Jessica Yadegaran

Walnut Creek

Food Editor at SFGate

I'm a food writer and editor. I'm also a Persian mommy, home chef and professional wine judge

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Articles

World's largest almond company to close historic 53-acre Northern Calif. plant

2 weeks ago | sfgate.com | Jessica Yadegaran

A massive Northern California food processing plant with hundreds of employees is shutting down after more than a century in Sacramento. Blue Diamond Growers, a storied cooperative that helped cement Sacramento as the world’s almond capital, will close its sprawling, historic plant over the next two years and move manufacturing to its other plants in the Central Valley, as first reported by the Sacramento Bee.
Guy Fieri loved this Berkeley restaurant. It's closing after 36 years.

4 weeks ago | sfgate.com | Jessica Yadegaran

Rick & Ann’s Restaurant, a community hub in the shadow of the Claremont Resort & Club, drew celebrities, tourists and Cal students to 2922 Domingo Ave., all of whom happily waited in line for up to an hour for its legendary breakfast and brunch menu. Owner and co-founder Ann Lauer announced her retirement and forthcoming closure on the restaurant’s website. Rick & Ann’s last day of business is Aug. 3. The restaurant took many forms in its roughly three and a half decades.
After 73 years, LA's most iconic doughnuts are finally coming to the Bay Area

4 weeks ago | sfgate.com | Jessica Yadegaran

The most recognized doughnut shop in the world is finally bringing its glazed and jelly-filled treats to the Bay Area. Randy’s Donuts, the iconic Los Angeles-based chain, is opening its first Northern California shop in Santa Clara, according to a news release sent to SFGATE. The store at 2595 Homestead Road is part of a four-store agreement with franchisee group Sweet Rings LLC.
The Tartine alum slinging legendary pizza in a quiet SF neighborhood

1 month ago | sfgate.com | Jessica Yadegaran

Maybe it’s the dated building, circa 1892, so old that only one company would insure it. But it’s more likely due to the fact that the chef-owner’s pop-up — also named after his grandmother Julia, who went by Jules — developed the kind of loyal following over the past year that every hopeful restaurateur dreams of. Now that the brick-and-mortar is finally here, everyone is kind of freaking out.
It was once a 'Best New Restaurant' in America. Now it's doing counter service.

1 month ago | sfgate.com | Jessica Yadegaran

For three glorious years, Oakland’s Daytrip was easily one of the hottest restaurants in the Bay Area, if not the country. From 2021 to 2024, the buzzy little Temescal District restaurant, run by Finn Stern and Stella Dennig, had party vibes and an awesome wine list. Chef Stern’s innovative, fermentation-driven cooking was so good, he made celery transcendent. And because of the worker-focused ethos, you could feel great about spending money there.
Michelin-approved burgers and barbecue have landed on Bay Area's Highway 1

1 month ago | sfgate.com | Jessica Yadegaran

Chef Wyatt Fields took one look at the man and tried not to freak out. The “god of Texas barbecue,” Daniel Vaughn of Texas Monthly, was standing inside Fields’ tiny restaurant in the Bay Area coastal hamlet of El Granada — a town best known for its proximity to world-famous Mavericks Beach, not for barbecue. Not entirely true.
USA Today names 2 SF night markets among top 5 in the US

1 month ago | sfgate.com | Jessica Yadegaran

The food. The music. The after-dark revelry. San Francisco’s wildly successful night markets are among the best ways to party in the city right now — admission-free. Now, a national publication has taken notice. Last month, USA Today released its ranking of the 10 best night markets in the country, and two San Francisco night markets cracked the top five.
This legacy SF waterfront restaurant started with 6 stools and a car salesman

1 month ago | sfgate.com | Jessica Yadegaran

Scoma’s is also one of the few restaurants in the city with career staffers: 80 of its 130 employees have been there for more than a decade, and dozens have called Scoma’s home for more than 20 or 30 years. Ray Galvin has been a server there for a whopping 33 years because they treat him like family, he said. When it’s an employee’s birthday, everyone celebrates. And, he continued, they’ve always gotten “it” — how to keep a customer for life.
Shrinking sales and rising costs sink a beloved Oakland restaurant

1 month ago | sfgate.com | Jessica Yadegaran

Chef-owner Mica Talmor of Pomella told SFGATE that she is closing her restaurant at 3770 Piedmont Ave. on May 26 due to shrinking sales and rising costs for everything from food and packaging to labor and utilities. Many restaurants in the Bay Area have called it quits for similar reasons. “The space is large and doesn’t really align with the business model anymore,” she told SFGATE in a phone interview.
California fast food giant closing 150-200 stores to maximize 'shareholder return'

2 months ago | kcra.com | Jessica Yadegaran

Jack's big red smile is about to turn upside down.In an effort to combat low sales and reduce debt, California fast food giant Jack in the Box has announced it will close up to 150 to 200 underperforming stores, a majority of which have been around for more than three decades, according to a Wednesday press release.Under new CEO Lance Tucker, who assumed the post on March 31, the San Diego company revealed a multi-pronged plan called "Jack on Track" to "improve long-term financial performance...