Restaurateur Omid Zahedi, who transformed the historic San Mateo train station into a huge eatery and bar with outside dining during the pandemic, has now renovated a large Santa Clara venue for his wood-roasted prime rib, pizza, fish and house-baked pies.

The second Rise Woodfire — at Rivermark Plaza, in the former Piatti — has opened in stages, giving the staff time to build up to handling full capacity. There’s now seating available for about 200 diners inside the restaurant, with a modern-meets-rustic design that matches the elevated comfort food. The patio accommodates nearly 100 more.

Zahedi grew up in the fast-food pizza business — his Iranian immigrant father opened pizzerias after coming to this country — but chose the financial services field for his career. Years later, he developed a passion for “the new wave of fine pizza” and built a brick oven on a trailer to practice on family, friends and serve at charity events.

Once the recipes were perfected, he and wife Susan Payrovi launched their first eatery, Rise Pizzeria, in downtown Burlingame in 2017. The San Mateo train station location opened in early 2021.

The South Bay menu matches the Peninsula one. Pizzas include such combinations as Medjool Date-Chevre, Funghi-Fontina, Calabrese-Honey and Artichoke-Spinach. There’s even fire-roasted pineapple for the spicy Hawaiian-style pizza.

The wood-roasted whole branzino, served atop romesco sauce, has been particularly popular with the Santa Clara crowd, he said. Prime rib is available as an entree or a French Dip sandwich, and the rotisserie chicken comes with two sides and a dipping sauce. Tandoori-spiced chicken and wings will join the menu soon.

Details >> Open daily from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday at 3905 Rivermark Plaza, Santa Clara; www.risewoodfire.com

Danville brunch spot now has Pleasant Hill location

After six years establishing itself as a popular location in Danville, Crumbs is bringing its entire 20-page breakfast and brunch menu to a second location — Pleasant Hill.

Partner Amy Sidhom said she expects the new location to open sometime this month. It’ll replace The Original Pancake House on the corner of Contra Costa Boulevard and Gregory Lane.

“We do American classic brunch with a few twists,” Sidhom said. “The twists come from our backgrounds. I am originally from Egypt and my partner is from Greece, so we snuck in a few Mediterranean items from childhood and things we enjoy in our own countries for brunch. They were met with a huge welcome.”

Her favorite is the shakshouka, which features a spicy sauce made of stewed tomatoes, onions, red peppers and garlic, combined with two eggs, feta crumbles and cilantro and served with sourdough bread.

Among the popular menu items are the ube pancakes, a stack of three purple yam pancakes covered in strawberries, blueberries, blanched almonds, coconut flakes and powdered sugar, Mel’s green chilaquiles, house-made tortilla chips topped with tomatillo garlic sauce, eggs, avocado, sour cream, onions, cilantro and queso fresco, and the crab benedict.

Crafting such a large menu was important to make sure folks with all kinds of allergies and dietary restrictions would still have plenty to choose from.

“I come from a family with a vegetarian, a keto-conscious and a carnivorous person,” Sidhom said. “To go out as a family of four to a restaurant has always been challenging. One has to bring food with us, go somewhere else or combine sides. So it was important for me to make a menu where everyone has options.”

Crumbs also serves a full bar that features 15 flavors of mimosas, including a popular cotton candy flavor.

The restaurant does take reservations for brunch from 7 to 9 a.m., and again from 1 to 3 p.m., but folks looking to dine between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. will need to join the waitlist on Yelp or call ahead to avoid a wait.

Details >> Open in late January or early February, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily at 2059 Contra Costa Blvd. in Pleasant Hill; crumbsbayarea.com.

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