CELEBRITY CHEFDOM—South bossman and Australian celebrity chef Luke Mangan is hopping on the brandmaking bandwagon: "Next month begins the roll-out of a range of products - starting with olive oils and vinegars and moving to knives and pots and pans next year - which bears his name and his new logo of four red squares ... Mangan promises to use all of the products in his restaurant, of which he has three: Sydney, San Francisco and Tokyo, with two more to open soon." [SMH]
OAKLAND—Perhaps someone should alert this upcoming restaurant that their name's already been taken: "I spotted a sign for Scopa, what I guess will be a new restaurant in the ground floor of Il Piemonte 'Tuscan-inspired' condos ... I thought the restaurant might be an offshoot of the Scopa in Healdsburg, but they said no." [CCT]
SAN FRANCISCO—The man responsible for a series of restaurant robberies in 2007, including Trader Vic's, has been sentenced to 60 years to life in prison.: "Gregory Garrett, 54, was arrested Jan. 14, 2007 inside a South of Market Subway restaurant, where he and another man had locked two employees inside a walk-in freezer while Garrett stole $240 cash, according to prosecutors." [CBS]
NAPA—A new report shows just how dominant the Napa wine industry is: "...a report released Wednesday states that the Napa County wine industry generated nearly $11 billion in local economic activity and more than $42 billion around the country in 2006 ... “Napa Valley produces just 4 percent of California’s winegrapes, yet the region is responsible for nearly 30 percent of the economic impact of wine in California" [NVR]
[Photo: Kesler, 10/16/07]For more stories from Eater SF, go to sf.eater.com.
