NAPA VALLEY DISTILLERY IS DAMAGED IN A FIRE THAT WAS ALMOST MUCH, MUCH WORSE
Napa Valley Distillery was damaged in a fire on Monday, July 22, when a nearby car crash sparked a brush fire that spread to the property. The distillery’s owners posted a message on Instagram on July 24 thanking the Napa Fire Department for their response and saying that they plan to rebuild — in the meantime, its tasting salon is closed. “We are deeply saddened by the recent incident that took place at our main distillery, but we are truly thankful for the safety of all and the outpouring of support from our community,” the post reads.
Co-owner Arthur Hartunian provided a harrowing account of the fire to the San Francisco Chronicle: He was inside the distillery when the fire broke out, and was able to rescue a few important items before the heat of the fire blew the windows out. “It was like an oven,” he told the Chron. “I felt like you could get burned even if you weren’t touching the fire.” Thankfully, he says, the fire didn’t spread to the area where the distillery stores its barrels of liquor, which would have caused the entire building to explode.
A teppanyaki icon will close in Newark
Nijo Castle, Newark’s teppanyaki landmark since 1985, will close permanently on July 31, SFGATE reports. The restaurant is set to be demolished and replaced with a five-story Marriott hotel. News of the closure gained traction in the Fremont & Niles California Memories Facebook group, where old customers shared memories — SFGATE reporter Susana Guerrero’s own account is a tribute worth reading.
Chef Chu’s gets a late-night shoutout
Los Altos restaurant Chef Chu’s got a minute in the limelight when Crazy Rich Asians and In the Heights director Jon M. Chu — whose parents own the restaurant — gave it a shoutout during his appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on July 23, per SFGATE. Chu quipped that his 80-year-old father, who still works at the restaurant every day, told him to name-drop the classic Beijing duck on the show — he also reflected on how growing up in the restaurant shaped his future as a filmmaker. Watch the whole thing here.
Poppy’s pop-up hits the road
San Francisco bakery Poppy is gearing up for a summer pop-up tour around the Bay Area. Laurel Robinson and Jessica Sullivan will sling a breakfast menu of barley waffles with honeycomb butter, eggs and garlicky broccoli rabe sandwiches, hash browns, and chia pudding with coconut yogurt at locations like Birba, Nopa, and Trick Dog on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The first pop-up date is Sunday, July 28, at Delfina (3621 18th Street), starting at 9 a.m. Find the full calendar online, with more dates soon to come.