S.F. classic Original Joe's finally opens in the East Bay
Original Joe's is opening its much-anticipated Walnut Creek location at 1300 S. Main St. on Aug. 14. At 10,000 square feet, with 300 seats and two huge outdoor patios, it's a massive extension of the old-school feel and approachable Italian American fare the restaurant has been known for since 1937.
Co-owners and siblings John and Elena Duggan have had their eyes on Walnut Creek since 2017. They said many East Bay residents make the trek to Original Joe's in San Francisco or Original Joe's of Westlake in Daly City, while lots of San Franciscans have moved to the East Bay but still work in the city.
'We saw it as a big market that we could … hopefully make it a clubhouse for this neighborhood,' John Duggan said of Walnut Creek. 'When you do a restaurant this size, you have to feel confident in the region, in the market, and we do.'
When they found the former, longtime Stanford's Restaurant & Bar — a long, wide space on a prominent downtown corner — they knew it was the right fit. Customers who open the hulking wooden front doors (with the same gold handles as the Westlake restaurant) they'll enter a spacious lobby with green-and-white marble floors and Original Joe's ephemera on the walls. To the right is a 50-seat cocktail lounge with cozy green leather booths and a fireplace. The back of the lounge bar is a glass window into the main dining room. The 'Original' sign from the first Original Joe's on Taylor Street, which had been in storage for 17 years, hangs on one wall. (The 'Joe's' hangs in the North Beach location.)
A 50-foot counter looking into the large open kitchen, a design signature of all Original Joe's locations that recalls the original counter on Taylor Street, stretches the length of the vast dining room. Customers can sit at red diner-style leather seats at the counter, with a view of chefs flipping porterhouse steaks and lamb chops on the mesquite charcoal grill, another Original Joe's staple. On the other side of the dining room is a private room with its own bar and patio, which will be used for events and possibly public dining. The two main outdoor patios are covered with retractable awnings and equipped with misters and heaters.
The menu will serve Original Joe's staples for lunch, dinner and weekend brunch, from meatballs and Caesar salad to spicy rigatoni and wood-fired meats. The owners are also bringing over popular dishes from their newest San Francisco restaurant, Little Original Joe's, including zucchini fries and a cheeseburger that's smaller than the seared burger 'sandwich' on a sourdough roll that the restaurant is known for.
Tony Rodin, a Croatian immigrant, opened the Taylor Street restaurant in 1937; the Duggan family later took over and expanded to North Beach and Westlake. (The Taylor Street original was destroyed in a fire in 2007.) The Duggan siblings, the second-generation operators, have been on an expansion tear in recent years. They took over the celebrated cheesecake company Zanze's; opened Mexican American restaurant Elena's and a Little Original Joe's market in West Portal; then a Little Original Joe's spinoff with pizza and pasta in the Marina District. (The Corte Madera restaurant Marin Joe's is separately owned.) Like the rest, the Walnut Creek location is decorated with framed photos of family members and longtime employees.
Many restaurateurs, especially in today's hyper-competitive climate, might be tempted to create something trendy and new. But the enduring draw of Original Joe's, the owners believe, is in multi-generational nostalgia.
'We receive emails and messages and DMs about people who have moved here to Walnut Creek. They want to bring their grandmothers. They want to bring their mothers,' Elena Duggan said. 'They share all kinds of stories about their time on Taylor Street, Westlake and North Beach.'
The Duggans aren't done expanding. They said they get constant requests to bring Original Joe's to other parts of the Bay Area.
Original Joe's. Opening Aug. 14. 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday. 1300 S. Main St., Walnut Creek. originaljoes.com
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