October Food & Drink Updates: Oaks Corner Reopens; Peet’s Delayed; Concern for Denny’s; Emery Farmers’ Market Moving

October 31, 2024
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Our October Food & Drink updates include the return of a classic, The Emery Farmers’ Market on the move, a transit-accessible beer trail, concern for the Emeryville Denny’s, and an update on the Public Market Peet’s reopening.


Oaks Corner Reopens Sans Hof-Brau

Oaks Corner, closed since the pandemic began back in 2020, has thankfully reopened. The spot has been a favorite of locals for decades.

The familiar green vinyl and wood-slated interior attached to the Oaks Card Club harkens back to another era of the city complete with historic photos and an old-school charm.

Before becoming Oaks Corner, it lived as Ira’s Inn, Congers Tavern, and briefly as Leader Café. Construction of the original building dates back to 1896.

Their famous Hof-Brau did not unfortunately survive the needed repairs and renovations to the establishment. “Unfortunately, we had to remove the old Hof-Brau as there were some structural issues underneath the 100-year-old wood,” provided Cole Tibbets who is a third generation operator of the institution.

Some of the same items from their Hof-Brau are still available to order via their menu. They also offer fresh pastries baked in-house as well as Grab & Go items that are available 24/7.

Oaks Corner is open daily from 10 am to 11pm. Browse their menu online or order ahead for pick-up.


Public Market Peet’s Reopening Delayed

As previously reported, The Public Market Peet’s closed their cafe and will be operating a smaller kiosk focusing on to-go orders. Their former space will become a Sweetgreen.

Employees we spoke with expected the reopening at the new location to occur on October 31. This reopening has been delayed and no new date has been provided.

When they do eventually open, several of the tenants will open earlier and offer breakfast menu items to pair with coffee.

11/1 Update: An update on the reopening timeline was provided in the local “Peetnik Rewards” email newsletter: “The new coffee bar will open its doors in approximately 3 weeks.”


East Bay Beer Trail Runs Through Emeryville Using Public Transit

Cityside, who publish the Berkeleyside, Oaklandside and now Richmondside online news websites recently created a novel “Beer Trail” accessible by public transit. The route is intended to celebrate and “pair” the East Bay’s vibrant craft brewing scene with its iconic public transit system.

The route they outline begins in San Leandro and provides options for navigating to Emeryville via either AC Transit or Amtrak’s Capital Corridor.

The trail includes Emeryville’s only brewery, Wondrous Brewing Company, which the article describes as “more fourth-wave coffee shop than brew pub” for its modern and minimalist interior.

The route then encourages you to walk east down 65th to San Pablo Ave and catch AC Transit’s 72 Line. The route makes no mention of nearby Tenma Beer Project (former Novel Brewing space) where there is bus stop directly in front of.

After boarding the 72, the route instructs users depart at Allston Way and walk west 10 minutes to Great Notion Brewing at 2031 Fourth St. (former Sierra Nevada Torpedo Room).

The full route can be read on Berkeleyside.org.


Emery Farmers’ Market Moving to Public Market Lot in 2025

The Farmers’ Market at The Emery complex announced that they will be moving from their Emery location next year. A representative of The Emery noted foot traffic in the area wasn’t enough to sustain it long term.

The Market kicked off last June and after a brief pause to resolve some permitting issues, they reassumed their weekly events in July.

The weekly events are being put on by the Regional Farmers’ Market Association who also coordinate a recurring event in San Jose.

Their new location will be the lot across from the Public Market that has previously hosted Off the Grid weekly events. The move is expected to take place on April 5, 2025.


Could Emeryville Denny’s be on Closure List?

Denny’s announced that they will be closing 150 of their 1,358 restaurants across the country in an October 22nd earnings call.

Many news sources, including USA Today, used a stock photo of the Emeryville Denny’s in the feature images of their stories announcing this decision.

While we want to make clear that this list has not been made public, their criteria for closure certainly fits the Emeryville location. “Older locations” will be among those targeted for closure Denny’s executives announced.

The Emeryville Denny’s first opened in 1969 making the location 55 years old. The surrounding area was recently acquired and is slated for redevelopment.

Denny’s closed their East Oakland Hegenberger location earlier this year with rampant crime in the area being partially to blame.

50 locations are expected to close by the end of this year and an additional 100 in 2025.


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Rob Arias

is a third generation Californian and East Bay native who lived in Emeryville from 2003 to 2021. Rob founded The E'ville Eye in 2011 after being robbed at gunpoint and lamenting the lack of local news coverage. Rob's "day job" is as a creative professional.

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