Famed Berkeley restaurant Chez Panisse delays reopening of dining room

BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) -- Famed Berkeley restaurant Chez Panisse has delayed reopening its dining room until next year.

In an Instagram post, restaurant leadership said the decision was "complicated," but can be attributed to concerns about COVID. "The reason can be distilled to COVID, the surge of the Delta variant, and their many implications: health and safety of staff, worries about unvaccinated family members, unpredictable school closures and required quarantines as they relate to staffing, restrictive and constantly changing safety protocols, the financial challenges of reduced capacity, the expense of unexpectedly being forced to close, etc. Chez Panisse is housed in an old craftsman bungalow with low ceilings and a few small windows. We have installed a new air ventilation system for the back of the café, but in many areas of the restaurant, our options are quite limited."

The restaurant had been set to reopen in October.

The new goal is early next year. The restaurant will keep doing takeout and a "Sunday market" until then.