Kurt Annweiler and spouse Betty Burri have been Thursday night time regulars at Authentic Joe’s in Daly Metropolis for years as a result of he works at close by San Francisco State. However this Thursday, he and Burri ventured out to the East Bay suburbs by way of BART for an thrilling new Authentic Joe’s expertise.
The legendary Italian-American restaurant, with roots in San Francisco going again to 1937, has opened its latest location in downtown Walnut Creek. And it did so with Authentic Joe’s followers, like Annweiler and Burri, lining up across the block to get in for the primary seating when the restaurant opened its doorways at 11 a.m.
A priest’s blessing, a mayoral speech and an old school ribbon slicing added to the thrill, which is greater than town has seen for fairly a while for a restaurant opening, in accordance with metropolis leaders.
“I can’t wait!” stated Annweiler, who additionally frequents the more-famous Authentic Joe’s location in San Francisco’s North Seaside. He loves the house-made lasagna with meat sauce or the restaurant’s grilled pork chop. “The meals is nice. The individuals are nice.”
The grand opening of Authentic Joe’s in Walnut Creek, on a primary nook in its premier Broadway Plaza procuring heart, supplies one other reminder that town stays the nexus of tradition, retail and eating within the East Bay suburbs. The town additionally has develop into a vacation spot for folks everywhere in the Bay Space, largely due to Broadway Plaza, which serves a metropolitan sub-region of greater than 2.5 million folks.
“I consider Walnut Creek because the epicenter of the East Bay,” stated John Duggan, the grandson of Tony Rodin, who opened the primary Authentic Joe’s within the Tenderloin earlier than World Struggle II. “I feel folks have been coming to Broadway Plaza to buy years, I feel they’ve celebrated many moments right here in different eating places, and this nook was only a massive nook that had the bones for our model.”
Duggan is speaking concerning the nook of Broadway Plaza and South Primary Avenue, which was previously the positioning for the favored Stanford’s restaurant. Duggan and his co-owner, sister Elena Duggan, have spent the previous a number of years changing that former eatery into a classy 9,000-square-foot house fronted by the long-lasting yellow-gold Authentic Joe’s signal. The restaurant employs about 175 folks.
Authentic Joe’s in Walnut Creek serves hearty, home-style Spaghetti and Meatballs, Rooster Piccata and different Italian-American consolation meals in a shiny, bustling house that seems like a classy brasserie, full with plush seating in the principle eating room and bar.
The intensive menu is also filled with modern updates on elegant steakhouse classics: Wedge and Caesar salads, Filet Mignon and Wooden-Fired Salmon. Among the many conventional choices are Joe’s Particular, a scramble of floor beef, spinach, onion and eggs invented a long time in the past, and Joe’s Well-known Hamburger Sandwich.
Elena Duggan stated the specialties developed particularly for Walnut Creek clients embody an uncommon Bone-In Veal Parmigiana, a creamy pasta dish with pancetta and sun-dried tomatoes referred to as Marry Me Farfalle and an affogato-style Espresso Martini,
A key function of the Walnut Creek eating room is the counter seating trying onto the kitchen, an indicator of Authentic Joe’s eating places. In accordance with John Duggan, Authentic Joe’s helped pioneer that idea, going again to the Tenderloin location, which began as a 14-stool counter. “It’s type of widespread to see that now in eating places, however as I all the time say, the counter is the unique communal desk,” he stated.
Whereas Duggan stated that a lot of their San Francisco clients hail from the East Bay suburbs, he realizes that the Authentic Joe’s model should be unfamiliar to potential new clients within the space. “We plan to (usher in new) clients with one smile, one hamburger at a time, and we stay up for creating nice reminiscences,” Duggan stated earlier than the ribbon-cutting.
Walnut Creek Mayor Cindy Darling expressed gratitude for the household’s efforts. “We try very onerous to make Walnut Creek a spot the place all people can come and safely and fortunately take pleasure in residing, working, taking part in and going out to dinner,” she stated. “We’re so excited that Authentic Joe’s has determined to make this type of an funding in Walnut Creek.”
