One of the Bay Area's most celebrated pizzerias is coming to S.F.
Berkeley's hit Rose Pizzeria is opening a second location at 1 Clement St. in the Inner Richmond. Rose, which the New York Times named among the country's best pizza restaurants and the Chronicle placed at No. 13 on the Top 100 restaurants list, will open there late this year or early next, said co-owner Gerad Gobel, who runs the pizzeria with Alexis Rorabaugh.
They've had their eyes on the corner space, a former location of the Village Pizzeria chain, for a year and finally landed the lease. The menu isn't finalized but diners can expect the same blistered pies with punchy topping combinations that Rose is known for. With a space almost triple the size of the original, they'll be able to produce more, possibly including house-made gelato and other pizza styles, such as thin, crispy Roman-style tonda or canotto, a puffy Neapolitan pie. They hope to build a small wine cave to sell bottles.
The couple looks forward to joining San Francisco's pizza scene, which, Gobel said, is 'strong.' (The city continues to welcome a wave of new pizzerias, such as hit popup Jules, opening its brick-and-mortar location May 20.)
Design plans for the San Francisco restaurant show a 700-square-foot dining room with a checkered floor and small bar area, plus a to-go window, dough room and sidewalk seating.
Gobel and Rorabaugh opened Rose Pizzeria on University Avenue in 2021. It soon became a neighborhood, then a national, favorite for pizzas as well as natural wine and desserts like tiramisu and olive oil cake. Chronicle associate restaurant critic Cesar Hernandez wrote in a 2023 review that Rose 'tweaks classic pies with spice and smoke while showcasing big, unflinching flavors.' In March, Rorabaugh ranked among the top five competitors for world's best cheese pizza slice at the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas, the largest pizza-making competition in the country.
The pair is also soon opening an all-day cafe and wine bar, called Cafe Brusco, in Berkeley.
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