It's the first day for Minnie Bell's fried chicken in the Fillmore, Bar Agricole is popping up at Quince, and Saison co-owner and sommelier Mark Bright is opening a new SoMa wine bar.
Today is opening day for Minnie Bell's Soul Movement in the Fillmore (1375 Fillmore Street), and the place had a friends-and-family opening party on Thursday. Chef Fernay McPherson, whose excellent fried chicken and mac and cheese has only been available in Emeryville the past few years, begins serving today and tomorrow from 4 pm to 10 pm. Regular hours will be Tuesday through Saturday, 4 pm to 10 pm, with Sunday brunch starting in a few weeks.
And in case you missed it earlier this week, a new restaurant from onetime Michelin two-star chef Bruno Chemel, of Palo Alto's Baumé, is coming to the former Gaspar Brasserie space near Union Square. Le Parc Bistrobar, which will serve classic French bistro and brasserie fare, is due to open sometime this summer.
Bar Agricole is reportedly going to be making a very high-end pop-up appearance at Quince starting later this month. Ahead of the acclaimed bar's relocation and reopening in the former Liliana space in the Mission, Thad Vogler's cocktail skills will be on offer in Quince's bar area for an unknown period of time, beginning on April 23. Eater has the details on some of the drinks, which will feature ingredients "meticulously sourced" from California.
Bar 821, the cocktail bar known for its amaro selection and amaro flights, has reopened at 821 Divisadero Street — at least Thursday through Saturday, and in slightly different form. As the Chronicle reports, though the amari remain, it's a bit more "exclusive" now, with customers needing to ring a doorbell to enter, and no standing allowed — with just seating for 30 customers at a time.
Saison co-owner Mark Bright, who has been importing and making wine under the Saison Cellar label, is opening a new tasting room/wine bar in the space formerly occupied by his cafe Les Clos, and later by Petit Marlowe. It's called Saison Cellar & Wine Bar, and the SF Business Times reports that it is headed for two adjoining spaces at 228 and 234 Townsend Street. We reached out to Bright about details about the opening timeframe, or if there will be a food menu, and we haven't yet heard back.
Speaking of Saison, a restaurant that was opened three years ago by a Saison business partner, Jag Kapoor and wife Jessica Kapoor, Copas in the Castro, is closing this weekend. After a pivot to a more casual, taco-focused menu last year, the place got a rave from the Chronicle, but that apparently has not kept the business afloat, and Hoodline reports that the restaurant sent an email to customers announcing that Saturday is its last day.
And in case you missed the news, up in Tahoe, the one and only Lisa Vanderpump has opened an outpost of her empire in Stateline, Nevada. Wolf by Vanderpump, which the Chronicle describes as "glitzy," opened Thursday night at Harvey's Lake Tahoe, across the state line from South Lake Tahoe. And apparently the fried goat cheese balls seen on the menu at SUR, Vanderpump's West Hollywood restaurant featured on Vanderpump Rules, are on the new restaurant's menu too.
Photo courtesy of Minnie Bell's Soul Movement