A favorite restaurant closes its doors | Tim Talk | Tim Hunt | PleasantonWeekly.com |

Local Blogs

Tim Talk

By Tim Hunt

E-mail Tim Hunt

About this blog: I am a native of Alameda County, grew up in Pleasanton and currently live in the house I grew up in that is more than 100 years old. I spent 39 years in the daily newspaper business and wrote a column for more than 25 years in add...  (More)

View all posts from Tim Hunt

A favorite restaurant closes its doors

Uploaded: Feb 18, 2020
There’s a big hole in the restaurant lineup in Hacienda Business Park.

Sweet & Savory, the breakfast/lunch restaurant and bakery, closed earlier this year. It was my favorite hangout for decades when I worked for the Tri-Valley Herald (which was headquartered in the building that is now 24-Hour Fitness). It has remained a go-to choice for me when meeting someone in that area.

I reached out to Hacienda General Manager James Paxson asking what happened. He wrote back, “…... sad but true ... no more Friday crab and artichoke melt not to mention the scores of amazing baked goods ... we are in mourning!

” …they are definitely missed ... of all of the tenants to have moved out over the recent months there have been more calls and emails on this one than any other!”

Owner Don Eichler wrote in an email that they’d tried to sell the business, but the broker thought the rent ratio was too high and they had lots of space. He also noted that the new landlord refused to work with them on the rent and the changes in the business park. They used to get lots of customers from the nearby courthouse that is closed after the opening of the East County Justice Center next to Santa Rita jail in Dublin. He noted other businesses that had moved out of nearby buildings.

He wrote that they also used to do a robust catering business (about 1/3 of their revenue) and that has fallen as employers have shifted to online ordering and some provide free food to employees. He also noted that they always paid more than minimum wage, the increasing minimum wage and state-mandated sick leave plus other regulations made it very difficult.

Don’s comments about the state of the restaurant industry was echoed by another industry veteran I talked with last week. There’s been a fundamental shift away from sit-down restaurants to delivery. The mandated minimum wage—with no credit for tips—is a reason many restaurants are closing. Sweet & Savory used the efficient fast casual model popularized in chains such as Panera or Chipotle.

It was a long run in the restaurant industry—their bakery was excellent and they had a menu that mixed innovations with tried and true favorites. Another friend had asked me if I knew what happened earlier this month. Interestingly, I had just introduced another friend to it in December.

One of my favorite memories is when the Herald hosted teams from Safeway’s Northern California office (located near Stoneridge Mall) to show them what happened to the inserts when they went to newspapers. The one request was—after we introduced them to Sweet & Savory’s cookies—was they had to be included in all of the afternoon sessions.

Don’s email noted, “One thing I wanted to add is a big thank you to our loyal customers over the years. We all, including our staff, will miss you and enjoyed serving you.”
Good news on another front. Vic Malatesta, founder and owner of Vic’s All Star Kitchen on Main Street, is in escrow with buyers. The hand-off is scheduled for March 2 and the buyers reportedly will keep the same sports format.

Local Journalism.
What is it worth to you?

Comments

Posted by Cholo, a resident of Livermore,
on Feb 19, 2020 at 12:40 pm

Panera? NOT

Crab & Artichoke...yum yum plenty!


Posted by Lin, a resident of Downtown,
on Feb 19, 2020 at 3:27 pm

So sorry to see sweet and savory close it was the best. It's happening to so many restaurants with the rent increases.
Very sad.........


Posted by Christina, a resident of Walnut Grove Elementary School,
on Feb 19, 2020 at 4:55 pm

I am so saddened that Sweet and Savory closed. The food was fresh and delicious. The people that worked there were wonderful. The S'mores bar and Lemon bread were true favorites with my kids and I. Miss it already! And so sad and disappointed that they couldn't make the business work.


Posted by Location location, a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood,
on Feb 20, 2020 at 8:16 pm

Sadly, it was not an ideal location and easily forgotten.


Posted by ruthkin, a resident of Amberwood/Wood Meadows,
on Feb 23, 2020 at 10:14 pm

ruthkin is a registered user.

Nice information and thanks for sharing this to us. Indiana's BMV is the Division of Motor Vehicles of Indiana. Follow the instructions on how to complete the mybmv indiana login process, on both desktops and mobile devices here. Web Link


Posted by JeriAnn, a resident of Mohr Park,
on Feb 23, 2020 at 11:09 pm

I was shocked when I read the headline and then so very saddened. I loved Sweet and Savory so much! Their Lemon bread was delish. I wish I would have known they were closing as I would have been back again. We did go in December, but I don't remember seeing any notice sadly. I loved their salads and quiches as well. And their lemon bars! I guess there wasn't much I did not like...


Follow this blogger.
Sign up to be notified of new posts by this blogger.

Email:

SUBMIT

Post a comment

Sorry, but further commenting on this topic has been closed.

Stay informed.

Get the day's top headlines from PleasantonWeekly.com sent to your inbox in the Express newsletter.

California must do a better job spending cap-and-trade revenue
By Sherry Listgarten | 4 comments | 2,460 views

Tri-Valley Nonprofit Alliance grew from chance meeting
By Tim Hunt | 0 comments | 2,295 views

Making wine for 140 years merits celebration
By Deborah Grossman | 0 comments | 609 views