Pour One Out for Alameda: Longstanding Distillery Hangar 1 Is Leaving Spirits Alley

Vodka distillery Hangar 1 announced plans to close down its Alameda-based facility. The well-loved local tasting room is also set to shut down as of December 18, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. It’s not quite the end for the company, as a representative shared the company will move production to an unnamed partner distillery in the Bay Area, but it is the end of an era: the company has taken up space on the Bay Area isle since its start in 2001, opening a tasting room back in 2017 with sweeping views of the San Francisco skyline and Golden Gate Bridge. The Chronicle points out the company name takes after the former airplane hangar where the vodka is made, but there are unanswered questions about whether the company will re-brand in the future.

“This has been a difficult decision for the team but unfortunately it is required to meet the changing needs of the business,” Hangar 1 spokesperson, Marissa Sturm, told the Chronicle. “Hangar 1 Vodka will continue to be made at our partner distillery in the Bay Area, using the same production methods and ingredients.”

Restaurant struck by gunfire at Stanford Shopping Center

Employees at Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse had a close call as a drive-by shooting took place Monday afternoon at the Stanford Shopping Center, KVTU reports. Two shots were fired around 4:30 p.m., but one bullet is known to have struck the building where Fleming’s resides, hitting a large window of the restaurant. No one was injured, despite staff and customers being inside the restaurant at the time. No suspects were arrested. Palo Alto police say they plan to increase patrols at the popular mall.

A bottle shop and a wine company team up … and a restaurant is born

A new restaurant is in the works for the Mission District, and the owners of Gemini Bottle Co. and Subject to Change Wine Co. are teaming up to take over the space at 2845 18th Street, the San Francisco Business Times reports. Former Rich Table wine director and Gemini Bottle Co. owner Dominique Henderson and Subject to Change Wine Co. winemaker and co-founder Alexander Pomerantz applied for a restaurant liquor license under the entity Bar Gemini. The 18th Street location is located next door to Osito and Liliana, on the ground floor of the apartment building the Madelon.

New rooftop bar set to debut in downtown Palo Alto

A new hotel is readying for its opening and already teasing the details on a new rooftop bar and all-day cafe set to debut in December, as Palo Alto Online reports. Graduate Palo Alto is opening up its sixth-floor rooftop spot, President’s Terrace, restoring the garden, installing an outdoor fireplace, and readying the space for cocktails, natural wines, and “seasonal bites” including brunch, plus plans for weekend brunch and “rooftop yoga” after opening. Lou & Herbert’s is an all-day cafe with pastry items from Manresa Bread and breakfast items, before transitioning into a spot for beer, wine, cocktails, and “shareable bites.”

As Palo Alto Online points out, the changeover was considered controversial as the former President Hotel was previously a historic apartment building with 75 apartments before the city council approved the conversion into a 100-room hotel in 2020.

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