Chisme wraps up Low Bar residency; Communitē Table bids farewell to Laurel

Editor’s note: Nosh covers food and restaurant news across the East Bay, and each week we publish one article covering all the restaurant openings and one article covering closings. Have a tip for Nosh? Submit it here.

Chisme

If you’ve had dinner or brunch at Low Bar recently, you’ve indulged in the work of chef Manuel Bonilla’s Filipino and Salvadoran-inspired pop-up, Chisme. While Bonilla announced on Instagram that Chisme’s time at Low Bar is coming to a close — March 8 will be the last dinner service, the last brunch on March 9 — he’s curated a shareable, Latin-inspired menu for Low Bar before he moves on. The new menu will debut March 11. In the meantime, keep an eye on Chisme’s Instagram page for updates on new pop-up ventures. Low Bar is at 2300 Webster St. in Oakland.

Communitē Table

A reader let us know that Communitē Table, a friendly neighborhood joint specializing in homestyle cooking, is closing its doors at the end of the month. Alongside fried chicken sandwiches, deviled eggs and bread pudding, Communitē Table was known for its ready-made and frozen take-home items, like chicken pot pies, chilis and quiches. In an email to Nosh, owner Michele LeProhn said that she’s retiring to be able to spend time with grandkids, family, host dinner parties at home, travel and volunteer. 

“I have been extremely lucky for the past decade plus – counting time the business started in the Food Mill kitchens back in 2013 – and will truly miss the community which has supported us – all the staff who’ve worked here, the vendors & delivery folks we see every week, and our guests who come for a pot pie, chocolate chip cookies or full on meal week after week,” she wrote. “ It has always been about the people…we’ll be cooking until the end.”Communitē Table was located at 4171 MacArthur Blvd. in Oakland.

Monkey King Pub & Grub — Piedmont Ave.

In a heartfelt letter posted on its Piedmont Ave. storefront window, Monkey King Pub & Grub announced it shuttered its Oakland location on Feb. 28. “Following four years of turbulence,” the letter said, “we’ve come to our senses that we actually don’t have the man power, resources, energy, and business model to expand any further location [sic].” The letter continued that Monkey King uses only wok-style cooking techniques, which makes it hard to find chefs as the population of skilled workers in this arena is aging out. Two Alameda Monkey King locations remain, and Yummy Yummy Hibachi is set to take over the Piedmont Ave. spot. Monkey King was located at 3920 Piedmont Ave. in Oakland. 

Timeless Coffee — Jack London Square

Timeless Coffee, the plant-based coffee roastery, wordlessly shuttered its Jack London Square location. Nosh reached out to confirm when the closure occurred, but we haven’t heard back as of time of publication. The coffee shop still has two other Oakland locations in downtown and on Piedmont Ave. Timeless Coffee was located at 85 Webster St. in Oakland.