Elena Kadvany, San Francisco Chronicle Journalist Profile

Articles

A stretchy, hard-to-find ice cream arrives in the Bay Area

1 day ago | sfchronicle.com | Elena Kadvany

Cardamom-rose booza from Roast & Toast Cafe in Berkeley. Elena Kadvany/S.F. ChronicleBooza topped with pistachio, kataifi and rose petals. Elena Kadvany/S.F. ChronicleAn ice cream cart inside Roast & Toast Cafe. Elena Kadvany/S.F. ChronicleIn the Bay Area, we are blessed with ice cream.
Will Trump’s ‘no tax on tips’ plan help or hurt restaurants?

4 days ago | sfchronicle.com | Elena Kadvany

The bill at Zuni Cafe in San Francisco includes a 25% fair wage charge rather than tips, pictured in 2022. Santiago Mejia/The ChronicleA federal proposal to eliminate income taxes on tips is dividing restaurants around the country, portending a potential boon for the industry’s more than two million tipped workers but a blow for their non-tipped counterparts.
The Tipsy Pig will close after 16 years in SF

2 weeks ago | sfchronicle.com | Elena Kadvany

People enjoy cocktails during happy hour at the Tipsy Pig in San Francisco in 2011. The bar is closing permanently. John Storey/Special to the ChronicleFish and chips with the Strawberry Fields cocktail at the Tipsy Pig. John Storey/Special to the ChronicleA longstanding San Francisco drinking destination, the Tipsy Pig, will close after 16 years in the Marina district. The gastropub’s final day at 2231 Chestnut St. is Monday, May 26, co-owner Nate Valentine said.
Cubita, a Cuban bar, replacing El Techo rooftop in San Francisco

2 weeks ago | sfchronicle.com | Elena Kadvany

Cubita, a new rooftop bar in San Francisco, will serve Cuban drinks and food like the above whole fried rockcod with tostones and arroz congri. Michelle MinThe hamburguesa from Cubita. Michelle MinThe colorful bar takes over a prominent rooftop. Michelle MinOne of San Francisco’s few and most popular rooftop destinations will soon be reborn as a Cuban bar and restaurant.
Forget San Francisco. Restaurants see ‘huge opportunity’ in this quiet suburb

3 weeks ago | sfchronicle.com | Elena Kadvany

Pedestrians cross tree-lined Santa Cruz Avenue in downtown Menlo Park on May 9, 2025. Lea Suzuki/S.F. ChronicleChilled Castroville artichokes served at Clark's Oyster Bar. Lea Suzuki/S.F. ChronicleAlex Holder, vice president of restaurant operations for MML Hospitality, which owns Clark's. Lea Suzuki/S.F. ChronicleDiners on the outdoor patio at Clark’s Oyster Bar. Lea Suzuki/S.F. ChroniclePeople walk by Clark's, which took over a former longtime diner in downtown Menlo Park.
A cheesecake phenomenon bids farewell to the Bay Area

3 weeks ago | sfchronicle.com | Elena Kadvany

A Basuku cheesecake that Charles Chen baked at his Oakland home in 2020. Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The ChronicleThe Bay Area has four more weeks to enjoy one of the region’s most sought-after cakes. Basuku Cheesecakes, whose Japanese-style Basque burnt cheesecakes exploded in popularity during the pandemic, is shutting down after five years. Owner Charles Chen is moving to Asia after several years of traveling back and forth for restaurant consulting work.
San Francisco is losing another Starbucks. Here’s where

3 weeks ago | sfchronicle.com | Elena Kadvany

Starbucks will close its cafe at 1255 Battery St. in San Francisco on Friday. Google Street ViewAnother San Francisco Starbucks is closing. The cafe at 1255 Battery St. in Levi’s Plaza will shutter on Friday. The closure, announced in a sign posted on the store’s front door, was first reported by KRON4. Starbucks attributed the closure to the end of the store’s lease in a statement provided to KRON4.
Lawrence Lai of Craftsman & Wolves bakery in SF has died.

1 month ago | sfchronicle.com | Elena Kadvany

A woman browses the pastry case at Craftsman and Wolves in San Francisco in 2014. The bakery's co-owner, Lawrence Lai, has died unexpectedly. John Storey/Special to the ChronicleLawrence Lai, who started one of San Francisco’s most popular bakeries, Craftsman & Wolves, died on April 29 from esophageal cancer, according to an announcement. He was 53 years old.
Kukje Supermarket in Daly City is opening a Korean bakery

1 month ago | sfchronicle.com | Elena Kadvany

A shopper browses the candy and snack aisle at Kukje Supermarket in Daly City on April 29, 2025. The Korean market is opening a new bakery. Laura Morton/Special to The ChronicleOne of the Bay Area’s most cherished Korean supermarkets, Kukje in Daly City, is opening a bakery spinoff. The bakery is set to arrive this summer at 2368 Junipero Serra Blvd., across from the grocery store, with a range of Korean and French baked goods.
‘No longer viable’: Popular Bay Area Middle Eastern restaurant to close

1 month ago | sfchronicle.com | Elena Kadvany

Mica Talmor, owner of Pomella, poses at the popular Israeli restaurant on Friday, November 26, 2021. Talmor has decided to close Pomella, citing slow sales and rising costs. Yalonda M. James/The ChronicleA celebrated Bay Area Middle Eastern restaurant will close due to sharply rising costs and slowing business. Pomella, which opened at 3770 Piedmont Ave. in Oakland in 2020, will shutter on May 26.