s Redd

Chef Thomas Keller and several investors purchased the Yountville restaurant location that was previously Redd, Richard Reddington’s longtime local favorite, which closed in 2018 after 13 years in business. Keller and other investors will own the property, but won’t be opening their own restaurant in the space, they say. The Chronicle first reported the news, which Eater SF has confirmed.

Gig worker bill gets Governor’s backing

Governor Gavin Newsom is lending support to a bill that would help reclassify gig economy workers at companies like Uber, Lyft, and Doordash as employees rather than contractors, as he wrote in a Sacramento Bee op-ed. AB5, introduced by San Diego Democratic Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, would help these food delivery and ride-hail drivers receive better wages and benefits, proponents say. But Uber, Lyft and DoorDash indicated last week that they’re prepared to spend $90 million for a ballot initiative to overturn the measure, should it pass.

Berkeley Boathouse restaurant opens

A new waterfront hotel restaurant option has docked at the Berkeley Marina, part of an $8 million upgrade to the local Double Tree. The big, 2,500 dining room opens today: They’re calling it the Berkeley Boathouse, and there’s lots of local seafood on the menu, plus a full bar.