After nearly three decades of "Alice Waters' Fanny" jokes, the Chez Panisse restauranteur and her brother-in-law/business partner Jim Maser are shutting down west Berkeley's Café Fanny. According to a senior staff member, the San Pablo Avenue mainstay was no longer "economically viable" and will be closing the doors and turning out the lights in the kitchen tomorrow, March 9th.
In a statement posted over at Berkeleyside, Waters and Company explained "[i]t is the right moment in time to explore new possibilities for this small space that can still house the romance and idealism of the original." The original, Waters disciples and fans of French cinema will note, was named for the heroine in a trilogy of films from Marcel Pagnol — of whom Waters is a well-known fan.
Meanwhile, the closure seems to be a bit of a shock for the locals. As one gal who works in the neighborhood told Berkeleyside, "the café is normally so busy there is a line out the door!"
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