A notoriously feisty monger of local restaurant gossip, GraceAnn Walden, has passed away suddenly of unknown causes. Walden was the founding columnist writing The Inside Scoop in the Chronicle, beginning in 1991, dealing in the kind of food-world rumor and pre-opening news that would become the bread and butter of food blogs a decade and a half later. As Inside Scoop reports, a Solano County deputy confirmed her death, and said an autopsy would be performed tomorrow. For the last several years Walden had been living in Vallejo with her dogs, leading food tours of North Beach and penning a newsletter called The Yummy Report. The last one was published a week ago.

On her Facebook page, many old friends are writing tributes, and one notes that Walden's two beloved dogs (photo at link), Bruno Mars and Tinkerbell, have been taken by another friend to the Marin Humane Society in Novato so that they can be adopted.

Even local legend Jeremiah Tower piped in on Facebook, as Eater noted, saying, "Very saddened to hear this. We were in the middle of storm of emails and raucous gossip."

Walden wrote the Inside Scoop print column until 2005. The column, now written by Paolo Lucchesi, became a favorite of local food lovers and chefs over the years, and ultimately served as the inspiration for the Inside Scoop blog on SFGate, starting in 2010.