Zucca Refreshes with New Name, Renovations

won't just pop champagne bottles in 2012—they'll celebrate the new year with a new name, managers and an updated interior.  

The Mediterranean restaurant’s current manager and owner Surjit Brar will hand off management duties to long-time employees Sandrine Cornet and Remzi Degerli. Cornet has been at the restaurant for seven years while Degerli has been there for 12. 

Contrary to rumors, the restaurant will not close; but it will refresh its look and tweak a few items on the menu. Cornet said they wish to preserve the "comfy" atmosphere of the restaurant and Degerli added they will provide the same style of service.

"We don't sell $150 wines," said Cornet, who will be head manager. "We're definitely accessible to anyone."

The staff is also very close. "A lot of people think we're a family restaurant," Cornet said, even though none of them are related. "Remzi is like my brother," she added. 

They have not yet decided on the new name or what the changes to the menu will be. However, Degerli said lunch may become "lighter," with more salad and sandwich options. 

"We're going to do some exciting stuff," Degerli said. 

Rumors of the restaurant's imminent closure had spread after some had seen a liquor license for a burger place appear on the restaurant. But due to a negative reaction from the community, Brar decided to keep the restaurant and instead let the rest of his staff manage it so he could focus on other projects.

In addition to owning three other restaurants on Castro Street, Brar is a guest chef in the kitchens of Silicon Valley giants like Adobe and Samsung, and was a chef at Google for five years. The staff restructuring at Zucca was a move to help him tend to his latest project: a banquet hall in Milpitas called My Royal Palace that opened in November.

Zucca–under its new name–will be open Monday through Saturday, although it will be closed the first week of January for renovation.