WALNUT CREEK, Calif. – Original Joe’s in Walnut Creek reopened Wednesday, following a fire that temporarily closed it down four days after its grand opening.
The restaurant location opened in mid-August and was open for only four days before a kitchen fire forced it to shut its doors.
The line was out the door Wednesday night, as people tried to snag a seat at the eatery.
“Excited. We were going to go there the day after the fire, and we were really disappointed. So I’m glad it’s open,” said Rachel Zumbo of Concord.
Deep Bay Area roots
What we know
The Italian American restaurant has long-standing ties to the Bay Area.
The first Original Joe’s opened in San Francisco in 1937 and has since expanded to multiple locations.
The Walnut Creek restaurant is the first East Bay location. It sits in the city’s busy Broadway Plaza shopping district, at South Main and Broadway Plaza streets, across from Macy’s.
Other Locations
There’s another Original Joe’s has in San Francisco’s historic North Beach neighborhood and one at its Westlake location in Daly City.
There is also a longstanding Original Joe’s in San Jose, though it is under a different ownership than the San Francisco, Westlake and Walnut Creek locations.
A Family-Run Legacy
Dig deeper
The business was founded by Croatian immigrant Tony Rodin, who came to the United States in search of the American dream after leaving behind a homeland marked by hunger and war, according to the restaurant’s website. Rodin partnered with Louis Rocca, beginning a business relationship that lasted 40 years.
The original restaurant opened in 1937 on Taylor Street in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood. The Daly City location followed in 1956. In 1983, Rocca sold his share of the business to Rodin’s daughter, Marie, and her husband, John J. Duggan.
In 2007, a fire destroyed the Taylor Street location. Five years later, the restaurant reopened in North Beach.
Now run by a third generation of the family, Original Joe’s continues to expand its footprint while serving up the old-school, Italian American fare that made it a Bay Area institution.
Walnut Creek touts major growth in new business
Original Joe’s is far from alone, when it comes to new businesses opening up shop in Walnut Creek. City officials cut the ribbon Wednesday at San Francisco-based Five Star Bank’s new office on North California Boulevard.
“Walnut Creek specifically has a fantastic downtown, a great environment for business, great environment for families. And it just made a lot of sense,” said Five Star Bank executive vice president DJ Kurtze.
“There’s a vibrancy in Walnut Creek that’s palpable, and we want to be part of it,” said Five Star Bank president and CEO James Beckwith.
Year over year, Walnut Creek has seen a 21% increase in new business licenses, from Downtown to Shadelands.
“I think it’s pretty significant,” said Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Bureau president Bob Linscheid.
Linscheid says that spike is no accident.
“I don’t think we lost our edge during COVID. We actually took advantage of an unfortunate opportunity to help small business, bring back business,” said Linscheid.
“We’ve worked to make it easier to open a business, cutting down the red tape, and just welcoming the businesses to Walnut creek. And that’s paid off handsomely,” said Walnut Creek Mayor Cindy Darling.
But as business growth takes off, Darling says the city is making a concerted effort to retain the small-town charm that attracted people in the first place.
“That’s part of why we have the whole Walnut Creek downtown. It’s pedestrian-friendly. You can walk down and get an ice cream, and you can meet your neighbors downtown. And that’s part of what we want to keep in Walnut Creek,” said Darling.
