Tag Archives: San Pablo Avenue
Zoning Board approves new 7-Eleven, but not 24-hours
Berkeley’s Zoning Adjustments Board on Thursday approved 7-Eleven’s application to open a store at 2000 San Pablo Ave. (at University) with an ATM machine and some design changes, but said it did not want the store to be open 24 hours.
Before the motion was passed, 7-Eleven representatives at the ZAB meeting had emphasized that operating 24-hours is at the core of their business model. The convenience store chain now has the right to appeal ZAB’s decision to the Berkeley City Council.
The ZAB Board listened to comments from around 25 residents and merchants of the west Berkeley neighborhood whose nexus is the intersection of San Pablo and University where the store would be located. The majority were opposed to a 7-Eleven coming into the area. Their concerns, which were also raised at a community meeting at the proposed 7-Eleven site on Jan. 8, centered on the negative impact such a store might have on local crime and safety, in particular if it was open all night. … Continue reading »
Locals oppose 7-Eleven coming into ‘fragile’ neighborhood
Update, 01.22.13: The 7-Eleven hearing has been postponed and will not be heard at the Jan. 24 Zoning Adjustments Board meeting. We will report on the new date when it is set.
Original story: A group of west Berkeley neighbors is mounting a vocal opposition to 7-Eleven opening a 24-hour convenience store at 2000 San Pablo Ave. on the corner of University Avenue. Residents fear that a store open throughout the night would be a magnet for crime and anti-social behavior, and would threaten to reverse what many see as significant improvements to the neighborhood’s quality of life over the past few years.
Around 60 local residents and merchants gathered on the evening of Tuesday, Jan. 8, at the vacant corner store for which 7-Eleven submitted a use permit application to the city Planning Department in September. … Continue reading »
Businesses feel impact of parking meters on San Pablo
Berkeley’s San Pablo Avenue is a thoroughfare for cross-city traffic and a hub for all sorts of businesses. Recently, however, some of the street’s business owners say the street has been suspiciously empty, with few parked cars or people frequenting stores.
Terry Griffin, who runs Griffin Motorwerke, blames this absence on 420 parking meters that were installed two years ago.
“The day the city put in these meters, people stopped parking on San Pablo Avenue,” he said. “Now, they just don’t shop there anymore.”
The coin-only meters were installed along certain stretches of San Pablo Avenue in 2010 after a unanimous vote by the Berkeley City Council. This measure, which also raised the rates of meters across the city by 25 cents an hour, was passed in an effort to increase city revenue to fight the economic recession. … Continue reading »
From Ecuador, via war-torn Iran, to melting-pot Berkeley
In a little shop that carries a medley of middle eastern foodstuffs on San Pablo Avenue, Jeannette Jafarzadeh hands me a piece of warm flatbread straight from the oven. Her melodious voice has an indefinable accent, but warmth clearly emanates from her dark brown eyes.
We have chatted before, during my trips to the Middle East Market, which she owns with husband Mehrdad, when I have gone there to pick up ingredients like rose-water or her sesame sprinkled flatbread.
I know that the gracious 51-year old was born and raised in Ecuador, but I’ve always wondered how she became an expert Persian bread-baker?
Sharing a cup of tea at a table in the little café at the back of the store, I ask about the missing chapter in her story and the question unleashes a torrent of memories. … Continue reading »
Behind the scenes at new German eatery Gaumenkitzel
By Anna Mindess
The light-filled, cheery space, designed by husband Kai Flache, welcomes customers with paint-box colored wooden chairs in red, yellow, blue and green. What is not visible, however, is chef Voth’s time-consuming commitment to make all her ingredients from scratch. A modest note on the menu mentions her dedication to organic, sustainable, local ingredients, inspired by the slow-food movement.
As Voth rolls and kneads her bread by hand, she describes her inspiring grandmother. “She was a smart shopper with that traditional pre-WWII mentality: frugal, practical, seasonal: grow it or make it yourself and don’t waste. For centuries, this is the healthy way people cooked.” … Continue reading »
