"In that neighborhood is where we've done probably like 70% of our pop ups. So we have a kind of built-in regular crowd already there, so it made total sense when it happened."
That's Brack DeFries, co-owner of Egg Pals, explaining to Berkeleyside in August why the breakfast sandwich pop-up chose Temescal for its first restaurant. The quote also describes the whole short stretch of Broadway between 40th and 42nd Street right now. Both corners that went quiet there this year are being refilled by operators who built a following first and signed a lease second. Some of them are also moving in on terms that leave room to change course.
Two addresses, about a block apart
- 4001 Broadway. Clove & Hoof opened here in 2014. It later shifted from whole-animal butchery to prepared foods, and it had closed by early May 2026. Since September, Drink Thicc and Town Beef have shared the space.
- 4101 Broadway. True Burger closed its Broadway location after 11 years, leaving the original Grand Avenue restaurant as its only one. Egg Palace, the brick-and-mortar version of Egg Pals, is aiming for a soft opening here in November.
True Burger's goodbye message was gracious about the Grand Avenue location that remains: "Like many independent Oakland businesses, we've had a lot of challenges, but the good news is, we're still here and proud to call Oakland home." Oaklandside asked about Clove & Hoof's closure but didn't report a reason. The more useful story for anyone who walks this block is who came in after them, and how.
Egg Pals tested its following around the corner first
The pop-up that's becoming Egg Palace has been running for more than four years. Berkeleyside reports that it grew from about 60 sandwiches a day to 200, with lines down the sidewalk at farmers markets, cafes, wine bars and even ramen shops. The steadiest of those hosts has been Mother Tongue Cafe & Bar at 308 41st St. Egg Pals has been popping up there twice a month. Mother Tongue serves coffee, pastries, small plates and a full bar, open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. DeFries described the new restaurant as "right next to Mother Tongue."
That following also helped pay for the buildout. On Egg Palace's Kickstarter page, last updated September 15, 2026, 335 backers had pledged $54,810. Even the name came from customers: people kept mishearing "Egg Pals" as "Egg Palace," and the owners kept it.
The menu still being finalized will run two services in one room, five days a week.
| Service | What's planned |
|---|---|
| Breakfast and brunch | The Egg Pal at $13, a bacon-and-egg sandwich with cheese, pickled onions and herby mayo. The Vegg Pal at $12 with seasonal vegetables. The Pickle Pal at $12 with housemade mixed pickles. Grain bowls, plus weekend biscuits and gravy, shrimp and grits, and mushroom and grits |
| Coffee and tea | Drip coffee and cold brew from Mother Tongue, and teas from Molly's Refresher |
| Evening | The Pal Burger, a thick medium-rare patty on a potato roll, plus fried chicken sandwiches, salads, tater tots, a pimento cheese plate and marinated cucumbers |
| Bar | A frozen piña colada, dirty martini, carbonated margarita and Pimm's cup, poured at both breakfast and dinner |
The cocktail list makes sense once you know the owners' background. DeFries and Chris Morgan both bartended and met working at places like Kronnerburger and Fish & Bird. The owners also plan to add a more budget-friendly sandwich to the lineup. November is still a target month with no fixed date. The September Kickstarter update doesn't name a day.
4001 Broadway is a one-year arrangement, and the owner says so
A block down, the former Clove & Hoof space is working a different way. Drink Thicc owner Minni Sandhu told Berkeleyside the smoothie shop would move from Uptown on September 4 and stay at 4001 Broadway for a year while a flagship is built. The flagship's address and opening date haven't been announced. So this is Drink Thicc's Temescal home for now, with an end date the owner has stated publicly.
The temporary location is still a step up for the menu. Drink Thicc usually rotates four smoothies a week, like the "blue zone" with blue spirulina, bananas and pineapple. The Broadway space lets it add items and keep its core smoothies on the menu permanently. The shop has also worked with local artists, including Seiji Oda. Its website lists new hours for the Broadway location, but other text on the same page still shows older hours and the old Uptown address. Check before planning a morning around it.
Town Beef shares the room and covers a different part of the day. Berkeleyside described it as a late-night spot built around the French dip, with locally sourced beef on ACME sourdough rolls and a vegan mushroom version. It also debuted September 4. By September 9, the local food newsletter Berkeley Eats confirmed both businesses had "moved/opened together in the shared space at 4001 broadway." Town Beef's regular hours haven't been published yet.
Daytime smoothies and late-night sandwiches in the same space mirror Egg Palace's plan up the street. Both corners are planning to stay busy well past one meal a day.
Around the corner on Shattuck, a second try
Five blocks northeast, the same approach is playing out above a bar. Upstairs, the room above Snail Bar at 4935 Shattuck Ave., launched in March 2025. The Snail Bar team pitched it as daytime coffee, espresso and light breakfast, with DJ listening sessions and wine-focused dance nights after dark. It didn't last past opening weekend. City officials sent a cease-and-desist to Snail Bar and landlord Gee Whiz LLC for operating as an unlicensed entertainment venue, and the closure was announced March 13.
About a year and a half later, the team announced a quieter return. An Instagram post quoted in Berkeleyside's August 31 roundup set a soft reopening for Friday, September 4, open Friday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. "while we learn to figure things out." The coverage reviewed for this post didn't confirm the room has been open every weekend since. The plan it described is limited daytime hours, which avoids the late-night entertainment format the city objected to in 2025.
All three projects are moving in carefully: a crowdfunded opening backed by twice-monthly pop-ups, a one-year interim lease shared by two businesses, and a daytime-only soft relaunch. Each one gives the operator a way to keep refining the concept after the doors open.
October on foot, corner by corner
With these openings spread around the district, this month is a good time to walk it. Several dated events line up with the new spots.
- Saturday, October 3. Temescal Arts Week starts. Oaklandside lists the week as October 3 through 10, with events at 15 venues, six art shows and 13 special events. The Temescal district's schedule includes a program at Studio One Art Center, 365 45th St., on opening day. That morning, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Friends of the Oakland Tool Lending Library hold a sale outside the Temescal Branch Library at 5205 Telegraph Ave. The sale recurs on the first and third Saturdays. Mother Tongue opens at 7 a.m., early enough for coffee beforehand.
- Saturday, October 10. The last day on the district's detailed Arts Week schedule has events in the 49th Street Alley, about a block from Upstairs. The district's event listing gives a longer window, running through October 17, so check for later additions.
- Sunday, October 18. UCSF Children's Hospital hosts Truck or Treat at 732 47th St., 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- November. Egg Palace's target window for its soft opening at 4101 Broadway.
By the end of the year, the stretch of Broadway that lost True Burger and Clove & Hoof could have a smoothie counter, a French-dip spot and a breakfast-to-cocktails room, all run by people the neighborhood already knew by name.
Egg Pals showed its concept to customers for years before it signed a lease, and that's how we approach preparing a home for sale. At Hope Broderick & Co, we start with how buyers will see your home, then plan the design, staging and story around it before you list. If you're thinking about selling in North Oakland, start your home transformation with us.
