The East Bay has a healthy dose of destination-worthy wine bars that showcase domestic and international bottles, flights and wines by the glass, from Residual Sugar and Va De Vi, both in Walnut Creek, to Oakland’s acclaimed Snail Bar and Daytrip, which specialize in natural wines.

But the area hasn’t had a place specifically designed for bubbly-sipping, until this year.

Fizz, a Champagne bar located in Sacramento, is making its way to 1652 Bonanza St., the former Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea in downtown Walnut Creek, with a planned fall opening, says Fizz founder Raymond James Irwin.

When it opens, hopefully in September, Fizz Walnut Creek will feature more than 150 different Champagnes by the bottle, 25 different Champagnes and sparkling wines by the glass and a menu of flights with names such as “Baller” and “Champagne in the Membrane.”

Like the original in Sacramento, Fizz will also offer a menu of bubbly-friendly bites, like oysters, caviar and duck fat fries.

Irwin, a certified sommelier, says he wants to change people’s perceptions of Champagne and sparkling wine as a special-occasion beverage. One of the ways he plans to do that is with a pickup or delivery Champagne club, which gives members access to unique and boutique bottles not available to the general public. The Sacramento Fizz opened four years ago and boasts a 450-member club.

Members also get store discount for all purchases, access to invitation-only events, and opportunities to accompany Irwin on his sourcing trips to the Champagne region. He says locals can get on that list for Walnut Creek before the bar opens and receive access to pre-opening parties. To learn more, go to fizzwalnutcreek.com.

San Jose’s Egghead Sando Cafe expanding to a second location

In deciding on a new restaurant concept, South Bay entrepreneurs Vinh Ha and Yi Ru Chen first explored opening a cafe serving tamago, the delicate Japanese-style egg sandwiches. But then they decided to go big or, in other words, crack the idea wide open.

The result was Egghead Sando Cafe, a breakfast sandwich spot that serves breakfast for lunch and dinner too — until 8 p.m.

After launching in Cupertino and drawing lines of customers there, the Egghead team moved recently to new, larger digs on San Jose’s Capitol Expressway and announced plans for a second location in downtown San Jose later this year.

Cage-free eggs are the stars of the menu. Fluffy ones in the Scramble, poached ones in the Eggy, over-medium ones in the Hawaiian Morning, the Chic and the Breakfast Burger. Playing a valuable supporting role is the warm brioche bun, a recipe developed by Chen and baked fresh in-house every morning.

Ha, Chen and manager John Tang say they’ve taken inspiration from other restaurants and then drawn on their roots — Vietnamese, Taiwanese, Chinese — to put their own spin on dishes. Ha got his start years ago when his family operated a Vietnamese restaurant in Newark called My Tho.

The bestseller is the Chic, with Taiwanese-style fried chicken served on brioche with egg, arugula and house sauce. Like Los Angeles’ trailblazing Eggslut, the Egghead menu offers a creamy egg-and-potato-puree in a jar, with baguette slices, and a scrambled egg sandwich.

Unlike Eggslut, the sandos here are supplemented by a huge lineup of beverages. The hojicha latte and strawberry hojicha latte, made with double-roasted green tea, are the most popular.

Details >> Open daily from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 519 W. Capitol Expressway, San Jose. www.eggheadcafe.net

New cafe, Brown Butter, adds to Danville dining options

When the craving for crepes and sandwiches calls, there’s a new East Bay cafe to visit.

Brown Butter recently opened at Danville’s Blackhawk Plaza. The restaurant specializes in savory and sweet crepes, sandwiches on Acme Bread, handcrafted hot and cold beverages and specialty desserts.

The five savory crepes ($12.95) include standards, like chicken pesto and ham and cheese, and a unique offering of prik poy moo young, a Thai street food dish made with shredded dry pork, egg and Thai chili paste.

Sweet crepes ($10.95-$12.95) range from a banana creation with house-made brownies and a mango-centric crepe with mango puree, fresh mango and mango ice cream.

A Brown Butter dessert of note, the Shibuya honey toast with honey butter, almonds, fruit and ice cream, is a standout. And the lineup of house-made sodas, including strawberry and lemon, should keep Blackhawk Plaza wanderers cool this summer.

Details >> Soft opening hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday to Monday at 3456 Blackhawk Plaza Circle. www.brownbutterbp.com

Award-winning Sweet55 chocolates come to Palo Alto

Nine years after launching a catering business in Palo Alto, Ursula Schnyder has returned to the city with her award-winning chocolates.

The Sweet55 shop has expanded to Town & Country Village shopping center. The original shop opened in Half Moon Bay in 2016, and the chocolate production remains there.

“Sweet55 has grown exponentially over the last five years,” Schnyder said in an announcement about the new location. “It made so much sense for us to expand to the central Bay Area where most of our customers come from — and where our story began.”

The shop makes Swiss-style, small-batch candies using sustainable, high-quality “grand cru” chocolate, garnering praise in the form of two Good Food Awards in 2018 and 2019 and a Sofi Silver Award in 2021.

Among the distinctive pieces are the Eiger, a “snow-capped” chocolate named after the famous mountain in the Swiss Alps, filled with gianduja and orange caramel; the California Republic, a dark ganache with olive oil, Meyer lemon and rosemary; the Earl Grey, with 72% dark ganache and almond praline; and the Ultimate Swiss, a milk ganache with Swiss pear brandy, vanilla and mountain salt.

Details >> Open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at Town & Country, 855 El Camino Real, Palo Alto. www.sweet55.com

Send restaurant news tips to lzavoral@bayareanewsgroup.com and jyadegaran@bayareanewsgroup.com.