Kip’s Restaurant will begin offering a full dinner and brunch menu this week to complement its wide array of drinks and bar-style atmosphere.
The 58-year-old establishment will try its hand at American comfort food with the talent of Jon Helquist, a local chef who has worked with Berkeley restaurants Chez Panisse, Downtown and Oliveto. Kip’s also plans to expand into the space below its location, which currently houses Sun Hong Kong Restaurant, once it clears the permit process with the city later this fall.
“We wanted to bring in another aspect other than just a bar feel for the community,” said Wilson Wong, manager at Kip’s and owner of the space including Sun Hong Kong. “It’s been a long time since we did remodeling and changes. Just to keep up with the times, we thought it was necessary to make some changes and incorporate healthy options.”
The new dinner menu has a wide variety of options from chicken and waffles and fish and chips to pepper jack bacon burgers, according to the restaurant’s press release.
A similar lunch menu is also set to begin at the end of May, according to Joan Simon of Full Plate Restaurant Consulting, a Bay Area restaurant marketing and consulting company that arranged Kip’s expansion.
According to Simon, the space below the current bar tentatively set to open this fall will be called Kip’s Eats.
“We are thinking of expanding towards the beginning of the fall,” Wong said. “We’re hoping in August, but … are still working on getting a permit.”
Sun Hong Kong, which currently operates independently from Kip’s, will close when Kip’s expands into the lower street level under its bar.
Anjuli Sastry is an assistant news editor.
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