B-Side BBQ has been a beacon of the gritty area along San Pablo and given neighbors hope the area has turned the corner on its seedy past. Although the restaurant has been steady and well received, it apparently never really met expectations and failed to attract other businesses to the area thus far. “The time has come to close the doors on B-Side BBQ.” wrote Tanya on the homepage of their website. “We had a good run lasting over three years. Phil and I want to thank all of you for your support and love of our little barbecue joint.”
“It’s exhausting being the pioneer” noted Holland in this 2014 SF Business Times article when she apparently had enough of the neighborhood issues and decided to move to Uptown. Holland apparently relented though and decided reinventing the space was the better alternative to moving it and starting over. Inside Scoop SF cited the rising costs of sustainable meat as another factor in its closure. Although we’re losing a BBQ spot, Holland is apparently not giving up on the area. “We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Brown Sugar Kitchen’s ‘rock star’ baker, Celeste Scott in opening B-Side Baking Co. this spring!”

Brown Sugar Kitchen, Tanya’s other venture along Mandela Parkway in West Oakland continues to see weekend lines out the door thanks to their popular Chicken & Waffles. Tanya & her partner Phil Surkis had teased bringing the famous waffles from BSK to B-Side and opening for brunch but this never materialized. Leveraging the success of BSK’s baked goods, they hope will be the right formula to make B-Side the destination they envisioned. “Suddenly, the vision was clear and we asked Celeste to take over the B-Side BBQ space”. “We feel that the bakery/cafe and event space will compliment each other quite well.”

The B-Side Barn event space next door will continue to operate and Tanya did hint that B-Side’s tasty brisket may reemerge “Down the road”. The new cafe space, expected to reopen sometime this spring, will also have coffee service.

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