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Staffers Ashley (left) and Ella at the new Cupcakin’ Bake Shop location in the former Virginia Bakery space in North Berkeley show off the wares. Photo: Joanna Della Penna
When Nosh posted its list of February openings and closings this time last year, there was very little hint as to the looming pandemic lockdown and ongoing months of crisis soon to come. Looking back now, it is remarkable to note that despite the year’s unparalleled challenges, only three of the 18 East Bay food and drink businesses that opened last February have since closed.
Hard-won resilience stories from that February 2020 list include the resurrected Persian restaurant Alborz in downtown Berkeley; U :Dessert Story, still treating folks on Shattuck Avenue; Oakland’s Shawarmaji, that has since morphed from a pop-up to a popular brick-and-mortar; Nibs, a former El Cerrito favorite now slinging pancakes and burgers in West Oakland; and Arizmendi Emeryville, that overcame more than a year of repairs after
The Peruvian chicken dinner from Michoz, a pop-up operating out of Hidden Cafe in Berkeley, was a memorable feast. Photo: Sarah Han
Usually, around this time of year, we’re feeling pretty good. We’re buzzing with a sense of joy and relaxation, spending time with family and friends, gathering and eating meals together and looking back on the fun times we had over the last 12 months. After almost a full year of living with COVID-19, those halcyon holiday times seem so distant from our current reality. But while we didn’t get many opportunities to eat at restaurants or meet up for meals with friends, we still did have some good times and ate plenty of good food in 2020.
Iyasare’s Osechi Sushi will be available on New Year’s Eve. Photo: Iyasare
We’re more than ready to say goodbye to 2020, and although the new year might not bring immediate relief from the intense, insane and frustrating effects of the pandemic (the recent stimulus package will help small businesses with loans, but it does not offer grants for restaurants), we’re still hoping for better times in the future.
Below, we’ve compiled a list of East Bay restaurants, catering groups and pop-ups that are offering special New Year’s Eve (and in some cases, New Year’s Day) menus to ring in 2021. Use this opportunity to support your local eatery and toast to our health and safety, and the return of a vibrant and diverse local food and drink industry in the future.
Special Report
The Bay Area s best dishes of 2020
Even in a tough year, extraordinary food was available in the Bay Area. Here are critic Soleil Ho s favorites.
By Soleil Ho |
Updated: Dec. 24, 2020 9:37 AM
Even though 2020 has been absolute trash all around, the Bay Area’s food scene has continued on, though with the precarity of a flickering match in a storm. Amid the chaos and stress of weathering a pandemic in one of the hardest-hit countries in the world, opportunities to eat nourishing and soul-satisfying food have become even more precious. Life has changed for all of us, though I’m happy to report that extraordinary and accessible food and experiences are still out there in the Bay Area.