This North Beach Italian Restaurant Packed Up and Relocated to Texas

As fans of the 1993 classic will likely recall: Robin Williams famously transformed into Mrs. Doubtfire from his apartment above the Baonecci Ristorante space, though it was home to a different business then. Now the ristorante, one of San Francisco’s favorite Italian restaurants, has packed its bags and headed south, SFGATE writes. The news comes after owners Walter and Stefania Gambaccini closed the North Beach gem last year due to pandemic-related challenges.

Baonecci Ristorante, which also earned Hollywood clout from an appearance in Tim Burton’s “Big Eye,”operated in North Beach for more than a decade and a half before closing in 2021. The owners then moved to Texas, where they decided to revive the business under a slightly different name, Caffe Baonecci. In an interview with CultureMap the couple says they hope to open in late spring. [SFGATE]

Traci Des Jardins’ El Alto postpones opening

A spokesperson for Traci Des Jardins’ much-anticipated Silicon Valley restaurant El Alto confirmed the restaurant adjacent to State Street Market will postpone its debut due to staffing issues. The restaurant is now set to open March 24 with limited hours Thursday to Saturday from 5-9 p.m.

Another Sonoma destination is temporarily closed due to fire

A fire delivered a blow to Sonoma County’s Larson Family Winery, the Chronicle reports. On Wednesday, March 2 a small fire tore through the business’ tasting room, and while no one was injured, the winery now plans to stay closed for at least a month. The news comes after another Sonoma destination, SingleThread Restaurant and Inn, is also temporarily closed due to a duct fire in late February. [Chronicle]

Hit-and-run incident hospitalizes Waterbar bartender

As Hoodline reports, 32-year-old Waterbar bartender Alexandra Tamez was struck by a black sedan at Third Street and Fairfax Avenue in the Bayview at around 12:30 in the morning on February 10. Tamez spent three weeks in a coma following the hit-and-run accident. Waterbar has since released a statement on Facebook asking for financial support via GoFundMe as Tamez has a long road of recovery ahead. [Hoodline]

Will West Oakland ever have a grocery store again?

After Nosh told the tale of the rise and fall of Brahm Amadi’s Community Foods grocery store, the now Chronicle looks at the aftermath its demise. At a West Oakland community meeting via Zoom, more than 60 attendees described the loss as feeling “sad, confused, gut punched” following the closure. A lender, Community Vision, plans to list the location on the market soon with no determined price as of yet. [Nosh/Chronicle]

Dogpatch’s Yellow Building to get a bar with a swanky parklet

Back in 2006, Dogpatch’s Yellow Building showed how a defunct building could host a small restaurant with California sensibilities, Piccino. Now owners Sher Rogat and Margherita Sagan are launching a sidecar, so to speak, in Bar Piccino, Tablehopper reports. Opening in another vacant part of the Yellow Building, the handsome bar will open to a sizable parklet “pavillion,” too. [Tablehopper]