Alice Waters’ groundbreaking Berkeley restaurant Chez Panisse is considered one of the leading innovators of the “farm-to-table” movement, but they haven't really been doing much on the “to-table” end of that during the pandemic. Chez Panisse has been take-out only for the now-almost two years of the pandemic, as even a planned October 2021 reopening was scuttled by the COVID-19 Delta variant.
But the multiple James Beard award-winning restaurant is ready to take on more than take-out. Chez Panisse announced in a Tuesday morning Instagram post that they will finally reopen their dining rooms March 8, with reservations being accepted starting the morning of Monday, February 28.
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“Almost two years to the date, we are pleased to officially announce that we will reopen the restaurant and café dining rooms,” Chez Panisse announced Tuesday. “We will be open for dinner, Tuesday - Saturday, beginning Tuesday, March 8. Our reservation books will officially open at 9 a.m. on Monday, February 28. At first, reservations will only be available online through our website as we hope to reopen our phone lines as soon as possible.”
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For most of the pandemic, Chez Panisse has been a take-out only establishment, and taking orders only one day per week. As seen above, they’ve also operated a weekly Sunday Market.
Despite a long closure, Chez Panisse has been in the headlines for various unpleasant reasons during the pandemic. They sued their insurer in the summer of 2020 for refusing to cover interruption-of-business claims. The restaurant also took plenty of heat last month when it was revealed that their planned “welcoming bar” expansion would drive out the tapas bar César that currently occupies that space, angering fans of that establishment
None of this is likely to dim the runaway popularity of Chez Panisse. As such, you’d probably better be on the website promptly at 9 a.m. this Monday, February 28 if you want Chez Panisse reservations anytime soon.
And in a footnote that applies to seemingly every restaurant opening these days, Chez Panisse says “we will be hiring in all departments and at all levels of experience for the next several months as we build our staff back up.” There is application information in this Instagram post.
