China Live Goes International With Showy New Location at the Louvre in Paris

It’s no surprise that destination Chinatown food emporium China Live is expanding. The ambitious multi-story restaurant, bar, and retail market concept has proven to be a popular San Francisco destination with its casual and fine dining options. But restaurateur George Chen just landed one of the most unique venues in the world for his second location: the Louvre Museum in Paris.

Chen shares with the San Francisco Chronicle that the new concept Asia Live will take over the Printemps department store, located in the underground mall Carrousel du Louvre, just steps from the inverse glass pyramid. Asia Live will expand into other cuisines, such as Vietnamese and Thai, with plans for open kitchens with dim sum stations, a cafe, a banquet hall, and food stalls, along with a speakeasy bar, a lounge, and a fine-dining restaurant in the huge 35,000-square-foot space. Chen says he hopes to open by spring 2024, which would be great timing given that Paris is set to host the Summer Olympics that year.

More layoffs in the alt-meat world

A new round of layoffs may be in the works for Redwood City-based Impossible Foods Inc. Bloomberg reports that the company is set to cut about 20 percent of staff, totaling more than 100 workers of its current staff of 700. An unnamed employee told the news outlet that these potential upcoming layoffs are in addition to a “voluntary separation payments and benefits” offer made to staff at the end of last year, and a previous 6 percent layoff round in October.

Cashier fired over not serving police at a San Francisco pizzeria

The San Francisco Standard has the follow-up to the drama that unfolded when the San Francisco Police Officers Association posted on Twitter about a pizzeria employee who allegedly refused to serve officers on Sunday, January 29. The restaurant apologized, but now the Standard reports the cashier, a recent hire, has been fired.

Owners of Yoshi’s Jazz Club tangled in a lawsuit over alleged embezzlement and fraud

Yoshi’s Jazz Club co-founder Yoshie Akiba filed a lawsuit against her business partners and ex-husband, Kazuo Kajimura, claiming that the group tried to gain control of the business through embezzlement and fraud, Oaklandside reports. Akiba alleges that Kajimura, who worked as a bookkeeper for the business with access to its bank accounts and the personal accounts of Akiba and late Yoshi’s co-founder Hugh “Hiro” Hori, did not equally distribute payments and paid himself more than Akiba and Hori, totaling $585,155 between 2017 and 2020. A third-party review of Hori’s bank statements found “unusual transactions” and led to the alleged discoveries and wrongdoing. Kajimura and the company’s business partners denied the allegations in a statement, calling them “unfounded.”

Kilowatt is back, bb

Mission District dive Kilowatt is alive and kicking again after closing down in 2022. A group of former Bottom of the Hill and Thee Parkside bartenders took over, and with a new live music permit in hand, they’re set to bring live shows to the bar with a huge return set for the end of February. Head over to SFist for photos of the newly-reopened Kilowatt.

Tablehopper newsletter gets a refresh

Longtime readers of local food newsletter Tablehopper got the news Monday, January 30, that the newsletter is being relaunched with a new look, new columns, and a weekly run date. Run by Marcia Gagliardi for 17 years, Tablehopper is adding on a new culture section called the Gadabout, highlighting gallery shows, events, and shops, and the newsletter will also begin its new era of paid subscription tiers. Current subscribers will see the updated website and newsletter Tuesday, January 31, with three weeks free before the paywall goes up on February 21.