Two former regulars at Oakland’s Kingfish Pub & Cafe have transformed their casual beer conversations into the Bay Area’s most coveted burger pop-up. Kevin Reyes and Kris Sanford, operating as Bebe’s, bring serious barbecue credentials to the 94-year-old dive bar that has anchored Telegraph Avenue since Prohibition ended. Their story plays out like a slow-building melody—tentative at first, then gaining confidence with each sizzling note.
Reyes brings experience from LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue in Austin, a highly acclaimed Texas barbecue destination, along with training at Berkeley’s legendary Chez Panisse. His partner Sanford traded an engineering career at Lockheed Martin for barbecue passion, studying the same Texas techniques that now sizzle on Kingfish’s flat-top griddle.
According to Reyes, “barbecue is a method, not a menu”—an approach that transforms premium wagyu beef into something extraordinary yet accessible. Their technique unfolds in careful measures, the timing precise as a metronome. This philosophy mirrors the democratizing spirit seen in ventures like Rodney Scott’s new Target line, where traditional barbecue techniques break free from regional boundaries to reach broader audiences through accessible yet uncompromising approaches…