Business & Tech

Gastropub Scheduled To Open In Old Cypress Restaurant Building

The new restaurant at Cypress and Locust Street in downtown Walnut Creek will serve 36 artisan craft beers and 16 wines on tap

A gastropub will open soon in place of the Cypress restaurant, which abruptly closed its doors in September.

The new restaurant at Cypress and Locust Street in downtown Walnut Creek is expected to open in late January, just before Super Bowl Sunday.

The owners are Tri-Valley residents Chris George and Mark Flaherty.

George said the restaurant, which will be called Sunol Ridge, will serve 36 artisan craft beers.

A few will be from the brewery George and Flaherty operate on their 1,000-acre ranch in the Sunol hills. Others will be well-known craft brews.

The restaurant will also serve 16 wines on tap as well as 20 to 30 varieties of bottled wine.

The wines and beers will also be paired with various items on the menu.

The menu will include macaroni and cheese with lobster, pork sliders, soft tacos and lighter fare with locally grown vegetables.

George and Flaherty have hired an executive chef and a brewmaster.

It's the first restaurant venture for the business partners.

George said they want to create an atmosphere inside the restaurant that duplicates the feel of having dinner on their ranch.

Among other things, there will be a fire pit on the back patio.

"It will be a cool, unique dining experience," said George. "It will have the down-to-earth feel of the ranch."

George and Flaherty both grew up in the East Bay and know Walnut Creek well. George said they chose downtown Walnut Creek for their restaurant because of the popularity of the region as well as its diversity of shops and restaurants.

"We think this is the kind of place Walnut Creek will enjoy and it's the kind of place Walnut Creek deserves," said George.


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