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.
Cal’s Fried Chicken and Burgers
After announcing a temporary closure earlier in the year, this Downtown Berkeley casual eatery appears to have permanently shuttered. The website and Instagram pages have been taken down, and is no longer active on the delivery and restaurant ordering apps. In addition to fried chicken sandwiches and smash burgers, the restaurant served chicken strips, fries, wings and chopped cheese sandwiches. Cal’s Fried Chicken and Burgers was located at 2026 University Ave. in Berkeley.
Genova Deli
In a decade, the Bay Area has lost all of its Genova Delis. In 2016, fans flocked to the original Oakland location for one last sandwich. In November, another location on Treat Boulevard in Walnut Creek shuttered, and now, as of this week, the final location, in downtown Walnut Creek, has closed, as first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. Genova Deli has a history dating back nearly six decades in Walnut Creek and the first Oakland deli opened in Temescal in 1926. The company’s ravioli business will remain open and continue selling to Bay Area markets and restaurants, according to the Chronicle report, and another Genova Deli in Napa, owned by a different set of family members, remains open. Genova Deli was located at 1105 S California Blvd. in Walnut Creek
Mt. Agni
A tipster informed Nosh that Mt. Agni, on the North side of UC Berkeley’s campus, has closed, and the restaurants phone is disconnected and the website has gone dark. The restaurant specialized in Nepali, Himalayan, and Indian dishes such as momos and biryanis. Mt. Agni was located at 1829 Euclid Ave. in Berkeley.
Xocolate Bar (Rockridge)
Following the Valentine’s Day chocolate-buying surge, the Xocolate Bar permanently closed its Rockridge location, which opened in 2023, on Feb. 15. The Xocolate Bar’s original shop on Solano Avenue in Berkeley remains open. In a statement, owner Malena Lopez-Maggi said city regulations prevented her from transitioning more business operations to the Rockridge location as she originally planned, and several factors led to the closure. The Xocolate Bar was located at 5854 College Ave. in Oakland.
