Local Businesses

After its closure over two years, University Press Books has reopened for a final ‘encore.’

Located at 2274 Shattuck Ave., Regal UA Berkeley is set to shut down along with 38 other theaters nationwide.

In Berkeley, ditching gas stoves isn’t a hot topic or a forlorn proposal. It’s politically feasible, and it’s already here: the city has banned gas lines in new construction since 2020.

Berkeley restaurant Las Cabañas Mexican Grill & Taqueria hosted their grand reopening Saturday, featuring deals on food and a live mariachi band. 

The founder and executive chef of Pinky and Red’s restaurant, Bernadine “Pinky” Sewell, was diagnosed with stage 3C colon cancer in August 2020 and is asking for financial support to help pay for treatment and bills.

At 11 a.m. on a Thursday, the 99 Cents Only Store on San Pablo Avenue is crowded. The shelves are emptying and sale signs are tacked up, but customers line up to check out with baskets filled to the brim.

For Berkeley residents with an affinity for pizza, beer and funky music, a local brewery and restaurant has collaborated with the California Jazz Conservatory, or CJC, to host a music night every Wednesday. 

Tucked along University Avenue a few blocks from UC Berkeley, the newly opened Masa Ramen Bistro offers dishes and an ambience to make patrons “reminisce of home.”

For those who love comfort food, a new restaurant on the south side of campus might catch your eye: Champion’s Curry is opening its first Berkeley location at 2510 Channing Way in mid to late October. 

Benchmark Climbing, a bouldering gym based in San Francisco, plans to open a Berkeley location on Shattuck Avenue this fall.