A la Carte: Cesar's co-founder remakes Richmond's BoilerHouse
By Jackie Burrell, Contra Costa Times
jburrell@bayareanewsgroup
Posted:   11/30/2012 04:23:36 PM PST
Updated:   11/30/2012 04:47:07 PM PST

Interior of the Boilerhouse restaurant in Richmond, Calif., a former World War II-era industrial plant, seen Monday, Feb. 1, 2010. (D. Ross Cameron/Staff) ( D. ROSS CAMERON )
Hello, Assemble: Say farewell to Richmond's BoilerHouse. The gastropub will serve its last meal -- lunch -- on Friday, then reopen in mid-January as Assemble, a nod to the Craneway Pavilion's past as a Ford assembly plant as well as to the act of coming together, says co-general manager Richard Mazzera. The Chez Panisse alum and co-founder of Berkeley's Cesar will run the new restaurant with his wife, former Corso GM Terumi Shibata.
"It's going to be New American cuisine with all kinds of regional classics, from New Orleans to cioppino, Hog Island oysters and Dungeness crab. The crab boat can pull up next to the building. Oh my god, I was looking for a place with a view in the East Bay and look what I got -- I have a gigantic toy," Mazzera says.
The venue's spectacular bay views are a major draw, of course, but the indoor spaces also are getting a do-over, with new tables and chairs, and a warmer edge to the industrial chic look. Mazzera also hopes to plant "a victory garden reflecting back to the history of the place," and which will function as an Edible Schoolyard Project for Richmond schools.