Latest news with #Fiorella
Eater
22-05-2025
- Business
- Eater
Why a San Francisco Mini-Chain of Italian Restaurants Just Filed for Bankruptcy
Have no fear: Though two Fiorella locations in San Francisco just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, they're not going anywhere. The popular Italian restaurant mini-chain's co-owner Brandon Gillis told the San Francisco Chronicle the decision was 'calculated.' The two outposts in question are the Clement Street restaurant and the Ninth Avenue Sunset spot. Operations at the two restaurants, and the two other Fiorellas in San Francisco, remain unchanged. The Clement Street restaurant filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday, May 20, and the Sunset restaurant on Tuesday, April 1. Court documents reviewed by the Chronicle show the Richmond District restaurant owes 'just over $1 million to creditors including wine distributors, meat purveyors and the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.' The Sunset outpost's 'total liabilities were between $500,000 and $1 million.' New fancy steakhouse bound for Levi's Stadium The Clara District, San Jose's still-being-built neighborhood next to the home of the Sharks, just received confirmation of its first anchor restaurant. An unnamed 'Italian-style steakhouse' is en route before Super Bowl 2026, which will be hosted at Levi's Stadium. The Mercury News reports the business comes from the same team behind Saratoga restaurants Hero Ranch Kitchen and Flowers. It'll go inside the AVE Santa Clara upscale apartments, a new development that will eventually house thousands of residents. Baklava cafe opening in Upper Haight There's something in the water outside Buena Vista Park (no, nothing like that). Across the street from newcomer Coffee Llama — in the former Ritual Coffee location — Cafe Velora is set to open any day now. The business will be open seven days a week, selling coffee, sandwiches, bagels, and baklava. Velora takes over the dormant 1317 Haight Street lease, next to the former Central Haight Cafe. Solo chef-driven pop-up announces summer dates Tartufino, which debuted last fall, is run by chef-owner Shawn Phillips and is a no-joke operation. In a city awash with pop-ups, this one comes with a top-tier pedigree: Phillips cooked at the French Laundry, Saison, and Atelier Crenn, to name a few. His new-ish operation is busy this summer, taking over Tal Palo in Los Altos on June 7, 14, 21, and 28. In the city, he'll cook at Birba on June 8, 15, 22, and 29. Follow Tartufino's Instagram for more details. Sign up for our newsletter.
San Francisco Chronicle
22-05-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Popular S.F. Italian restaurants file for bankruptcy
A San Francisco favorite for wood-fired pizza has filed for bankruptcy at two of its four locations. Fiorella entered filings for its Richmond District and Sunset District locations, each operated by different limited liability corporations, for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The filing type allows owners to continue operating a business while restructuring debt. Co-owner Brandon Gillis emphasized that the two restaurants would not be closing. 'These are calculated decisions that were made based on keeping our great team and continuing to feed people,' Gillis said. Fiorella filed for bankruptcy for the Richmond District location, at 2339 Clement Ave., on Tuesday. Court documents show Project Pizza, LLC, which owns the location, owes just over $1 million to creditors including wine distributors, meat purveyors and the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Documents show the company has $78,855 in assets. The operator of Fiorella's Sunset location at 1240 Ninth Ave., Project Pizza Sunset LLC, filed for bankruptcy on April 1; it held $499,481.74 in assets, according to the filing, while its total liabilities were between $500,000 and $1 million at the time of the filing. Fiorella operates another two San Francisco locations under separate LLCs: one in Russian Hill, 2238 Polk St., and its latest in Noe Valley, at 4042 24th St. The restaurants share similar menus, with pizza and pastas plus specials. Co-owners Boris Nemchenok and Gillis founded the first Fiorella in the Richmond a decade ago. Gillis is hopeful for the future of his restaurants. 'I'm a really strong believer in San Francisco and I feel like the city is starting to reach a place where we can rebound,' he said.
CBS News
02-04-2025
- Health
- CBS News
San Francisco company Mission Barns moves forward with cell-cultivated pork product
The Department of Agriculture has already given the go-ahead for two Bay Area companies to sell lab-grown chicken to restaurants, and now another San Francisco firm is looking to make its cell-cultivated pork available at stores and eateries. Mission Barns founder and CEO Eitan Fischer has always been passionate about environmental sustainability and animal welfare, which is why his company has developed cell-cultivated pork. He and his San Francisco-based team created pork with the conventional agricultural practices, all coming from one pig. "Started with a small sample that we took from a live pig. We took that sample and fed it with base nutrients as the sample grew, we're now able to make real pork just without having to slaughter the animal," explained Fischer. He and his team of scientists then combined that pork fat with pea protein. "Being able to grow pork this way, this is really a new step in the evolution of agriculture where -- for the first time -- we don't need to raise entire animals to grow the foods that we love," he said. The FDA has recently approved Mission Barns products, including cell-cultivated pork meatballs, sausages and bacon. "Without needing repeat samples or additional pigs, through this system, we are able to take one pig's cells and take them much farther than if we were to grow a pig conventionally," Fischer said. Mission Barns will soon be rolling out its products at Sprouts grocery stores in the Bay Area. "Pork is the most consumed meat in the world, and has a very significant contribution to our greenhouse gas emissions," he said. He added that with influenzas like swine flu, along with bird flu transmitting to pigs, his methodology is sustainable. "We've already seen avion influenza jump from birds to pigs, and threaten not just the pork supply but also human health in the country. By growing pork in a much more sustainable way, without requiring the dense confinement of animals the way we do in conventional agriculture, we're significantly reducing the risk of these influenzas," Fischer said. Brandon Gillis, the founder of Fiorella restaurant in San Francisco, agreed. "To cure or fix a lot of the problems that we have from an environmental and food, supply and safety chain standpoint that we need a host of solutions. Just relying on farm to table is not going to cut it in any way. I think what they're doing has a lot of practical applicability," Gillis said. He is the first restaurateur to partner with Mission Barns to sell dishes made with cell-cultivated pork. Gillis added that they will be starting off by hosting a dinner series once a week at Fiorella's Sunset location using Mission Barns products. The neighborhood Italian restaurant owner also said that introducing cell-cultivated pork in a city that thrives off technology and innovation is beneficial. "I feel as long as the products are really good and presented in a way that the consumer can understand and feel good -- and it has to taste really good -- I think people will be really receptive," Gillis said. But Dr. Ricardo San Martin, the director of Alt: Meat Lab at UC Berkeley, said that there's a significant decline in trends for alternative meat products on the market. "The economics are terribly bad. So even considering technological changes and being optimistic, it's just non-scalable at a reasonable price or cost," San Martin told CBS News Bay Area. He added that the conversation in his class is how to find innovative ways to make the source of our foods more sustainable, rather than replicating yet another meat product. "Bottom line, there are some challenges replicating nature that are doable, and some that are not doable no matter how smart you are and how much money you have. You cannot do everything. And with plants, we have a limited palette of ingredients, and it's not like you can treat to do everything. You cannot treat plants to do fish, you cannot treat plants to one day taste like pork," he added. The professor also said that products that are cell-cultivated will still taste different, no matter the packaging. "Fat is not 1%. I mean, it has to be around the percentage of real food, which is level 20. A burger may have 10 to 20% fat, so the more delicious burgers are the ones that have more fat. So you're adding let's say, 10% of a very expensive ingredient, with the claim that the already not so good taste notes in plant-based food are going to be masked by this," he said. Fischer, however, said this is a monumental moment in the food system. And he understands the challenges the competition of 100% pork products on the shelves. "This is for the first time, the consumer can go to a supermarket and buy real pork made without a pig," he said. While there is no set date yet as to when the products will roll out in the grocery stores, Fischer said he has bigger goals for his mission. "Our goal is to be competitive over time with conventional pricing. Of course, the products that we have with all the flavor and deliciousness that meatballs and bacon offer, don't have the sustainability, animal welfare or health issues that some of the conventional meat products have," he said.
Emirates Woman
28-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Emirates Woman
Drop Everything – 15 hero buys from the Rat & Boa 72-hour sale
Fashion by Camille Macawili 1 hour ago True fashion girls don't gatekeep: here's all you need to know about the Rat & Boa 72-hour sale – and what you need to add to cart stat. Co-founded by Valentina Muntoni and Stephanie Cara Bennett, the contemporary fashion label is known for glamourous dresses with a heavy dose of retro-boho nostalgia. Loved by celebrities and tastemakers alike, Rat & Boa's covetable status can be credited to celebrity and tastemaker fanbase with sightings on the likes of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Kylie Jenner, Candice Swanepoel, Bella Hadid, and more. From weddings, summer holidays, to lounging at beach clubs at J1, the vibrant pieces have proven to be an investment piece with its lasting, do-it-all power. 72-Hour Sale: Everything you need to know Running from today, Feb 28, 2025, Rat & Boa have dropped the announcement of the sale that will run for 72 hours across the website. With up to 70% off discount, you can shop all the best sellers including the off-the-shoulder abstract-print Adriana maxi dress, leopard-print Valentina maxi dress, floral-print Fiorella longsleeve dress, and more. Scroll through the gallery below for editor-approved hero buys from the Rat & Boa sale: – For more on luxury lifestyle, news, fashion and beauty follow Emirates Woman on Facebook and Instagram Images: Instagram @rosiehw
