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San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Top Bay Area coffee shop and Indonesian restaurant have closed
SanDai, Walnut Creek's unique Singaporean-Indonesian restaurant, has closed. Chef-owner Nora Haron announced the news, as well as the closure of her adjacent Indonesian-inspired cafe, Kopi Bar, in a press release Friday. Despite strong weekend crowds, she said that slow midweek activity was too much to overcome. Monthly rent for the space on North Main Street, a quieter stretch compared to the heart of downtown Walnut Creek, was more than $28,500, according to Haron. The businesses closed March 2. The upscale restaurant and coffee bar opened in early 2023. At SanDai, Haron put a California twist on the cuisine of her family's Nusantara, a geographical and cultural zone which encompasses Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei, as well as parts of Thailand and the Philippines. Haron's sought-after dishes included her pickled pineapple topped beef rendang, fish fried rice and a raviolo stuffed with tiger prawn in a red broth. 'We really had a good time with the fun-loving atmosphere and sunny, stroll-friendly streets of Walnut Creek,' Haron said in an email to the Chronicle. 'We had a lot of very loyal, hyperlocal fans and we made such heartfelt connections in the community.' Kopi Bar offered Indonesian-inspired beverages like creamy avocado coffees and coconut cappuccinos made with beans roasted by Oakland company Mr. Espresso. Pastries displayed Haron's baking expertise, with croissant muffins stuffed with coconut-egg cream and lapis gulung, a traditional Indonesian cake made with an egg-heavy batter featuring nutmeg and other spices. It ranked among Chronicle restaurant critic Cesar Hernandez's list of the Bay Area's best coffee shops. While the first incarnation of Kopi Bar has closed its doors the brand will live on, Haron said, she hopes to expand the coffee shop to new locations through next year. 'We're growing, evolving, and bringing Kopi Bar to even more people,' she said. 'This is just the beginning.' A spokesperson for the restaurants said these plans are very early in development and no further information was available.
San Francisco Chronicle
2 days ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Man accused in alleged antisemitic attack in S.F. ordered to remain in jail without bail
A man charged with a hate crime in an alleged antisemitic attack in San Francisco's Marina District was ordered Wednesday to remain in jail without bail. Juan Diaz-Rivas, 36, faces two counts of assault, with allegations that the attack was a hate crime and caused serious injuries to the victim. Wearing an orange jumpsuit, he pleaded not guilty to the charges in San Francisco Superior Court on Wednesday. His court-appointed attorney, Adam Gasner, had asked the court to release him from custody on his own recognizance. Gasner said Diaz-Rivas, a Sonoma County resident, is employed at a restaurant, takes care of his father and has no criminal record. As for the alleged attack, Gasner said 'half of the story is being told.' Assistant District Attorney Jamal Anderson pushed back, calling for Diaz-Rivas to remain in custody based on the nature of the alleged attack. 'We believe the defendant does pose a public safety risk,' said Anderson, who shared an account of the alleged attack. Judge Harry Jacobs said he believes Diaz-Rivas poses a risk to the Jewish community and general public. The alleged remarks, Jacobs said, 'clearly sound like antisemitism.' The incident occurred on Fillmore Street near Moulton Street around 2:20 a.m. Saturday. The victim, 27, and a friend were sitting on a curb waiting for an Uber after a night out when a man started shouting, 'f— Jews, free Palestine,' the friend, Alana Gans, 28, told the Chronicle in an interview Sunday. When Gans told the man she was Jewish and asked him to leave, the man walked over and said, 'f— you,' Gans recounted. When she stood up, so did her friend, who got in between her and the man, Gans said. Others nearby recorded on their cellphones, laughed and shouted, 'f— Jews,' too, Gans said. As she tried to pull her friend's arm to walk away, the group sucker-punched and kicked her friend on the ground, repeating the anti-Jewish comments and laughing, Gans said. According to prosecutors, the victim fell to the ground, hit his head and lost consciousness. Gans said her friend suffered a swollen lip, as well as two bumps on the front of his head and a third on the back of his head. The men also attacked an employee from the nearby Balboa Cafe who tried to intervene, Gans said. Prosecutors said the worker tried to intervene when he heard the commotion and antisemitic remarks. The employee was punched and kicked, too, according to Gans and prosecutors. The assailants ran away, only to return and yell 'f— those Jews,' Gans said, adding that the attack lasted about 30 seconds. When officers showed up, she pointed out the suspects. Anderson, the prosecutor, said in court that some of the others were not yet identified. Outside the courtroom, Gasner said he believes the alleged remarks and assault were a 'result of provocation,' although he would not elaborate. 'I don't believe that there is any deep-seated root cause beyond that for these types of comments. Certainly no manifesto or no greater objective here from what we know right now,' he said. He added that he does not believe Diaz-Rivas is a danger to the victims or the public. 'We look forward to the whole story being clear,' Gasner said. Diaz-Rivas' next court hearing was set for July 2, when his custody will be reconsidered.
San Francisco Chronicle
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Francis Ford Coppola to host S.F. screening of ‘Megalopolis,' the way it was ‘meant to be seen'
Francis Ford Coppola is headed to San Francisco to present his film ' Megalopolis ' and to discuss the future of cinema. Billed as 'An Evening With Francis Ford Coppola and 'Megalopolis' Screening,' the Aug. 1 event at the Palace of Fine Arts is the final stop on a tour organized by Live Nation. Tickets are on sale at 'Megalopolis,' released theatrically in September, was the 'Godfather' filmmaker's dream project for decades. The Napa Valley resident famously footed the $120 million budget himself in part by selling a portion of his Sonoma County wine empire. The film, beset by controversy, pulled in only $14 million globally. Later, Coppola suggested he was near bankruptcy. The film has divided critics, including here at the Chronicle. Undeterred, the 86-year-old Coppola has declined to release the film to streaming, and has hosted screenings off and on since the film's run in theaters. 'This is the way 'Megalopolis' was meant to be seen, in a large venue, with a crowd and followed by intense interactive discussions about the future,' Coppola said in a statement released by Live Nation. After the screening of the over two-hour epic, Coppola is scheduled to host an 'in-depth interactive discussion' called 'How to Change Our Future.' The discussion also includes a Q&A with the audience. 'Megalopolis' stars Adam Driver as architect Cesar Catilina, whose vision of a utopia in New Rome is at odds with corrupt Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), with the mayor's daughter (Nathalie Emmanuel) caught in the middle. The all-star cast includes Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Aubrey Plaza and Dustin Hoffman. Driver defended the film and its maker as Coppola received the American Film Institute's 50th Life Achievement Award at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles in April. 'This is a principled life, and for a year in our culture when the importance of the arts is minimized, and our industry is seemingly out in the open, then the only metric to judge a film's success is by how much money it makes,' Driver said. 'I hang on to individuals like Francis for inspiration, who live through their convictions, through big moves, all in service of pushing the medium forward. 'Francis took $120 million and created a singular gesture for what he thought film could be, and I think that's pretty great.'
Forbes
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Creedence Clearwater Revival Joins Pink Floyd And Metallica In A Historic Chart Feat
Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits by Creedence Clearwater Revival has long ranked as one of the most successful albums in the history of the Billboard 200. The compilation gathers together the rock group's most familiar tunes, all of which were released within just a few short years. Creedence Clearwater Revival dropped its first full-length, a self-titled affair, in 1968 and its final album, Mardi Gras, in 1972. In that short window, the act somehow produced enough massive wins to continue powering one bestselling greatest hits set for decades. Americans continue to stream and buy Chronicle, keeping the title on the Billboard 200 once again and helping it reach an incredible milestone. Chronicle has now lived on the Billboard 200 for 750 weeks. It is only the fifth album in history to reach that landmark figure on the list of the most consumed full-lengths and EPs in the country. Chronicle joins Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon (990 weeks), Bob Marley and the Wailers' Legend (891), Journey's Greatest Hits (861), and Metallica's self-titled album (793), which have all beaten the compilation to the punch. In about two months, there will likely be a sixth addition to this 750-frame club. Eminem's Curtain Call: The Hits is up to 740 stays on the Billboard 200, and rarely, if ever, disappears. Like so many of the other efforts that have reached that impressive total, the compilation regularly appears on the tally. As Chronicle hits its historic landmark, it rises one space to No. 50, breaking back into the highest quarter of the 200-spot roster. Luminate reports that in the past tracking week in the United States, the compilation shifted 15,650 equivalent units. That sum is up ever so slightly from the previous period. Amazingly, despite the fact that Chronicle has already sold incredibly well for decades, it still managed to be purchased by 2,500 Americans, and streaming activity is also hugely important for the title. As Chronicle makes history on the Billboard 200, it can also be found on three other rankings published by the chart company. The compilation returns to the Top Album Sales chart at No. 43. It also dips ever so slightly but still manages to hold on inside the top 10 on both the Top Rock & Alternative Albums and Top Rock Albums rankings.
San Francisco Chronicle
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Nava Rawls
Nava Rawls is a Food & Wine intern at the Chronicle. Nava is an Atlanta-born, multimedia journalist whose passion for food is deeply inspired by the flavors of the south. She is a second year master's student at UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and enjoys using a mix of writing, audio reporting and photojournalism to cover culture in the Bay. She found her love of food writing while serving as the 'Eat & Drink' editor of the student newspaper at the University of Georgia, where she also received a bachelor's degree in journalism. In her free time, Nava enjoys taking photos, watching movies and seeing live music.
