Two long-standing Berkeley restaurants getting razed for new apartment complexes

Fondue Fred, a longstanding restaurant near the UC Berkeley campus, is closing its doors for good on Dec. 22. A new apartment complex will take its place. Fondue Fred, a longstanding restaurant near the UC Berkeley campus, is closing its doors for good on Dec. 22. A new apartment complex will take its place. Photo: Ariane K. /Yelp Photo: Ariane K. /Yelp Image 1 of / 55 Caption Close Two long-standing Berkeley restaurants getting razed for new apartment complexes 1 / 55 Back to Gallery

Today, Bacheesos, a family-owned Mediterranean restaurant on Berkeley's Telegraph Avenue, closed its doors for good. In its place, a five-story mixed-use complex is scheduled for construction next year, as first reported by Berkeleyside.

"There is no interest in small business in Berkeley anymore," said Bacheesos owner Amir Asli, who is now focusing on the restaurant's Oakland location. "I would never do business in Berkeley again."

Bacheesos originally opened in 2001 at San Pablo Avenue and Dwight, a few years after Asli's family moved from Iraq to Germany and then to the Bay Area. Bacheesos moved to Telegraph Avenue in 2011. Asli's mother, Soraya Kelar, primarily worked at the Berkeley branch — now Asli will move her to the Oakland one.

Just three blocks down, another Telegraph Ave mainstay also braces itself for demolition. Fondue Fred, alongside the other businesses inside the 2556 Telegraph Ave. dining and retail plaza (which include an Ethiopian restaurant and a hair salon), is being forced to close its doors to make way for a new five-story apartment complex.

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Fondue Fred has been open since at least the '70s (the exact opening date is unclear — the sign out front claims it opened in 1958). Current owner Laleh Heravi, who immigrated from Iran in the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq war, has run it for the past 20 years. Being in business for so long, she has loyal customers who have been coming for decades.

"I have UC Berkeley graduates from 40 years ago. I had a family come from Reno because they've been coming here forever. I had customers whose grandparents' grandpa was a football player at UC Berkeley," she said. "They come every year and sit at the same table."

Unable to relocate due to the high cost of rent in the area, Heravi says the restaurant's last day will be Dec. 22.

"The culture of the city is changing," she explained, citing the popularity of food delivery apps as well as Cal students — the bulk of her business — choosing to eat at chains or on campus rather than at small local restaurants. "There's nothing wrong with it. Everything has its limits. Our time is just... we are done."

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Asli attributes the pattern of various businesses closing to a lack of attention being paid to Telegraph Ave in recent years. Whereas Telegraph used to be the heart of Berkeley, now, he says, "You can't even do business there anymore, in my opinion." Instead, attention is shifting towards Downtown Berkeley — he called Center Street the new Telegraph.

"The focus [of Telegraph Ave] has changed," he said. "It's not small business anymore — it's really big buildings and franchises. It's very unfortunate. I'm still glad to see a few places that have survived, but I don't think they're going to do that for much longer."

Madeline Wells is an SFGATE digital reporter. Email: madeline.wells@sfgate.com | Twitter: @madwells22