Taking a successful restaurant in Napa and trying to replicate it in Walnut Creek didn’t come without its challenges.

The owners of Bounty Hunter Wine Bar & Smokin’ BBQ in Napa found that out the hard way, as the pandemic hit just a few months after its second location opened right off Broadway Plaza.

The new restaurant, called Bounty Hunter Walnut Creek, never found its groove.

So the restaurant shut its doors last September, took a few months to strategize and then re-opened in December with a new concept, a new look, an entirely new menu and a new name: BH Wood-Fired Grill.

“We wanted to make something that would be consistent quality every time you come,” says Ryan Cole, co-founder of Hi Neighbor Hospitality Group, which was hired to help reshape the restaurant. “We don’t want to change the menu all the time. We want to change it seasonally. But we want it to be like, ‘I’m craving beef carpaccio, so I want to come in, sit at the bar, get a glass of wine, and it’s going to be the same thing every time.’

“I’d rather hang my hat on consistent quality over innovation right now.”

The new menu leans into the restaurant’s wood-fired grill while aiming to hit home runs with the classics: steak and seafood. The 8-ounce filet mignon and 14-ounce New York strip are prepared with garlic butter and a red wine bordelaise. The truffle beef carpaccio features mushrooms, chives, capers, parmesan and griddled focaccia.

Suzanne Miller, bar manager at The Madrigal, designed the beverage menu, which features a robust Napa wine list and drinks such as the Judgement of Paris, made not with wine but with indigo gin, bianco vermouth, prosecco, plum and tomato shrub and lemon, and The Leafcutter, which combines vodka, a strawberry-honey infusion, egg whites and lime juice.

Cole’s plea to Walnut Creek customers: Give us a chance. “It’s well-prepared food that pairs well with wine and gives you this feel of a little bit of Napa,” he said. “You’ll feel as confident coming to the bar for an appetizer as you are bringing the whole family with the kids for dinner.”

A daily happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m. offers $5 off all appetizers, beer for $5 and $10 wine and cocktails.

Details >> Open from 4 to 9 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday-Sunday at 1521 Mt. Diablo Blvd. in Walnut Creek; bhwoodfiredgrill.com.

Mendocino Farms opens Monday at Westgate

The seasonal sandwich and salad specialist Mendocino Farms will open its newest restaurant on Monday at San Jose’s Westgate Center.

The restaurant is the second for San Jose and the 75th for the brand. There are also South Bay locations in Campbell and Santa Clara.

Owners Ellen Chen and Mario Del Pero (they’re NorCal expats, and she’s a native of Lafayette) began expanding their Southern California operation to the Bay Area in late 2017.

Mendo Farms partners with sustainable California farm and culinary artisans and changes the menu seasonally. For winter 2025, they are adding specials such as the Chicken & Hummus Crunch Wrap, the chain’s first-ever wrap, and a riff on the taco salad called the Baja Green Goddess Salad, with a choice of chicken adobado or Impossible chorizo plus Hatch chiles, roasted corn, black beans and avocado.

Prior to opening day, customers who create a My Mendo account and select “NorCal-Westgate Center” will receive a free entrée with any menu purchase during the first two weeks the new restaurant is in operation.

Details >> Open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily at 1696 Saratoga Ave., #94. San Jose; www.mendocinofarms.com

This San Jose Starbucks has served its last latte

The Starbucks coffee shop at the entrance to San Pedro Square in San Jose has closed permanently, leaving downtown with two other locations. On Sunday, Jan. 5, that shop served its last winter menu mochas, lattes, cold brews and Frappuccinos.

In a posted note to customers, the district manager and staff said: “We would like to thank you for being part of our store community; you are the heart of who we are at Starbucks. It has been a great pleasure to connect with you every day.”

Baristas are expected to transfer to the two remaining downtown locations, 181 E. Santa Clara St., across from City Hall; or Downtown Pavilion, 150 S. First St.; or other shops.

Send restaurant news tips to Linda Zavoral at lzavoral@bayareanewsgroup.com, Kate Bradshaw at kbradshaw@bayareanewsgroup.com or John Metcalfe at jmetcalfe@bayareanewsgroup.com.