The Dock opened in West Oakland a little more than two years ago as a venture from James Syhabout, the Oakland chef who hoped to capitalize on its proximity to Linden Street Brewery, which shares the historic 19th century building at 95 Linden St.

Since then, the road hasn’t always been easy. Last fall, the restaurant shifted from a small-plates menu to a more traditional dinner format. And now, bigger changes are coming.

Following service next Saturday, the Dock will close for a major overhaul as Syhabout, known for his other restaurants, Commis and Hawker Fare, plans to reopen the restaurant in early 2017, along with a new partner, Adam Lamoreaux, who had co-founded the brewery in 2009. (The Beer Shed, a smaller adjoining tasting room with a limited bar menu, will remain open during the renovation.)

Together, they will also commandeer the neighboring brewery space, allowing Syhabout and Lamoreaux to expand even further on the restaurant’s beer focus, they said, creating a brewery, taproom and restaurant.

According to Lamoreaux, Linden Street Brewery will be leaving the premises at the end of the year to move to a new location. The brewery did not return calls.

The entire building at Linden Street, tucked away in an industrial corner blocks away from Jack London Square, was recently sold to Pandion Investments and Cyrus Etemad, a backer of Highland Park Bowling Alley in Los Angeles and Portland’s Hawthorne Theatre, and is being renamed the Standard Underground Building.

Lamoreaux and his wife, Alice, had made Linden Street Brewery Oakland’s first production brewery in over 50 years. Eventually, they brought on investors to help expand the company. However, over the course of time, investors and board members decided to go in a different direction and Lamoreaux was removed from day-to-day operations. In 2014, he officially parted ways with the company.

“Nobody did anything wrong,” Lamoreaux said. “It was just a decision that was made that I obviously had to honor.”

Now Lamoreaux has found his way back to the place where his brewery began.

He and Syhabout are still mulling over the name of the new project, but as far as the food goes, Syhabout said it will be even more casual than the Dock, with familiar pub fare like sausages, burgers, sandwiches and salads. Lamoreaux cited what San Francisco brewer Dave McLean did with his Dogpatch brewery and barbecue restaurant, Smokestack at Magnolia, as a possible

inspiration.

Back to Gallery West Oakland’s Dock restaurant prepares for closure,... 4 1 of 4 Photo: John Storey, Special to the Chronicle 2 of 4 Photo: John Storey, Special to the Chronicle 3 of 4 Photo: Michael Short, The Chronicle 4 of 4 Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle







Lamoreaux will serve as the head brewer, and said that he will continue along the lines of the classic beer styles for which he’s known, like the California lagers that he made famous at Linden Street. In addition to the brewery and restaurant, the space will also serve as a retail and wholesale outlet. The pair are also filing for a cabaret license, with the hope of offering live music.

Lamoreaux said the change is an opportunity to start fresh. For both him and Syhabout, it’s a continued investment in Oakland, and in particular, West Oakland.

“The first priority is making good on that vision of making the area destination-worthy,” said Lamoreaux, noting that they want to reach a new audience “to make people a little more curious to venture out to that part of town.”

Sarah Fritsche is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sfritsche@sfchronicle.com