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A longstanding South Bay Indian restaurant has closed its doors after two decades of butter chicken and green pepper lamb curry. The Mercury News reports that Vijay Bist, who owns a handful of Amber India restaurants throughout the Bay Area, has closed the mini chain’s outpost in San Jose. The restaurant operated for 20 years at the upscale shopping center Santana Row, but due to “the decline of in-person work at local offices” impacting lunch sales, it didn’t make sense to renew the lease.
The restaurant will relocate to Milpitas, taking over a place that will have space for both on-site dining and kitchen production, which will allow the restaurant to better fulfill catering and to-go orders. The new location at 556 South Milpitas Boulevard will open on June 30 for both dine-in and take-out. Amber India restaurants in San Francisco and Los Altos also remain open.
Smoke Berkeley BBQ will return this summer
First, the good news: Smoke Berkeley BBQ, which previously operated out of Spats bar, will resume operations on July 1. The (slightly) less good news for Berkeley residents: This time the barbecue spot will make its home inside the Longfellow Food Hall in Oakland. East Bay Nosh reports that fans can expect “the same menu of signature barbecue favorites for take-out and delivery.”
Moscone Center and its catering company face wage theft lawsuit
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the Moscone Center and its catering company Savory are being sued over alleged wage theft. According to a recent class action lawsuit, the company charged a 22 percent service charge but didn’t properly distribute the money — and instead had “a policy and practice of retaining for themselves a portion of these gratuities and/or using a portion of these gratuities to pay managers or other non-service employees.”
The South Bay’s panadería on wheels is back in action
Zeledon’s, the popular mobile Mexican bakery, will return to the streets of the South Bay Area in the coming days thanks to support from its many fans. The bakery’s van was stolen and totaled last week, but a GoFundMe raised more than $18,000, which allowed the owners to purchase a new vehicle. The San Francisco Standard reports that they hope to be back on the road as early as June 28; keep an eye on Instagram for updates.
