Here’s some exciting news for anyone who’s ever used furniture shopping as an excuse to devour a plate of Swedish meatballs and a side of lingonberry sauce: Ingka Centres, a sister company to Swedish furniture store Ikea, plans to open a food hall with focuses on sustainability, plant-based foods, and Nordic cuisine in downtown San Francisco. Called Saluhall, the multilevel food hall should open by the end of the year, following the May opening of San Francisco’s first Ikea store, the San Francisco Business Times reports. The furniture store will anchor the upcoming Livat malllocated at 945 Market Street.
Details are sparse at this point about the exact plans for the Ikea store and the mall in general but in a press release in 2022, Ingka Centres previewed the Saluhall concept, describing it as both “an ethos as well as a physical space.” Plans at that time included a menu made up of 80 percent plant-based options and a focus on “the four cornerstones of Nordic street food — bakery, beer, burgers, and ice cream.” The Business Times also reports plans for a cooking school, kitchen facilities that would be accessible to the community for use after hours, and donations of surplus food to those in need.
Rooh owners to open a casual restaurant in Emeryville
Anu and Vikram Bhambri, who own the modern Indian restaurant Rooh in San Francisco, plan to open a second restaurant in Emeryville later this year. Called Pippal, the more casual dining outlet will serve “clay pot dishes of Bihar and the coastal cuisine of Goa,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The 2,700-square-foot restaurant will be located at the Bay Street development with plans for indoor and outdoor seating plus a standing bar area with bayfront views.
Meet the entrepreneur behind the Bay Area’s new onigiri food truck
The San Francisco Standard has the story behind Tokachi Musubi, a new food truck slinging omusubi, or onigiri, around the Bay Area. Owner Erika Sanchez is a La Cocina incubator alum who says she’s been making musubi since she was a kid. The food truck menu will offer rice balls stacked with fried chicken, shrimp tempura, and pork.
Panda Express forces Bay Area restaurant to change name
Morro Bay business Panda Panda Chinese Restaurant — or rather, the business formerly known as Panda Panda Chinese Restaurant — tells SFGATE it changed its name to Bamboo Bamboo Chinese Restaurant after receiving a letter alleging trademark infringement from massive Chinese food chain Panda Express just six months after opening.
Popular Peninsula steakhouse moves into a historic new home
Head over to the Mercury News for a look inside the new Porterhouse restaurant location at 164 South B Street in San Mateo. The restaurant moved into the “circa 1925 Beaux Arts bank building,” after getting new owners including experienced restaurateur Hamdi “Bruno” Ugur. Expect dry-aged steaks, bananas foster flambéed tableside, and old-school posters for films including Casablanca, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and The African Queen.
Source: eater