On a recent Sunday night, the bar at Original Joe’s Walnut Creek was packed before 6 p.m., the dining room hummed, and the patio tables were fully claimed. Broadway Plaza has seen its share of openings, but this one feels different. After 88 years, San Francisco icon Original Joe’s has crossed the Bay for the first time, bringing its Italian-American vibe and its particular brand of conviviality to Walnut Creek.
The expansion is more than geographic. For the Duggan family, it’s deeply personal. Founded in 1937 by Croatian immigrant Tony Rodin, Original Joe’s began as a 14-stool counter on Taylor Street in the Tenderloin. Rodin pioneered what became known nationally as the “Joe’s Concept”: an exhibition kitchen with counter seating, high-backed leather booths, and a menu featuring abundant, unfussy Italian-American fare. Nearly nine decades later, the restaurant remains family-owned, now led by siblings John and Elena Duggan, Rodin’s grandchildren.
“When our grandfather opened the first Original Joe’s on Taylor Street almost 90 years ago, none of us could have imagined we’d be here today,” said John of the Walnut Creek opening. “For the first time, Elena and I are bringing our San Francisco roots across the Bay, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome both longtime fans and new guests with the same Joe’s hospitality and comforting food we’ve shared for generations.”
That hospitality is tactile. You feel it in the host stand greeting and in the cadence of seasoned servers who know the menu by heart. And you definitely feel it in the generously filled plates. On this Sunday, families slid into tufted leather booths and couples claimed seats at the counter, eye-level with the choreography of sauté pans and open flame. Sinatra crooned from the speakers. And the rest of the playlist paired perfectly with martinis and marinara…