What's open on the 1100 block of Solano Avenue at 7 on a Wednesday morning, and what's still open at 9 that night? A year ago the block had two fresh vacancies. Now each of those hours belongs to a different business, and that handoff is the clearest way to understand how Lower Solano filled back up.
Each operator on the block runs a narrower window than a full-service restaurant would. Starter Bakery takes the morning. Lulu's Little Kitchen takes midday into early evening. Sakana takes dinner. Pretty Things, the craft beer bar at 1122, sits in the middle of it all and lets you carry food in from outside. None of them covers the whole day, but between them the block does.
The block lost long-running tenants in 2025
The gaps came first. Sugata at 1105 Solano closed after nearly 45 years in business, Berkeleyside reported in August 2025. Flora & Ferment at 1122 Solano was reported permanently closed in Berkeleyside's November 2025 coverage.
Then the restaurant between them changed shape. Lulu's at 1106 Solano closed its full-service format on Jan. 31, 2026 and reopened on Feb. 21 as Lulu's Little Kitchen, a counter-service spot.
None of those addresses stayed empty for long, and the businesses that filled them aren't trying to be all-day restaurants.
Starter took the morning
Starter Bakery spent about a year turning an old dentist's office at 1183 Solano into a café and bakery and held its grand opening on Oct. 25, 2025, according to Berkeleyside's Nosh column. Founder and master baker Brian Wood told Nosh he picked the spot for the busy dining scene on Solano and because the city of Albany was easy to work with.
The Albany location was built from scratch with a deep fryer and a griddle, so it makes baseball-sized beignets, filled and plain, from a recipe the team worked through 11 or 12 versions of. Starter's Albany page calls the beignets a Solano Avenue exclusive. You'll also find the quiche, croissants, breads and kouign amann that Starter is known for.
The same page lists hours of 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday, closed Monday and Tuesday. So the block's day begins with Starter, and Starter is done by mid-afternoon.
Lulu's narrowed its hours to the busiest stretch
Lulu's Little Kitchen picks up at 11:30. Chef Mona Leena Michael opened Lulu's on Solano as a full-service Palestinian-Californian restaurant in spring 2024, after starting out in a smaller space in the Gilman District, Oaklandside's Nosh reported. Michael told Nosh that the number of diners held steady but spending per person fell, from about $45 to $50 at the start to about $25 to $30.
The switch to counter service changed how much space the restaurant uses, its staffing and its menu. In the same Oaklandside piece, Michael described cutting square footage to bring rent down, retiring the housemade bread program and halving the staff. She also looked at which days and hours had historically been busiest and built the new schedule around them. The recipes stayed the same and were reworked into composed dishes at lower prices, including a roti wrap with halloumi, braised lamb and a chicken kebab bowl.
Lulu's own site posts hours of 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Sunday and Wednesday through Friday, and 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday. It's closed Monday and Tuesday. The adjoining room Lulu's once used for extra seating is going to a family member's new business.
Sakana and Pretty Things cover the evening
At 1105, the old Sugata space, Sakana and Yasai opened in 2025, as Oaklandside's Nosh roundup reported. It now takes online orders as Sakana Sushi & Roll. Its Albany ordering page lists dinner-only hours. It opens at 5 p.m. every day and closes at 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
At 1122, Pretty Things took the old Flora & Ferment space. Berkeleyside reported in April 2026 that the craft beer bar announced a soft opening with 21 taps, many pouring local breweries like Cellarmaker, Alvarado Street, Faction and Ghost Town. Customers can bring in outside food. The bar's site says the taps pour beer, cider and wine on "Lower Solano."
That outside-food policy makes a beer bar part of a block full of kitchens. Because Pretty Things lets you bring food in, it can pair with a counter like Lulu's or a takeout sushi order from Sakana.
Here's how the posted hours line up across a week:
| Address | Business | Posted hours | Dark days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1183 Solano | Starter Bakery | 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Mon, Tue |
| 1106 Solano | Lulu's Little Kitchen | 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Sat to 6 p.m. | Mon, Tue |
| 1105 Solano | Sakana Sushi & Roll | 5 to 9:30 p.m.; Fri and Sat to 11 p.m. | None listed |
| 1122 Solano | Pretty Things | Not posted on its site | Not posted |
On Monday and Tuesday, Starter and Lulu's are both closed, which leaves Sakana as the only one of these with posted hours. From Wednesday through Sunday, the morning and midday shifts come back.
The same pattern runs up the avenue and onto San Pablo
The 1100 block isn't the only place where an empty room got a new tenant with its own schedule.
At 1501 Solano, Anahuac held its grand opening on Jan. 31, 2026 in the former Fonda space, with fajitas, enchiladas and a large seafood menu, according to Oaklandside's January openings roundup. Its online ordering page lists daily hours of 9 a.m. to 8:45 p.m.
Over on San Pablo Avenue, Match Point Brewing closed its taproom at 745 San Pablo after service on July 26, 2026. Co-owner Simon Chen told Berkeleyside the taproom couldn't reach a new sublease agreement. Its beer is still sold locally, including at Berkeley Bowl and El Cerrito Natural Grocery. Two months later, the space had a new tenant. Souk Savanh2.0, a Lao and Thai restaurant serving rice plates and noodle dishes, soft-opened there on Sept. 28 at the corner of Washington Avenue, Berkeleyside reported. KQED's Luke Tsai called it "one of the best" Lao spots he has tried.
Winter on Solano lands on a Sunday when the block's kitchens are open
Starter, Lulu's and Sakana all have posted hours on Sundays, and the Solano Avenue Association has put this year's winter event on a Sunday.
WINTER on Solano runs Sunday, Dec. 6, 2026, from noon to 5 p.m. along the mile from The Alameda to San Pablo Avenue. It's free, family friendly, wheelchair accessible and rain or shine. The avenue stays open to cars, unlike the Stroll. The association's listing has the Albany Jazz Big Band at Peralta Park, 1559 Solano, from noon to 2 p.m., and the Berkeley Community Chamber Singers at the same spot at 3 p.m.
Using only the posted hours above, the Lower Solano end of Dec. 6 could go like this:
- Get to Starter at 1183 before the event starts, since the bakery closes at 4 p.m.
- Walk up to Peralta Park for the Albany Jazz Big Band set, which runs from noon to 2.
- Stop at Lulu's Little Kitchen at 1106, open on Sundays until 7:30 p.m.
- Be back at Peralta Park at 3 for the Berkeley Community Chamber Singers.
- Finish at Sakana at 1105, which opens at 5, right when the event wraps up.
Santa on Solano runs that same weekend and the two after it, Dec. 5–6, 12–13 and 19–20, from noon to 3 p.m. Santa's spot is at 1758 Solano near Colusa, on the Berkeley side of the avenue, so it's a short drive or a longer walk from the Albany end.
If you own a home within walking distance of the 1100 block and want to know where it stands now that Starter, Lulu's Little Kitchen, Sakana and Pretty Things fill the storefronts that were empty a year ago, Joey Hoisescu will put together a free home valuation based on your block.
