Kat's Kitchen on Domingo Avenue, Berkeley: A New Chapter

A keepsake hangs over the open kitchen at 2922 Domingo Avenue. It was a gift from Kathy "Kat" Fisher to her granddaughter, and now it overlooks the stoves of a restaurant named after her. Kat's Kitchen soft-opened this month in the space Rick & Ann's held for almost 36 years. The family running it treated the room as something to restore rather than replace.

That matters on this block more than on most. The short stretch of Domingo across Ashby from the Claremont Resort & Club depends on one corner restaurant. When that corner went dark in August 2025, the block lost its anchor. Its new tenants have pointed almost every choice back to the neighborhood, from the woodwork to the sausage.

Fourteen months between last pancake and first waffle

Berkeleyside reported in July 2025 that co-founder Ann Lauer had decided not to renew the lease as she headed into retirement. Rick & Ann's had opened in November 1989, and it served its last orange rice flour pancakes on August 30, 2025. In her closing notice, Lauer wrote that she had seen "customers that I held as children, now with their families and some as grandparents." She also said Ann's Catering would carry on from a commercial kitchen.

The handoff took longer than first planned:

1. January 2026. WhatNow reported that co-owner Victor Maravilla said remodeling was starting after a meeting with the contractor and landlord. The early estimate was about three months, and the plans followed a liquor-license application.
2. August 2026. A meet-and-greet preview set for August 9 was postponed, according to an August 7 update from Berkeleyside's Nosh.
3. October 2026. Kat's Kitchen announced it was open to the public, and Berkeleyside listed it among the week's openings on October 20.

So a three-month remodel became roughly nine months of work. Counting from the day Rick & Ann's closed, the corner went more than a year without a breakfast service. Berkeley Eats wrote that, "like many locals," it had been following the project's progress since January.

What the Maravillas kept

Maya and Victor Maravilla, who have three children, are first-time restaurant owners. Victor spent ten years in food and hospitality at A.G. Ferrari, the Italian grocery, and went on to lead its catering team. After A.G. Ferrari closed in 2017, he joined Maya at the family law firm run by her mother, attorney Kathy "Kat" Fisher. Speaking to Berkeley Eats, Maya described the restaurant like this:

"My mother was a pioneer in her field, an adventurous spirit, a wonderful cook and a dedicated community servant. Victor and I wanted to channel her spirit into this new venture."

The remodel shows that intent. Berkeley Eats reports that the couple upgraded the back of house, sanded and restained the dining room's original wood, swapped out the seating and laid new floors. Friends, family and contractors helped, and the owners took care to keep what the outlet called the spot's "welcoming magic." The windows that have long framed the Claremont Hotel still do. The dining nooks around the open kitchen have throw pillows, and there is a short list of specials for kids under 10.

The kitchen is run by chef Michael Fornasero. The restaurant's announcement, as quoted by Berkeleyside, credits him with time at Foreign Cinema, A16 and The Boonville Hotel. It also says he cooks with produce from local growers and from his own farm in Lake County.

The menu, read for its addresses

Berkeley Eats names Star Meats sausage, Onnbon and Asha teas, Alameda Soda Co. sodas, Cote West wines, gluten-free Cult Crackers and Mariposa Baking Company breads. Maya added "honey from makers who literally live and operate in the Claremont neighborhood." Star Meats shares its address with Star Grocery at 3068 Claremont Avenue, a few minutes' walk from the restaurant.

On the plate, the breakfast menu includes mole chilaquiles, a red-flame hash, trout toast and a cardamom-pear Dutch baby. The lunch menu lists P.E.I. mussels, a mole-chicken sandwich made with Rosie's chicken breast and The Hanger, a grilled hanger steak sandwich with cipollini onions and chimichurri. Berkeleyside's list also mentions toasts, waffles, bowls and pancakes.

Kat's Kitchen posts hours of 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Thursday through Tuesday, and is closed Wednesdays. An evening wine bar is listed as "Coming Soon," with no opening date announced. Those are the posted hours, and opening week did not run to them. The restaurant's own updates say a critical piece of kitchen equipment failed in the first days, so it opened that weekend for coffee, pastries and grab-and-go soup, salad and sandwiches while repairs went ahead. An earlier update said lunch was "coming soon." This is still a soft opening, and Berkeley Eats notes that things "might pivot here and there." It points readers to the restaurant's Instagram for changes, which is the place to check before you walk over for lunch.

The block it rejoins

Kat's Kitchen reopens the corner, and the rest of the block never closed. All of the businesses below currently post hours, store pages or ordering on their own websites.

With Kat's Kitchen in place, the five addresses from 2912 to 2928 are once again filled by businesses serving customers. For the fourteen months the corner sat empty, the block's busiest morning address was dark. That stretch is now over.

Around the corner, the block's other new arrival

The other opening near the Claremont-Ashby intersection this fall also chose to put down roots in the neighborhood. Tabletop Library is a board-game club at 3048 Claremont Avenue. In an August 24 post, founder Andrew Mason set out a phased opening. Members came first on Thursday, August 27. The front door was due to open to everyone on Tuesday, September 8, with a grand-opening weekend on October 3 and 4.

Mason's announcement made clear where he pictured customers coming from. For the grand opening, he joked about trying to get Berkeleyside to cover it and hiring "one of those sign spinners to stand on the corner of Claremont & Ashby." Walk in now and you can tour the space or buy a game. Booking a table works through a membership.

A morning plate on Domingo followed by an afternoon at a game table on Claremont is a short walk. Both businesses opened within a few weeks of each other this fall.

Dates that bring you back across Ashby

Once the wine bar opens, the Domingo corner will have reasons to stay busy into the evening. Until then, the resort across Ashby has the season's calendar, and several of its events are open to the public.

• Select Tuesdays and Thursdays through November, 6 to 9 p.m. Live music in the Lobby Lounge, according to the Claremont Resort & Club.
• Sunday, November 8, 4 to 6 p.m. The Claremont Canyon Conservancy's annual meeting takes place at the resort, with a keynote by Patrick Wolff and updates on the Conservancy's work. The group runs volunteer stewardship days at Garber Park twice a month and in the upper canyon once a month. A January 19 service day this year drew 37 volunteers.
• November 7 to 22, November 27 to December 13, and daily December 18 to 27. Holiday Tea at the resort costs $125 per adult in November and $145 in December, before tax and gratuity.
• Thursday, November 26, 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Limewood serves a family-style Thanksgiving meal at $115 per adult and $65 per child ages 5 to 12. Orders for the resort's Thanksgiving dinner-to-go are due by November 23.
• Tuesday, December 1, 5:30 p.m. The tree-lighting ceremony is free. Non-guests and non-members are asked for a suggested $10 donation for cocoa and Santa photos, with proceeds going to Make-A-Wish.
• Saturdays, December 5 to 19. Cookie decorating at East Bay Provisions, the resort's market.

Kat's Kitchen is closed on Wednesdays, and a tree lighting on a Tuesday evening falls after its 2:30 p.m. close. If you want breakfast on Domingo before a resort event, plan around those hours.

I love to keep track of who is taking over which storefront because those changes shape daily life on blocks like this one. If you'd like to hear what I'm seeing on Domingo and around the Claremont, I'd love to talk it through over coffee at Peet's or a waffle at Kat's. Request a personalized consultation.