After two years of a pandemic-driven closure, Berkeley’s famed Chez Panisse is finally ready to reopen both its upstairs cafe and downstairs restaurant for in-person dining starting Tuesday, Mar. 8. Like many restaurants in COVID times, Chez Panisse had pivoted to offering weekly meals for takeout only.
In a message posted to its Instagram account on Tuesday, Feb. 22, the restaurant said it would start taking reservations — online only for the time being — at 9 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 28.
Almost two years to the date, we are pleased to officially announce that we will reopen the restaurant and café dining rooms. We will be open for dinner, Tuesday – Saturday, beginning Tuesday, March 8. Our reservation books will officially open at 9 a.m. on Monday, February 28. At first, reservations will only be available online through our website as we hope to reopen our phone lines as soon as possible. We will accept reservations one month to the calendar date. On February 28 at 9 a.m., guests will be able to book reservations through March 28. On March 1, the reservation books will open through to April 1. Detailed information about pricing, cancellation fees, COVID protocol, etc. will all be available on our website next week when reservations open. We will begin to release the restaurant prix fixe menus in early March.
We have reduced capacity in the restaurant and café by approximately 25% and will require all staff and guests to be fully vaccinated, not including children under five. We will be requiring proof of the third dose/booster, with exceptions made for those who may not yet be eligible. Protocols are changing rapidly, but as of now, our staff is required to wear a mask.
And finally, we will be hiring in all departments and at all levels of experience for the next several months as we build our staff back up. Please send a resume and brief note to careers@chezpanisse.com. If you don’t have a resume, please send a note (in English or Spanish) about why you would like to work in a restaurant. We are seeking candidates from all backgrounds and will consider in our hiring that resumes can be a barrier for some very qualified prospective employees. Please feel free to tag a friend who may be interested.
At long last, we feel very fortunate to be able to reopen our doors to all of you!