Top Dog, the frankfurter-and-bratwurst institution that has fed Berkeley since 1966, is looking to plant a flag back in downtown Berkeley — this time inside a pool hall. The hot dog shop is eyeing a spot at 2021 Shattuck Ave., between University Avenue and Addison Street, where it would share space with The BreakRoom, a two-floor cocktail bar and billiards club.
The plan, first reported by Berkeleyside, would put Top Dog back within walking distance of both UC Berkeley and Berkeley High students, giving them a new lunchtime option and long-time patrons an alternative to the chain's current Durant Avenue shop. A Top Dog employee told the outlet that an opening is not imminent, since work still remains to be completed on the space. The building itself carries some history of its own: real estate records reviewed by CommercialCafe identify it as the historic Roos Bros Building, originally designed in 1926 by prominent Bay Area architects James Miller and Timothy Pfluger and constructed in 1937, once known as 64 Shattuck Square.
The BreakRoom itself is no small operation. Per Visit Berkeley, the venue spans 8,000 square feet with 12 full-size pool tables, two full bars, and an outdoor lounge patio that can hold up to 250 guests, and it regularly hosts pool tournaments and DJ nights.
A Long Retreat From Downtown
Top Dog's push back into downtown comes after a rough stretch for the brand. The company's Center Street location, open for two decades, closed in 2024 after more than 20 years in business — Berkeleyside's reporting notes the closure came as Chicago-based developer Core Spaces acquired the block to demolish existing buildings for a proposed 26-story, 485-unit student housing high-rise, a project SFGATE reported was first proposed in 2021. That single development displaced or shut down at least 10 long-standing downtown Berkeley restaurants in mid-2024, including Cinnaholic and Daryoush, according to SFGATE's reporting on the broader redevelopment.
The losses didn't stop there. Top Dog also shuttered its Lakeshore Avenue location in Oakland, which it had operated for 14 years, after the building's new owner did not offer a new lease. The chain's Rockridge restaurant, open for 25 years, had already closed back in 2014, and its 2503 Hearst Avenue location in Berkeley shut down in 2013. At its peak, Top Dog had four East Bay locations; as of October 2025, the Durant Avenue shop near Telegraph Avenue was its only one still operating.
The Original Southside Shop Keeps the Lights On
That Durant Avenue location — the original store, opened in 1966 — has kept Top Dog's flame alive largely by catering to UC Berkeley's late-night crowd, staying open until 2 a.m. on weeknights and 3 a.m. on weekends. The shop still leans on the same regional suppliers that have defined its menu for decades, sourcing German-style bratwurst from Saag's Specialties in Oakland and bockwurst from San Francisco's Schwarz Sausage Co., alongside Louisiana-style hotlinks, smoked chicken apple sausages, and vegetarian-friendly wheat protein links, all served on custom-sized sesame seed French rolls. Customers can also buy pre-packaged hot dogs and sausages to cook at home.
Founded by Renie and Richard Riemann in 1966 during Berkeley's Free Speech Movement, Top Dog has long carried a distinct ideological identity alongside its sausages. That reputation was cemented in 2020, when the Riemanns publicly refused to apply for federal Paycheck Protection Program loans or local small-business relief grants during the pandemic, citing their personal libertarian beliefs against government financial aid, according to SFGATE. The stance held even as the business struggled under shelter-in-place mandates.
A Storefront With Its Own History
The Durant Avenue block has its own place in Berkeley history beyond the hot dog stand. In 1970, UC Berkeley's Physically Disabled Students' Program — a pioneering organization in the national disability rights movement that grew out of residential care at Cowell Hospital — established its first administrative office in a space directly behind Top Dog's original location, according to the university's Disabled Students' Program.
Top Dog has weathered controversy, too. In August 2017, the shop made national news after an employee resigned when internet users identified him as a participant in the “Unite the Right” white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, according to KQED. The incident prompted management statements disavowing white supremacy and sparked broader public debate over free speech and employment.
Hoodline previously featured Top Dog's Lakeshore spot back in 2020, when the Oakland location was still serving up its full sausage lineup. With that store now closed and the Center Street shop gone, the proposed Shattuck Avenue spot would mark Top Dog's first attempt to reestablish a real foothold in downtown Berkeley since the wave of closures began. When the Center Street shop closed in 2024, co-owner Renie Riemann — who was 80 at the time, with her husband Richard turning 88 — said she hoped to keep the business going and find new locations, a goal the Shattuck Avenue plan would finally put into motion.
