11 hours ago
A Premiere East Bay Indonesian Restaurant and Cafe Has Closed
Fans of the Bay Area's favorite restaurants and cafes for Indonesian, specifically Nusantaran, cuisine winding down operations in the last few months. It's official: SanDai & KOPI Bar on North Main Street are closed. Owner Nora Haron confirmed the news in a press release on Wednesday, June 18. The Walnut Creek location will close in its entirety, as Sandai was the restaurant arm and Kopi Bar the cafe component. That said, Kopi Bar will move and expand into 'several' new locations in 2025 and 2026.
'We're growing, evolving, and bringing Kopi Bar to even more people,' Haron wrote in a statement. 'This is just the beginning.'
Per the release, weekdays in downtown Walnut Creek have dried up. The foot traffic was not enough to cover costs, not to mention the gargantuan $28,500 monthly rent payment. The Sandai team pointed out three other Walnut Creek downtown businesses on Main Street have closed in recent months. Loyal Sandai enthusiasts began noticing signs of closure in the last few months, noting inconsistency on Yelp; in late May, local outlet Beyond the Creek tried to crack the case.
The restaurant was a quick favorite for gado gado, mushroom satay, and fresh seafood dishes such as ikan pepes. Haron's work as an ambassador for Oakland's longtime roaster Mr. Espresso provided the cafe its own roast, the backbone to popular items including kopi avocado (literally avocado coffee in Bahasa Indonesian) and the Coconut Capp, an elegant blend of fruit and caffeine.
While this closure marks the end of a cooking chapter for Haron, it sounds like Kopi Bar's future is bright. The cafe and pastry business will enter 'high-traffic, easy-access neighborhoods with population density' in the coming year. See More: San Francisco Restaurant Closings
