An iconic San Francisco restaurant is ready to celebrate its long-awaited expansion into the East Bay.
Original Joe’s is finally opening.
The famed Italian-American restaurant announced it’ll welcome customers to its much-anticipated Walnut Creek location for the first time on Thursday, when it’ll have a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10:45 a.m. followed by a full restaurant opening at 11 a.m.
“Guests are invited to be the first to dine at the newly opened restaurant immediately following the ceremony,” the restaurant said in a press release.
The restaurant was started in 1937 by Tony Rodin, a Croatian immigrant who had escaped hunger, war and adversity to find himself in San Francisco, where he opened a 14-stool counter serving Italian-American food in the Tenderloin.
Ever since then, the restaurant has been serving up generous portions of familiar Italian offerings like spaghetti and meatballs, Joe’s house-made ravioli and linguine with clams. In addition to the classics, the Joe’s menu features hamburgers, steak, chicken and seafood.
Owners Elena and John Duggan, grandchildren of Rodin, are expected to bring the full menu to Walnut Creek, but there may be a few items unique to the new location.
This isn’t the first time Joe’s opened a new restaurant. The original location in San Francisco burned down in a 2007 fire and took five years to re-open in North Beach. And in 2014, OJ’s completed a purchase of Joe’s of Westlake in Daily City and rebranded as Original Joe’s Westlake, which opened two years later.
But Thursday’s occasion will represent Joe’s first foray into expansion in the East Bay. The Walnut Creek location has been in the works for some time, with early projections expecting an April opening. The company has been teasing photos of the new space on Instagram for months, even sharing some mouth-watering shots of fresh plates coming out of the kitchen; chicken parmesan, chicken piccata and fried calamari were among the most eye-catching.
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The vibe should be as familiar as the food, with Joe’s signature red booths in the dining room and an open kitchen where diners can watch the chefs in action.
Details: Opening Thursday at 11 a.m. at 1300 S. Main St., Walnut Creek; www.originaljoes.com
