Put a pot of coffee on, it’s Nosh’s Breakfast Week 2024. The dean of science fiction Robert Heinlein once said “one should not attend even the end of the world without a good breakfast,” and we here at Nosh could not agree more. All week long we are celebrating local roasters, bakers and brunches, and the latest trends for the morning meal. Check back each day this week for new stories on the East Bay’s breakfast scene.
More Breakfast WEEK Stories
Early mornings are crunch time for picking up critical construction or landscaping supplies before starting the job. Lumber. Cans of paint. Bags of mulch or gravel. And so, as soon as it opens at 6 a.m., Home Depot on San Pablo Avenue at the Richmond-El Cerrito border comes alive.
But work supplies aren’t the only thing people seek in the early hours at this big-box home improvement store. Many are also after a hearty breakfast.
This brings them to Kelly’s Deli, a small, cheerful take-out place built onto the front of Home Depot, near the entrance.
Kelly’s, which opens at 7 a.m. every day except Sunday, when it’s 8 a.m., is a hot spot for warm breakfasts. It draws many Home Depot shoppers, but also hungry diners who don’t need the store, but want the food.
Breakfast burritos, with egg, cheese, hash browns, and a choice of meat; and tortas, layered grilled sandwiches on a roll, are among Kelly’s popular items, according to online reviews, employees and customers. Usually they’re washed down with giant cups of steaming coffee, orange juice or soda.
Kelly’s Deli Richmond
11939 San Pablo Ave., Richmond
Hours: Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sundays, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“Every time I come by, I eat here,” said Nour Chaaban, a contractor from Portland, Ore. who often has home remodel projects in the area. Chaaban, like most Kelly’s breakfasters on a recent, chilly Saturday morning, stopped at Home Depot for supplies. And for his morning meal.
This time he decided to try something he hadn’t before – a signature breakfast burrito, with scrambled egg, cheese, sausage and salsa. Other Kelly’s breakfasts had been OK, he said.
“I love their lunch burritos; I think they’re amazing,” Chaaban said. “Hopefully it will be the same.” The burritos, he said, are all about the meat. “Soft, chewy, delicious.”
A Kelly’s worker soon called out that his order was ready, and Chaaban grabbed the bag and dashed for his truck.
Roberto Laureano, a Richmond resident hoping to pick up a construction job — Home Depot is a popular day laborer hub — warmed his hands on a cup of coffee at one of the patio tables near the restaurant, waiting for his meal.
He starts every day with the same routine, Laureano said. “Todos los días” breakfast at Kelly’s.
Today, he ordered a warm torta filled with ham, egg, and cheese. It’s not complicated, he said. He just really likes the flavor. “I like how they make it,” he said in Spanish.
And the prices, he added, aren’t too bad. The breakfast burrito and breakfast torta are both $11.
Stephen Cannino, Kelly’s owner, said he strives to keep prices low, even as his costs go up, and the food fresh. “We’re proud to be able to serve the hard workers of the area,” said Cannino, who has owned the restaurant for 13 years. It’s a working-class crowd, he said.
“Everything is homemade,” Cannino said. “We don’t sell anything that is store-bought, canned or jarred. Everything is fresh.” Meat is delivered twice a week.
He also tries to always hire locally, he said. “It’s kind of a community service. It feels good to serve the area.”
The two employees on duty that morning took turns serving customers through Kelly’s big windows, and preparing food, which is almost entirely made fresh, including the salsas and egg dishes.
Sounds of chopping and sizzling mixed with customer chatter, mostly in Spanish. Kelly’s menu, which covers lunch and dinner as well as breakfast — the restaurant is open until 7 p.m. — reflects the many immigrants it serves.
Almost any dish is customizable. Choose your meat or go vegetarian. Leave off the cheese or pile it on. Add beans or rice.
Online reviews of Kelly’s, which are mixed but reflect many loyal customers, highlight its breakfast burritos. And Cannino said this is the restaurant’s bestseller.
But Isabel, who only wanted to share her first name, heads to Kelly’s once a week on the weekend for something entirely different, her breakfast fave: Cheeseburgers.
Isabel, who lives in Richmond, goes for the food, not the Home Depot shopping. Her standard order is two cheeseburgers, a single for her and a double for her boyfriend.
John Valdez, a contractor from Pittsburg, said he eats breakfast at Kelly’s about once a week when he’s working in the area.
Today, it was a hot breakfast torta with egg, cheese, and bacon — crisp, just how he likes it. The food is fine, Valdez said, but he also likes the convenience.
“It makes sense. To get your materials, to get a bite to eat, and be on your way. Like killing two birds with one stone,” Valdez said.
Many workers, he said, are always in a rush. They don’t want to take time away from the job site. Eating, he said, can sometimes come last.
Kelly’s helps.
“It’s very convenient when you’re on the run. Especially when you’re a contractor. You’re trying to get the job done and be on time for your client.”
Cannino, who also owns Malibu Grill & BBQ in San Jose, said he used to also be part owner of a Kelly’s Deli at Emeryville Home Depot, but now has only the El Cerrito place. Kelly’s is found at a few other Bay Area Home Depots, with a similar menu, operated by different people. They pay rent to a company that manages the corporation’s food vendors.
His restaurant does well, Cannino said. “About 40% of our business is repeat customers.”
Eric Quijaño, a house painter raised in Richmond and now living in Vallejo, and his fellow workers, Jorge Ortiz and Luis Lorenzo, who live in the Richmond area, were rushing to a job in Pacifica.
Quick stop for cans of paint — and breakfast. Their familiar routine.
This morning it was breakfast burritos with chorizo for Ortiz and Lorenzo; a usual choice. “It’s cooked well; it’s pretty good,” Ortiz said.
And for Quijaño, a club sandwich. “I’ve never ordered the club before.” For a minute he got lost in memories of another Kelly’s dish. “The bacon cheeseburgers are one of the best I’ve had. The meat is fresh, cooked so well.”
As soon as their food was ready, they felt antsy to get on the road. Lorenzo offered his Kelly’s summary: “Good quantity. Good quality.” Everyone smiled. Bags filled with warm breakfast, coffees in hands, off they went to the job.
