Business & Tech

'Biergarten' with Food Trucks Proposed for Gilman/Curtis Lot

A Berkeley family with deep roots in the city has proposed to convert the empty lot at Gilman and Curtis streets next to Westbrae Nursery into a beer garden with food trucks, outdoor seating and an open-pit fire.

The family that owns the empty lot next to Westbrae Nursery on Gilman Street in Berkeley has applied for a permit to establish a beer garden on the plot with food trucks, outdoor seating and a fire pit.

"We're excited about having it," Linda Lasagna said Tuesday as her husband Carl, a local contractor, heaved debris and worked on cleaning up the lot owned by the Lasagna family for a century. The couple were born in Berkeley, and Carl's grandfather, Antonio Lasagna, founded Westbrae Nursery next door to the property.

Their new venture, which includes Carl's brother Larry, will be "family oriented" and is tentatively called "Westbrae Biergarten," using the German term for a beer garden, Linda said. The application also uses the names "Westbrae Food Garden" and "1280 Gilman Biergarten."

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They are working with Dietmar Lorenz of Berkeley-based DSA Architects, who is listed as the applicant.

Their March 29 application to the city's Planning & Development Department seeks to have the lot redesignated from 3,400 square feet of outdoor retail to outdoor dining. It previously was home to Bazaar Gilman, which departed last summer. 

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The lot sits between Westbrae Nursery and the overhead BART tracks, across Gilman from Toot Sweets bakery.

The proposal is to have at least one food vendor in an Airstream or similar trailer on site at all times with up to three additional food trucks during peak times. Lights would be strung above the picnic-style tables from the central tree to the perimeter fence, according to the application. Temporary tents may be placed over the tables to allow operation during the winter wet season.

At the center would be a gas fire pit. It's not intended for cooking the food, though customers possibly could "roast some marshmallows maybe," Linda said.

Hours of operation haven't been determined yet but would fall between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m., with Saturday and Sunday until 10 p.m., the application materials say.

The application seeks a waiver from providing the four off-street parking spaces required of the previous use.

The mobile rotisserie, RoliRoti, is among the vendors that have expressed interest in participating, according to the application.

It's not known how long the permit process will take. The application asks for an "expedited review," which costs extra.

"We're hoping we'll hear from them (city planners) this week what the status is," Linda said.

The normal processing time for such use permits, without expedited review, is 3-4 months, or 4-8 months for "complex or controversial projects," according to an April 2 letter from city Assistant Planner Claudine Asbagh to Lorenz.

Linda said the garden would be Berkeley's only location with ongoing daily service from food trucks.

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