Last Call Bar Sold to New Owners After More Than a Decade in the Castro

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• Last Call, a much-loved neighborhood gay bar in the Castro known for its jukebox, has been sold to new owners, reports Hoodline. The tiny watering hole on 18th Street, opened by Kevin Harrington in 2008, has been sold to Denim and Whiskey LLC, according to a liquor license transfer application posted outside the bar. Last Call Bar closed in March 2020 when coronavirus restrictions were put into place and has not reopened since; despite the ownership change, it appears the bar’s name will remain Last Call. [Hoodline]
• Longtime Filipino diner Ling Nam Noodle House will reopen in a new location in Daly City, alongside bakery Ling Nam Starbread, which is already up and running as of last week. Owner Tony Lim and family closed the 30-year old noodle shop and bakery last summer when their lease ended and the building sold, according to the SF Chronicle, but vowed to reopen in a new space. Known for siopao and pork siomai, Ling Nam’s menu will remain mostly the same, with some new pastries added to Starbread’s offering in addition to the famous señorita bread. Ling Nam Noodle House is expected to open at 980 King Drive in two months; for now, the bakery storefront is open daily from 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. [SF Chronicle]
• Portland-based ice cream maker Salt & Straw opens its first East Bay location in San Ramon’s City Center Bishop Ranch today, April 23, the seventh NorCal location for the company. The new locale’s flavor lineup includes sea salt with caramel ribbons, cold-brew coffee cashew praline, and freckled mint TCHO-colate chip (made with local TCHO chocolate). The chain also debuts a new line of spring flavors today, called Eat Your Flowers, which includes wildflower honey with ricotta-walnut lace cookies and rhubarb crumble with toasted anise. Salt & Straw is open at 6000 Bollinger Canyon Road in San Ramon from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday from until 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
• Asian grocery chain 99 Ranch Market will open a store in South San Jose’s Westfield Oakridge Mall, the first of a new model for the company that adds in-store and takeout dining options to the supermarket. The chain’s 54th U.S. location will offer Hong Kong–style barbecue, noodle soups and congees, and dim sum, all available for dine-in and to-go, as well as curbside pickup service. The company expects a late summer opening. [Mercury News]