Features reporter

John Metcalfe

John Metcalfe is a Bay Area News Group features reporter for The Mercury News and East Bay Times, covering nature, food, the arts, and notable things to do in the Bay Area for the Eat Drink Play section. He lives in Oakland with no pets unless you count a thoroughly embedded family of backyard raccoons. Follow him on Twitter at @citycalfe or on Facebook.

The billionaire founder of the yogurt company, Hamdi Ulukaya, said he wants to get Anchor running again as fast as possible.

And Anchor Steam’s new owner is… the Chobani Yogurt guy?

June 3, 2024 at 5:09 a.m.

The billionaire founder of the yogurt company, Hamdi Ulukaya, said he wants to get Anchor running again as fast as possible.

From a rooftop bar in Walnut Creek to the flavors of Portugal in Gilroy, the resilient Bay Area restaurant industry is gearing up for more exciting eatery openings in the coming months.

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12 highly anticipated new Bay Area restaurants for summer 2024 and beyond

May 21, 2024 at 11:39 a.m.

From a rooftop bar in Walnut Creek to the flavors of Portugal in Gilroy, the resilient Bay Area restaurant industry is gearing up for more exciting eatery openings in the...

"I have seen rat excrement in the paper that we use to wrap food, by the nuggets and in the sauce-packet containers by the drive through," says a worker in a Cal/OSHA complaint.

Oakland McDonald’s employees hold rally over rat invasion

May 9, 2024 at 4:40 a.m.

"I have seen rat excrement in the paper that we use to wrap food, by the nuggets and in the sauce-packet containers by the drive through," says a worker in...

The record store suffered from Covid and downloading, but is back thanks to the surprising growth of vinyl collecting.

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A chat with Dave Prinz of Amoeba Music, the world-famous indie-record store

May 3, 2024 at 7:11 a.m.

The record store suffered from Covid and downloading, but is back thanks to the surprising growth of vinyl collecting.

From Lafayette's Doh! to Los Gatos' Icing on the Cake, these bakeries offer up some of the most extraordinary chocolate chip cookies in the Bay Area. Yum.

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11 Bay Area bakeries with next-level chocolate chip cookies

April 30, 2024 at 4:52 a.m.

From Lafayette's Doh! to Los Gatos' Icing on the Cake, these bakeries offer up some of the most extraordinary chocolate chip cookies in the Bay Area. Yum.

Fabio Viviani's Jars will offer, yes, jarred containers of tiramisu, blackberry pie and honeysuckle cake.

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A ‘Top Chef’ star is bringing dessert-in-a-jar to Emeryville

March 28, 2024 at 3:38 a.m.

Fabio Viviani's Jars will offer, yes, jarred containers of tiramisu, blackberry pie and honeysuckle cake.

The closure of the casual Mexican restaurant, with its sombrero birthdays and tortilla machine, is a big hit to fans of chain-restaurant nostalgia.

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Bay Area icon, Chevys restaurant, to close in Emeryville after 25 years on the water

March 5, 2024 at 4:22 a.m.

The closure of the casual Mexican restaurant, with its sombrero birthdays and tortilla machine, is a big hit to fans of chain-restaurant nostalgia.

“I often joke about the whole paleontological thing that it’s like the ultimate cold case file. You’re coming across an animal that’s been dead for 10,000 years, and you’re trying to get a little picture of what its life was like."

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Business |
Meet the fossil hunter protecting history at billion-dollar Bay Area construction projects

February 23, 2024 at 4:47 p.m.

“I often joke about the whole paleontological thing that it’s like the ultimate cold case file. You’re coming across an animal that’s been dead for 10,000 years, and you’re trying...