Steep Meat Prices Force Popular Montreal-Style Deli to Temporarily Shutter

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

• Gnarly supply chain issues and skyrocketing prices on everything from paper goods to — most notably, in this case — meat, has caused Berkeley’s only Montreal-style deli to close for the summer. Rather than raise prices or operate at a loss over the summer, owner Lex Gopnik-Lewinski decided to just put Augie’s Montreal Deli on hiatus. Augie’s isn’t the only restaurant in the same position as product prices continue to rise on everything from beef to chicken wings. The meat industry has faced supply chain issues, rising prices, and even cyberattacks in recent months (including the revelation that beloved sustainable meat leader Belcampo Meat Co. has been mislabeling its meats). [SFGate]
• A photo snapped by one of the minor league players for the Oakland A’s has gone viral, thanks to its horrifying resemblance to one of the sad, sad meals served at Fyre Festival, the much-hyped, hugely failed music festival. The photo shows a meal served to the minor league club players by the team: a slice of American cheese and lettuce on white bread, and the saddest taco the world has ever seen. The big deal, besides the fact that it’s just plain gross, is that minor league players have long gotten the short end of the stick on post-game meals; read the full details here. [SFGate]

• The Battery, the members-only social club and restaurant in Jackson Square, is opening a second location in Oakland. It’s taking over the Bellevue Club on Lake Merritt, a club that originally opened in 1926 as the Women’s Athletic Club of Alameda County. Despite its spot on the National Register of Historic Places, it’s been on the brink of closure for years, with the pandemic hammering the final nail in its coffin. Now, the building will be preserved as a club once more, and existing members will be granted lifelong memberships to the Battery as well. Read all about it on Oaklandside. [Oaklandside]
• It’s pool season (somewhere, at least, where the fog isn’t lurking) and to celebrate, In-N-Out has released possibly the best merch of all time: A pool float in the shape of the chain’s paper french fry boat. That’s right, get fried in a fry boat this summer, for the low, low price of $59.99. It’s available on the In-N-Out website now, so don’t hesitate to snap one up before they’re gone. Ketchup not included. [In-N-Out]
• The Epicurean Trader plans to expand into the former La Boulangerie location next door to its shop on Union St., tearing down walls and adding a cafe and wine bar. There’ll be espresso drinks, smoothies, pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and more in addition to lunchtime fare like panini and salads. Cheese, charcuterie, spritzes and more will be on offer there, and at the soon-to-open location in the Ferry Building. [Tablehopper]