Matcha Lattes and Mochi Doughnuts Rain Over the East Bay

Welcome to p.m. Intel, your bite-sized roundup of Bay Area food and restaurant news. Tips are always welcome, drop them here.

• Following a surprise expansion to Colorado this year, Third Culture Bakery will open its third shop back in the Bay Area, and this location will focus on matcha in addition to mochi. The Berkeley bakery known for its chewy mochi muffins, mochi donuts, and custard cakes will open in downtown Walnut Creek with an expansive menu of matcha beverages, as well as matcha mochi waffles, matcha soft-serve, and matcha parfaits, according to the SF Chronicle. The bakery, located at at 1310 S. California Boulevard, is expected to open this July. [San Francisco Chronicle]
• $28.6 billion in grant funding for independent restaurants in the Bay Area and the rest of the country is now up for grabs, money that can be used to cover business expenses, food costs, and payroll. The Restaurant Relief Grant Program, part of President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, is accepting applications as of at 9 a.m. Monday, May 3. The SBA will prioritize economically and socially underserved businesses, including minority-owned, women-owned, and veteran-owned businesses, for the first three weeks of the program.
• The Mission District’s Alamo Drafthouse Theater will reopen in July, news that was included in the Texas-based chain’s announcement detailing the return of 24 theaters across the U.S.. The movie theater, known for its downstairs cocktail bar in addition to combining dinner and a movie, has been closed for more than a year. The theater will open at reduced capacity, and require masks except when eating food or drinking, temperature checks, and physical distancing. [Mission Local]
• Oakland vegan chef and James Beard award-winning author Bryant Terry is partnering with Penguin Random House to publish a series of nonfiction books with BIPOC chefs, writers, artists, activists, and innovators, with Terry serving as editor-in-chief. The new publishing imprint — or brand offshoot — is called 4 Color Books, and will publish two to three titles a year on topics like food, art, culture, wellness, and self-care. 4 Color’s flagship publication will be BLACK FOOD: Stories, Art, and Recipes from Across the African Diaspora, to be released October 2021.
• Wilder, a new Marina destination for brunch and bone marrow whiskey luges, has opened in the former home of Cow Marlowe/the Greenwich. The new restaurant and bar is from the crew behind neighboring Westwood, bringing in veterans from Marina spots like Bobo’s, including general manager Brian Mitchel and bar manager Sean Doolan. Wilder’s large parklet at 3154 Fillmore Street is open for outdoor dining, with indoor dining expected to open in mid May.