WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA – The restaurant scene in downtown Walnut Creek is on fire. There’s trendy new places like Stereo41, two new Ramen restaurants coming into town, and a bevy of parklets outside existing places.
And of course, there’s Original Joes–probably the most exciting new restaurant opening in WC in a decade.
But most of those places are sit-down restaurants with varying degrees of formality. Fast casual, counter-service type places are getting harder to find.
That’s why I was excited to hear about a new Mediterranean restaurant coming into far end of Main Street. When I started to dig around a bit, though, I realized that we know almost nothing about this new spot! It’s almost like a startup in Stealth Mode.
The new place is Sala Mediterranean Grill. It’s coming to 1348 Broadway Plaza in downtown Walnut Creek.
Technically, that’s a Broadway Plaza address. But it’s on the very far end of the development, and feels like it’s just a bit separate. Basically, it’s the spot across from Original Joes and next to Cooperage. It housed Lemonade previously.
That almost exhausts the available information about what Sala will be. The restaurant’s website is minimal, with text saying that it will be a fast casual format. That means you’ll probably order at a counter and then take your food back to your seat, rather than having a waiter and tablecloths.
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Sala Mediterranean Grill will apparently serve “bowls, wraps, salads, soups and falafel.”
Even job listings for the new place–often a great source of insider info for journalistic types like us–is minimal. It says Sala will have “fresh ingredients, bold flavors, and genuine hospitality.”
We’re imagining something akin to Yalla Mediterranean Grill, which was a great spot over by Heather Farm park. It closed in 2021, but it had a similar counter-service, Mediterranean fusion kind of theme.
The only other nugget of info we have about this new spot is a proposed opening date. That’s supposed to be February 2026. So the opening could be right around the corner, and perhaps all the gaps will be filled with juicy knowledge (and chicken shawarma).
Beyond that, the new place is a bit of a mystery. We’ll be continuing to dig, though. Make sure to join my free 925 News newsletter so I can keep you updated when we learn more, and share every new restaurant opening in the 925 with you.
