Notte Divino, Sausalito: Osteria Divino Reopens Friday, Keeping Its Chef and Honoring Its Late Owner

One SF/Bay Area opening a day, chosen and checked. Today: Sausalito's turn, as the Italian room that closed when its owner Elizabeth Nebot died in March reopens tomorrow at 37 Caledonia with its 12-year chef back in the kitchen, a late-night jazz lounge until 2 a.m., and an opening night dedicated to cancer research.

For 20 years, Elizabeth Nebot owned Osteria Divino on Caledonia Street in Sausalito, as much a part of the room as the nighttime jazz and the handmade pastas, working the San Rafael farmers market for ingredients and working the dining room for regulars (Marin IJ). The restaurant closed earlier this year as she battled cancer, and she died in March.

Tomorrow, Friday July 24, the room reopens as Notte Divino, and it did not go to strangers. Jaxton Funk, a San Francisco bartender and bar manager who lived in the apartment above the restaurant and was a close friend of Nebot's, partnered with veteran San Francisco bar owner Johnny "Love" Metheny, a co-owner of the city's Blue Light, to take it over (Marin IJ; WhatNow). The most important hire was the one they kept: chef Yovani Castillo, who has spent the past 12 years in the Osteria Divino kitchen, is returning and will keep much of the original menu intact (Marin IJ). The dishes regulars knew by heart are still there, the house-made focaccia with dipping oil, the oven-baked fennel topped with Parmigiano-Reggiano, the Brussels sprouts, and the lamb (Marin IJ). The bigger change Funk points to is behind the bar: a shift from classic to craft cocktails, and later hours (Marin IJ).

That late-hours bet is the real news for Sausalito. Notte Divino will run 5 p.m. to midnight Sundays through Thursdays and 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays, with the kitchen closing at 10 and live jazz carrying the candlelit room past it (Marin IJ; Notte Divino). Caledonia's commercial stretch has historically wound down by 10, so a jazz set at midnight is genuinely new ground for the district (livein415).

The opening night is a tribute as much as a debut. July 24 is dedicated to Nebot, with optional donations benefiting UCSF cancer research, a 5:15 p.m. ribbon cutting with the mayor, and a mixer with complimentary tastes of the menu, a live jazz trio, and cocktails for purchase (Marin IJ).

Where: 37 Caledonia Street, Sausalito (Caledonia Street, the "New Town" stretch two blocks off the waterfront). Reservations: None online yet; call (415) 331-9355 or walk in. Opening night is a free public mixer.

Tracking. Saam (415 Brannan, SoMa), the Bangkok Michelin chef Thitid "Ton" Tassanakajohn's first U.S. kitchen and this feed's most-clicked story, opens tomorrow too, Friday July 24, with local chefs Tee Atthapon and Ty Choosuwan running the room day to day (Hoodline; SF Chronicle). Reservations are live.

Also opening

Jollibee, Union Square (SF). The Filipino fried-chicken chain finally opens at 934 Market Street on July 31, ending a six-year run through city permits, historic-preservation review, and a noise-compliance snag. Daily 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. (ABC7; SFist)
Makkee Dessert, Mountain View (South Bay). A rebranded version of a 1,000-location Chinese dessert chain, and the first to land in the Bay Area, drawing lines on Castro Street since its early-July grand opening. (Palo Alto Online)
California Fish Grill, Concord (Contra Costa). The sustainable-seafood chain just opened a new location in the Willows shopping center. (Diablo Dish)
Broken Dreams, Oakland (East Bay), opens Aug 10. Chef Geoffrey Deetz, behind the late Temple Club (a 2018 Chronicle Top 100 spot) and Le Colonial, returns with his wife Nguyen for a fast-casual cơm tấm room at 1312 Broadway. (SF Chronicle)

Also closing

Leo's Oyster Bar, Financial District (SF). The retro Champagne-and-oyster room at 568 Sacramento Street, a Ken Fulk design that Bon Appétit named Best Design in its 2016 Best New Restaurants issue, has shut its doors after 11 years. Owner Anna Weinberg, who filed for bankruptcy in May, said the lease was up July 1 and renewal was no longer viable; she now runs only Tosca Cafe. (SFist; SF Chronicle)