Famed Berkeley restaurant Chez Panisse will keep its dining room closed until next year.
In an Instagram post, restaurant leadership cited the decision as “complicated,” but can all be attributed to COVID.
“The reason can be distilled to COVID, the surge of the Delta variant, and their many implications: health and safety of staff, worries about unvaccinated family members, unpredictable school closures and required quarantines as they relate to staffing, restrictive and constantly changing safety protocols, the financial challenges of reduced capacity, the expense of unexpectedly being forced to close, etc.”
The post went on to explain that Chez Panisse is housed in an old craftsman bungalow with low ceilings and a few small windows. While they have installed a new air ventilation system for the back of the café, the options in other parts of the restaurant are limited.
The restaurant had been set to open in October. Owner-founder Alice Waters made the announcement during a small ceremony celebrating the restaurant’s 50th anniversary on Aug. 28.
The new reopening is for early next year, but no date has been set. Until then, the restaurant will continue its takeout and Sunday market offerings.