2024 has been another busy, topsy-turvy year in the East Bay food and drink world. While there are many trends to glean, perhaps one of the most significant for Diablo readers is the flight of high-profile restaurants to the relative safe havens of the suburban East Bay. Don’t take our word for it: Oakland’s acclaimed pitmaster Matt Horn just announced he is opening a Horn Barbecue in Lafayette, while SFGate recently dubbed Walnut Creek’s Broadway Plaza “a mini San Francisco” where restaurants were clamoring to open. And there’s plenty more on the way. As we close the books on 2024, here is a list of 15 of the most anticipated food and drink destinations slated to open in the East Bay in 2025.

Alora, San Ramon

Estimated Opening: January

The restaurant group behind contemporary Indian restaurants Rooh, Fitoor, and Pippal (new in Emeryville) is opening just the second branch of their Mediterranean concept Alora in San Ramon’s City Center Bishop Ranch. The flagship San Francisco restaurant is known for its pan-Mediterranean menu of seasonal, market-driven fare that includes handmade pasta, meats and veggies grilled over charcoal embers, and a dry-aged meat program. Co-owner Vikram Bhambri said to expect a menu similar in theme, although with a more casual spin befitting the shopping center locale. Examples of dishes available at the San Francisco location include dips like tahini hummus; mezes that include dolmas, burrata with Jerusalem artichokes, and octopus souvlaki; beet and panzanella salads; and entrées such as pan-seared branzino, beef strip loin kebab, and spaghetti chitarra. There will also be a full bar at the 7,000-square-foot ground-floor space that was previously home to Chow.

We’d also be remiss not to mention rumors that the group is also looking to open a new Pippal location in Dublin…

Canyon Club Brewery, Danville

Estimated Opening: January

Canyon Club Brewery has been operating admirably but in relative obscurity for five years in Moraga, where it’s served as a “third place” drinking and dining hub for the west Lamorinda community. Now, the owners are moving into the (relatively) bigger culinary waters of downtown Danville, where they’ll soon be opening a second location in the Danville Livery shopping center. The new outpost will boast an airy interior by restoring the original lofted post and beam ceiling, and it has fold-up windows that open out into a big patio and biergarten with heat lamps, firepits, and a stage for live music. There will be, of course, a big craft beer list highlighted by Canyon Club brews made on-site, but also wine and some craft cocktails, plus a full menu of elevated pub fare. The brewery will open for dinner to start, with plans to soon roll out weekend brunch and weekday lunch service.

Gibson’s Irish Pub, Walnut Creek

Estimated Opening: New Year’s Eve

We won’t have long to wait for the latest collaboration between Jeff Dudum and Amanda Crammer, the team behind the Cooperage, Bourbon Highway Country Bar and Kitchen, and Rooftop Restaurant and Bar, in Walnut Creek. Taking over the long-vacant Crogan’s pub building, Gibson’s leans into its Irish theme with menu items like fish and chips, corned beef and cabbage, and Guinness glazed Irish pork ribs, while embracing live televised sports and live musical entertainment in the form of dueling piano players. Sounds like a fun New Year’s Eve!

Headlands Brewing and Calicraft Brewing Co., Walnut Creek

Estimated Opening: January, March

Both these breweries made big moves this year, something that looks set to continue in 2025. With its Lafayette brewery and taproom already well established, Headlands Brewing took over operations of Berkeley’s former Westbrae Biergarten space and is now set to debut its most ambitious project yet in Walnut Creek any day. Its new 5,000-square-foot beer garden set amid redwood trees will offer ample outdoor seating, firepits, a kids’ play area, and live music, along with beer and beer-friendly fare like smash burgers, sausages, and Bavarian-style pretzels.

Calicraft Brewing Co., meanwhile, purchased Heretic Brewery and Distillery earlier this year, allowing it to increase production and expand into spirits. That will be on full display when it swaps the current operation at its Shadelands HQ with a huge new 7,500-square-foot outdoor beer garden (with kids’ play area) serving beer, wine, food, and cocktails this spring. The hometown brewery is also working on plans to build a rooftop taproom atop Va de Vi Bistro and Wine Bar in downtown Walnut Creek, which, if approved, could also open this year.

Jaji, Oakland

Estimated Opening: January

The husband-and-wife team behind modern Colombian hotspot Parche are set to launch a second Uptown Oakland project that they hope will serve a similar function for the local Afghan population as Parche did for Colombian expats in the Bay Area. Sophie Akbar and Paul Iglesias’s Jaji is a contemporary Afghan concept named after Akbar’s ancestral Pashtun tribe that aims to deliver “a modern twist on the country’s cuisine, blending traditional recipes with the bold influences of the Afghan diaspora.” Custom cocktails will also be a highlight when the restaurant opens in the high-profile (and picturesque) Broadway space located on the ground floor of the Kissel Uptown hotel that was previously home to Occitania.

Local Vines, Lafayette

Estimated Opening: Late February/Early March

Overshadowed by Livermore to the south and Napa and Sonoma to the north, Lamorinda wines simply don’t get a lot of love. That might change with the launch of Local Vines, a tasting room on Mt. Diablo Boulevard devoted to wines made from grapes grown in the Lamorinda AVA (around a 10-mile radius of Lafayette). That includes, surprisingly, more than a half dozen wineries, plus a cider-maker. The tasting room will have seating for around 30 with a small outdoor deck featuring wine-friendly cheese and small snacks. Slated to open in the other half of the venue later in the year, Germinate Kitchen will operate as a shared kitchen space and allow for more food-forward events that could include wine dinners and Thursday pizza nights.

Meadowlark Dairy

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Meadowlark Dairy, Livermore

Estimated Opening: April/May

Meadowlark Dairy’s history in Pleasanton goes back more than 100 years, and its decadent soft serve ice cream has been delighting kids (and adults) since it first offered in the 1980s. Particularly on the weekends, the lines of people and cars waiting for in-person and drive-through service consistently stretch around the block. That’s one of the reasons third-generation owner Jesse Takens decided to open a second location in downtown Livermore: to help ease the strain on Pleasanton and make it easier and quicker for Tri-Valley fans to get their soft-serve fix. Takens says he is aiming for April, but more realistically May, to debut in the old Bank of the West building at 2287 Second Street. It’ll be walk-in only to start, with the possibility of drive-through service at a later date.

Original Joe’s, Walnut Creek

Estimated Opening: April

It was huge news when word leaked in late 2022 that beloved San Francisco Italian American favorite Original Joe’s was planning to expand to Walnut Creek—and kicked off a wave of big restaurant openings in the suburban East Bay and Broadway Plaza in particular. We’re still waiting patiently … but it sounds as if owners John and Elena Duggan are indeed getting close to launching in the former Stanford’s spot and, according to recent reports, are targeting an April debut. Expect 250 seats of indoor and outdoor dining, a cocktail lounge, lively counter seating overlooking an open kitchen, and a dining room featuring the original’s signature red booths. The food menu should offer dishes like iceberg wedge salads, ravioli, burgers, chicken parmesan, and cioppino, in addition to plenty of chops, steaks, and fresh seafood.

Pivot, Pleasanton

Estimated Opening: March

Between the continued success of Sabio on Main and the newfound success of the recently launched Crush’d Wine Bar and Kitchen in Danville, Francis X. Hogan is on a roll. He and his restaurant group partners hope to keep the momentum rolling with Pivot, a big and ambitious sports bar concept scheduled to launch near the Four Points by Sheraton Pleasanton hotel. The two-story, 12,000-square-foot project will offer craft beer, wine, and cocktails paired with an elevated menu of scratch-made sports bar fare—think chicken wings brined, dried, and confit for two days then grilled; hand-breaded mozzarella sticks; and smoked pork belly nachos. There will also be unique amenities, including two Topgolf simulator “swing suites” and three private luxury suites modeled after those at the Chase Center that accommodate up to 18 people.

Sirene, Oakland

Estimated Opening: January

Previously home to Boot and Shoe Service, then Sister, the hipster-rustic venue on Grand Avenue is one of the terrific restaurant spaces in Oakland. It should get the treatment it deserves with the arrival of Sirene, the second project from the team behind San Francisco’s acclaimed the Morris Restaurant. Chef Gavin Schmidt’s menu will have a seafood focus—oysters, seafood terrines, and whole roasted fish have been mentioned—with most items cooked in the inherited wood-fired oven. Just as at the Morris, Sirene’s celebrated wine and cocktail program will be a particular focus, and fortunately for Grand Lake locals, the restaurant will be open during the day when it will operate as a coffee bar.

Stereo 41, Walnut Creek

Estimated Opening: May/June

Details are scarce on this one—a full-service bar and restaurant in the former PG&E space on Bonanza Street downtown—but we have reason to be excited given the pedigree of project’s backers. That includes Victor Abu-Ghaben and Berk Visual, the duo behind fried chicken sandwich phenom World Famous Hotboys, and Sofia Hanan, one of the creative forces behind hip downtown hotspot, Lita. Given those two restaurants’ key role in reenergizing Walnut Creek’s core for a more youthful demographic, we’re confident this will be a concept with plenty of fun features yet to be revealed (there are rumors of an onsite DJ booth…).

Sweet Maple, Walnut Creek

Estimated Opening: Late January/Early February

We’ve been waiting a looong time for the Walnut Creek debut of Bay Area brunch favorite Sweet Maple. In fact, Dish originally reported an opening date of February 1… 2022. But things happen—most prominently the pandemic—and the restaurant had essentially gone radio silent to the point that we questioned whether the new location had been scrapped entirely. And then, suddenly, signs of life. Earlier this month, signage went up on the former Tozai Izakaya space on Giammona Drive, and reps for the restaurant say they are eyeing a debut in late January, early February. Expect a standard Sweet Maple menu of elevated American breakfast and brunch dishes with some savory and spicy Asian accents, location-specific specials, and, of course, the restaurant’s signature Millionaire’s Bacon—thick slices of free-range pork that are slowly baked with brown sugar, cayenne, and red and black pepper.

Tokyo Central and H Mart, Emeryville and Dublin

Estimated Opening: Summer, TBD

It’s a brave new culinary world in the East Bay when the opening of two groceries stores can cause such huge foodie buzz. Then again, these aren’t just your typical Safeways. Set to launch this summer, Tokyo Central will occupy the 40,000-square-foot anchor building for the recently reimagined Bay Street shopping center, which has seen a slew of exciting new restaurant openings. Billing itself as the “ultimate one-stop destination for Japanese specialty food and lifestyle items,” the grocery and retailer will offer a huge variety of premium imported Japanese goods including groceries and made-to-order and ready-to-go food trays. It will also be home to a yet-to-be-announced full-service upscale dining restaurant.

Meanwhile, Korean American supermarket chain H Mart is well known and loved for its enormous inventory of Korean and pan-Asian food items that includes ready-made meals. After a years-long planning process, the grocery’s first East Bay location is now under construction and widely expected to open before the end of next year as the anchor tenant in the Dublin Retail Center. The Dublin outpost will also include one of the grocery’s trademark food halls, with SF-based contemporary Korean concept Daeho Kalbijjim and Beef Soup already slated to be one of the vendors.

By: By Ethan Fletcher | Dec 20, 2024 Updated Dec 20, 2024