#emeryville

#emeryville

Casa de Chocolates, the Berkeley-based, Latin-inspired artisan chocolatier, has expanded into Oakland. The shop opened up its second location on Park Boulevard on Nov. 29, offering handmade chocolate bon bons, truffles, and other sweets steeped in flavors from Oaxaca and Michoacan. You just can't go wrong with Mayan espresso, tequila or chile naranja chocolates. Casa de Chocolates, 4228 Park Blvd., Oakland

Tokyo Central will hold its grand opening on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, 2026, at the Bay Street Emeryville shopping complex, according to a mall representative. The bottom-level store is located at 5603 Bay St. in a newly built 40,000-square-foot-plus anchor building, with a rooftop given over to roughly 110 parking spots. The store will stock fresh Japanese produce and staples - purple sweet potatoes, Koshihikari rice, Kurobuta pork belly -

The fall dessert menu includes a caramel upside-down cake, the best banana pudding ever made (my words), a plant-based mocha cookies & cream cake, cookie butter brownie bars, a pumpkin swirl crunch mini Bundt, a coconut pineapple cake slice, chocolate Boston cream pie, and the otherworldly guava chiffon cake that was the calling card of H&P's San Jose business a few years back.

That's what took me to the 37-year-old Public Market recently. I hadn't visited the food hall since sometime before the pandemic. On this particular Tuesday, the food hall was abuzz with the chatter of office workers and families wandering throughout the spacious food hub, which ispacked with around 20 food stalls. Individuals sat at long wooden tables as they slurped bowls of ramen and sipped on chilled beers. The kiosks of newcomers Demiya and Alma Y Sazon were perched right by the main entrance.

A local mail thief successfully disguised himself in a familiar delivery uniform to steal packages from apartment complexes over several months, prompting a police investigation.

Assemble Kitchen, a waterfront gastropub in Richmond, has closed temporarily for renovations. Known for dishes like lemon ricotta blueberry pancakes, its reopening will be announced soon.