The Team Behind Upscale Indian Restaurant Rooh Has Big Plans for Bay Area Expansion

The husband-and-wife behind upscale Indian restaurant Rooh, which has locations in San Francisco and Palo Alto, has big plans for expansion throughout the Bay Area. The San Francisco Chronicle reports co-founders Anu and Vikram Bhambri plan to open three new restaurants in the coming months, none of which will fall under the same name and concept as Rooh. The couple tells the paper they plan to open a Mediterranean restaurant called Alora in the former Plant Cafe space at Pier 3, just two miles from the original Rooh, late next year; this winter, they’ll also debut an “opulent” restaurant with live music and DJs called Fitoor at Santana Row in the South Bay; finally, they’re working on their first fast-casual restaurant, Pippal, which is expected to open this fall in Emeryville.

San Francisco’s only In-N-Out might expand

SFGATE chatted with Jim Brooks, president of BH Properties, the company that recently purchased the Fisherman’s Wharf development that houses the city’s only In-N-Out. And there’s good news for anyone who’s waited in the ever-long lines at the burger spot: Brooks says he “wouldn’t be surprised if there was some expansion of their common area.”

A 100-year-old Tokyo restaurant will reopen in Japantown

Edomasa, a yakitori restaurant that operated for more than 100 years in Tokyo before closing in 2022, will be reborn in San Francisco’s Japantown, the San Francisco Standard reports. Bay Area food company EK Food Services, also behind restaurants such as Marufuku Ramen and Waraku, plans to open the restaurant in September — though the outlet did not include an address for the project.

Sacramento is getting a massive sports bar just outside the Kings arena

Tom’s Watch Bar, a national chain of sports bars, will open its latest location in September at Downtown Commons in Sacramento, the Bee reports. The bar was initially set to open in 2021 but was delayed due to the pandemic; when it begins serving customers, expect “stadium-sized screens and hundreds of smaller televisions” showing everything from baseball, basketball, and football to “e-sports and international competitions like snake wrestling and cup stacking.”

Much-anticipated restaurant from Marlena chefs inches closer to opening

The much-anticipated new 7 Adams restaurant from the chef-couple behind Marlena restaurant (which remains closed) is one step closer to opening. Per a post on the business's Instagram, the owners got the keys to the former Gardenias space on Sutter Street last week and are working on prepping the space. Stay tuned for updates.