It was a sad day for believers in local restaurants and philanthropy, when Berkeley’s Homemade Cafe announced it would shutter in January.
For 45 years, the restaurant had dished out hearty breakfasts to hungry diners and later adopted a program to serve free meals to unhoused people, attracting national attention last year from NBC’s Today and The Washington Post. But rising costs, as well as COVID’s devastation across the dining industry, were enough to convince owner Collin Doran to shut it down for good.
Well, that was then. Homemade Cafe, located at the corner of Sacramento Street and Dwight Way, is now improbably back in business, serving popup brunches on weekends beginning Feb. 10. So what happened?
Patrons of the popular Berkeley restaurant Homemade Cafe wait for what they believed to be their final visit on Jan. 1, 2024, after the owner announced it will be closing for good. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
“When we closed, there was certainly a big outpouring of support, or maybe disappointment that we were closing. And after taking a couple of weeks to think things over, it just seemed like we might be able to keep operating in the space in some respect,” said Doran. “We’ve been such a big part of the community for so long that we’re not ready to go completely.”
Homemade Cafe will now do brunch from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, which were always the busiest days for the restaurant. The menu is much shorter – the old one was a virtual encyclopedia of breakfast dishes – and the full-service model has changed to an order-at-the-counter-and-take-a-number game.
“We’ll see if that keeps us solvent and alive,” Doran said. “My staff are really excited to reopen.”
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The cafe will continue to offer free meals to unhoused folks, using a homegrown system called “Everybody Eats” in which diners can donate money to provide meal cards for others in need — good for a meal of two eggs any way plus potatoes, toast and coffee. Doran said he might try to expand the “Everybody Eats” program to weekdays as well.
What does the future bode for the Homemade Cafe under this new model?
Well, on a positive note, Doran still holds the lease on the restaurant space. “And my rent is mostly current,” he cracked. “My landlord is happy with the situation.”
On a personal level, Doran said he is committed to fighting against the forces that initially compelled him to hang up his hat.
“The restaurant world has changed after the pandemic,” he said. “I do feel there is less and less ability for local and independently owned places to open and thrive. I don’t like that, and in some ways that’s added to my conviction to reopen and push back and not suffer the same fate.”
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