Rebekah Wood told KTVU that Wood Tavern came together almost faster than she and her husband could plan it. "We signed a lease in November, and a few months later, we were opening the doors serving people," she said. Nearly twenty years later, that lease is ending. The restaurant at 6317 College Avenue says on its own website that it will keep serving through the end of the year. Wood told KTVU the last night will be New Year's Eve, and the bar will stay open all night for anyone who wants to come by for a farewell toast.
When the San Francisco Chronicle broke the news in July, it reported that Wood Tavern "is still busy." Rich Wood said customers had begged him not to close. A busy room wasn't enough, and the reason why explains every change now lined up around that block of College Avenue.
Full tables, thin margins, and two owners
The Chronicle describes Wood Tavern as a 50-seat restaurant. The other businesses Rich and Rebekah Wood own are set up differently. The Wolf on Piedmont Avenue, which they co-own with chef Yang Peng, has a group of investors behind it. Wood Tavern does not. "The Tavern is just me and Bek," Rich Wood told the paper.
He said running it for another ten years would take a "daunting" amount of energy, and he compared full-service dining to the counter-service model at their Southie in Alameda, which he says is "going gangbusters":
"We just beat the bejeezus out of that place... Margins just get slimmer and slimmer."
The Chronicle reported that he blamed inflation, taxes and the general economy for making a full-service restaurant harder to run than when they opened. Rebekah Wood gave KTVU a related reason. The space would need upgrades to last into the next decade, and with the lease ending, they had to decide whether to make them. "We wanted to leave on a high note," she said.
That's the pattern behind this stretch of the avenue. Plenty of people want a neighborhood brasserie. The hard part is a two-owner business carrying the full cost of one.
Next door, Southie is the format that's working
Southie, the Woods' sandwich shop next door, opened in 2011 and has a second location at the Park Station beer garden in Alameda. Rich Wood told the Chronicle that expanding Southie is one of the projects he wants to focus on. The couple also hopes to bring back dinner at the Oakland Southie, which they recently stopped serving, once Wood Tavern closes. Rockridge Voice has also reported that Southie will stay open.
The owners haven't announced an address, size or schedule for the expansion. Still, their next move on College Avenue is the counter-service model Rich Wood says is working, and evening service there is something they hope to bring back.
Uncle's takes the space with a bigger team
The new tenant at 6317 is still a full-service, sit-down restaurant. The difference is how many people are behind it. Rockridge Voice reported in September that chef Geoff Davis, who owns Burdell in Temescal, plans to open Uncle's there. It will be a wood-fired neighborhood bar and grill, with steaks, oysters, pasta, seasonal vegetables and classic sides, plus martinis and a wine program.
Davis isn't doing it alone. Several people from Burdell are coming with him, including Zara Fernandez-Aurelio and Seth Corr as partners and Brandon Cavazos as chef de cuisine. The plan includes lunch, dinner and brunch, with a target opening in spring 2027. The Oaklandside described a seasonal, rotating menu built around wood-fire cooking and steak cuts, with the same team.
The team also brings a track record. Food & Wine named Burdell its 2024 Restaurant of the Year, and Davis was a James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef: California. The restaurant is named for his late Uncle Thea and the backyard steaks they grilled together, and the interior is being redesigned with a 1970s feel.
So the address stays a sit-down neighborhood spot built around a grill. Instead of a couple running it on their own, it will have a chef with a national reputation, partners and a chef de cuisine.
The rest of Rockridge is filling in on a similar schedule
Elsewhere in Rockridge, openings and dates are spread from this fall into spring. Some of these places have opened. Others are still planned, and the owners' own timelines can change.
| Business | Address | What it replaces | Status as of late October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gamsa Sushi | 5415 College Ave. | Former Uzen space | Opened Oct. 23 |
| Chez Maeju | 6200 Claremont Ave. | Former OKEN space | Soft opening Sept. 18 |
| Needle Drop Café | 6202 Claremont Ave. | Former Graduate bar space | Owner expects December or January |
| Salt & Straw | 6310 College Ave. | Ike's Love & Sandwiches | Under construction as of September, targeting end of 2026 |
| Uncle's | 6317 College Ave. | Wood Tavern | Targeting spring 2027 |
Berkeleyside reported that Gamsa opened last Friday, serving omakase and à la carte from chef Dahan Kim. Chez Maeju is chef Soojin Kim's Korean barbecue restaurant. Needle Drop, from owner Patrick Biesemans, is planned as a coffee shop with a vinyl listening room. Rockridge Voice reported that the 6310 College location will be Salt & Straw's first scoop shop in Oakland.
Across the street from 6317, that matters for timing. If Salt & Straw hits its end-of-year target, it will open at about the same time Wood Tavern closes. 6317 then has a gap of a few months while Uncle's is redesigned for spring.
The dates between now and spring
For anyone who has a regular seat at the bar or an anniversary booked there, these are the dates that matter:
- Now through December. Wood Tavern is still open. The Michelin Guide calls it "a classic neighborhood standby" with "seasonal Californian cooking with an Italian bent," and singles out its charcuterie board, including pork rillettes seasoned with Aleppo pepper, sumac and lime. Former Chronicle critic Michael Bauer praised its hanger steak and halibut when it opened.
- Saturday, Dec. 5, 2 to 5 p.m. The Rockridge District Association's Rockridge Holidaze brings pop-up vendors, children's activities, a craft fair, music and carolers to the district. It's the last big neighborhood event on the calendar while Wood Tavern is still open.
- Late December. Salt & Straw's end-of-year target falls here, but only if construction stays on schedule.
- Thursday, Dec. 31. Wood Tavern's final night. Rebekah Wood told KTVU, with about five months still to go, that New Year's Eve dinner was already booking and was probably full by then, but the bar will stay open all night for walk-in goodbyes.
- Spring 2027. Uncle's target opening at 6317 College, along with the Woods' hoped-for return of dinner at Southie next door.
For its final weeks, the restaurant's own site is the best place to check hours and reservations. "I just want to cherish all the memories made, and the meals shared," Rebekah Wood told KTVU.
Over the next several months, the room at 6317 College will be redesigned with a 1970s feel, and the Woods' sandwich shop next door may gain an evening service. If your own house is due for that kind of rethink, from a single room to a full pre-sale refresh, Hope Broderick & Co can help you plan the design, coordinate the work and manage the timeline. Start your home transformation with us.
