Community Corner

What's Going into the Bing Crosby's Space and What Happened to Vesu?

Two eateries will take over the building that housed one of Walnut Creek's dining and nightlife hot spots.

Diablo magazine is reporting that something called a "gastropub" and a Parisian-style bakery chain will share the space south of Broadway Plaza that housed .

According to writer Ethan Fletcher, the Mill Valley-based Moana Hotel & Restaurant Group, which owns nine Piatti restaurants (including the one in Danville), will bring that gastropub concept to the former Bing Crosby's space.

Bing Crosby'sat the end of last year.

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The other half of the building will go to San Francisco-based La Boulange, which also has opened locations in Lafayette and Danville.

So, what is a gastropub? Spokesperson Jennifer Tomaro told Diablo that the restaurant will focus on serving "cult, local and craft beers on tap" as well as wine on tap. The food will be pub and brasserie-style, though Tomaro was quick to say that it's not a sports bar. "There won't be any televisions," Tomaro told Fletcher.

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Another specialty beer joint in Walnut Creek? Yet another cuisine trend after Vietnamese food and frozen yogurt joints? 

Chuck Stilphen, a co-owner of the popular Trappist Belgian-style beer café in Oakland, has proposed opening a shop tentatively called St. Sixtus Specialty Beer Shop and Cafe, that would sell 300 to 500 varieties of specialty beer. The shop would open in a remodeled Giammona Drive space that housed an antique store. 

When Bing Crosby's opened in 2004, it made a big splash on the East Bay dining scene. Jeff Dudum, a locally raised entertainment and real-estate impresario, opened the retro bar and restaurant that paid homage to singer and actor Bing Crosby and all he supposedly represented in terms of style and mid-20th century cool.

As Walnut Creek last reported, the restaurant's owner, Dudum Sports and Entertainment, is and had to close some of its other signature restaurants, including Joe DiMaggio’s Chophouse, named for the famed New York Yankees slugger, in San Francisco's North Beach. 

In other food news... Diablo also says that Vesu, another restaurant with ties to a branch of the Dudum family, has closed. 

A year ago, Vesu, with its sleek South of Market Street look and small-plates concept, was seen as an exciting addition to Walnut Creek's downtown dining scene that represented its resurgence. 

In an interview with Patch  Melissa Suitos called it an "exciting time" to be opening Vesu, despite the recession. "The recession affected a lot of restaurants but the ones that upheld quality food and service are still standing strong," she said. "I see Walnut Creek restaurants bouncing back, if they haven't already."

Suitos and her partner, Chris Velez, without naming figures, put a great deal of time and money into remodeling the former Sherman Clay piano shop into a restaurant. They also tapped Robert Sapirman as their chef. He is an alum of the South Bay kitchens of Bradley Ogden's Parcel 104 and Michael Mina's Arcadia. 

The Crazy in Suburbia blog reported in 2009 that Jack and Sylvia Dudum, the uncle and aunt of Jeff Dudum and parents of 1515 Restaurant and Lounge owner Tony Dudum, had an interest in the Vesu property. Furthermore, Tony Dudum was to be a consultant for Vesu, Diablo magazine reported


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