Editor’s note: Nosh covers food and restaurant news across the East Bay, and each week we publish one article covering all the restaurant openings and one article covering closings. Have a tip for Nosh? Submit it here.
Binny’s Cocktail Lounge and Restaurant (Closing August 10)
Nosh was saddened to hear from owner and general manager Amy Hyde that atmospheric cocktail lounge and restaurant Binny’s in Old Oakland will close after service on August 10. A closing party announcement was posted to Instagram on Wednesday, July 17. “I just want to say thank you to our community for supporting us the past three years,” Hyde said. “We’re sad to close our doors but it’s time to move on. We appreciate the Old Oakland community that has supported us, and we will miss them.” Fans of Binny’s craft cocktails and shareable plates from in-house partner Willie’s Kitchen have two weeks to visit and bid the bar adieu. (Afterwards, according to the team, diners will be able to find chef Willie and his cuisine at SeaWolf.) The Binny’s space has been sold to new owner Yafet Tekeste, who hopes to reopen the bar as soon as October as new, sophisticated cocktail concept Aura. More as that opening approaches. Binny’s is at 532 8th St. in Oakland, and closes after service on August 10.
Duende
“It is with deep appreciation, gratitude, and of course sadness that I have to announce Duende’s closure,” started charismatic Oakland chef Paul Canales’ social media announcment on July 17 that we print here in full. “We had a terrific 11.5 year run, and there are far too many people to individually thank here. But suffice it to say, while Duende was a really rad space, it’s always been about the people who animated it. Our families, our partners and investors, the architects and artists who collaborated on the design, our many food and beverage purveyors, the brilliant music and flamenco performers, the amazing employees past and present, and all the wonderful guests who graced us with the opportunity to serve; you all made Duende HELLA Duende!! Deep bows, and all love and blessings, Paul.”
Canales rose to prominence in the East Bay food scene as the executive chef of Oakland’s Oliveto, where he spent 15 years before opening Duende in 2013. He also opened French restaurant Occitania in 2022 inside the Kissel Uptown Oakland hotel, but it closed after less than a year in business. SF Eater reported Duende closed on June 30, and Canales told the publication business never fully rebounded after the pandemic shutdowns and customers had shifted toward more delivery and takeout, which did not fit well with Duende’s menu. Duende was at 468 19th St. in Oakland.
Minnie Bell’s Soul Movement (Emeryville)
As Emeryville residents and Public Market regulars have no doubt already learned, chef Fernay McPherson’s lauded soul food kiosk Minnie Bell’s will close after service on July 28. The closure comes for happy reasons — after five years at the Public Market Emeryville, McPherson’s original dream of opening a brick-and-mortar in San Francisco’s Fillmore District, the neighborhood she grew up in, has come to pass. Though we’re happy for her, she and the fried chicken and cornbread will be sorely missed in these parts. Minnie Bell’s Soul Movement is at 5959 Shellmound St. in Emeryville through July 28.
Sliver Valdez
Management has yet to return our calls or emails, but the pizzeria has been listed as temporarily closed on Google for months and we (and others) feel confident that the removal of the location from Sliver’s website and fully emptied out space at 2300 Valdez means that the shuttering of Sliver’s Uptown location is for good. Sliver Valdez was at 2300 Valdez in Oakland.
