Lazy Bear Team to Open French Brasserie JouJou

Lazy Bear, the celebrated Mission District restaurant, earned its two Michelin stars with a unique, dinner-party-style tasting menu. Before opening as a brick-and-mortar location in 2014, it began as an underground supper club hosted by chef-owner David Barzelay in his own apartment. The chef and owner, David Barzelay, made a significant career change, leaving his job as a lawyer after being laid off during the 2009 financial crisis to pursue his passion for cooking. "Lazy Bear" itself is an anagram of his last name. His culinary approach often centers on themes of nostalgia and the wild. JouJou marks a departure from Lazy Bear's tasting-menu-only format, offering an à la carte menu in a 6,500-square-foot space at 65 Division Street. The restaurant aims to blend high-end execution with a more accessible, walk-in-friendly bar scene, a concept Barzelay and managing partner Colleen Booth feel is a shift from the tasting-menu-heavy fine-dining landscape of the Bay Area. The restaurant's concept has been in development for over 15 years, initially envisioned by Barzelay as an "untitled seafood concept" back in 2009. He hopes JouJou will evoke the grand, vibrant atmosphere of iconic brasseries like New York's Balthazar and San Francisco's now-closed Stars. The menu will feature French classics with a focus on seafood, including grand seafood towers, French onion soup, and steak frites. One of the signature dishes mentioned is a creative twist on a classic: black cod a l'ananas, which substitutes fish for duck in a variation of duck à l'orange. Desserts will also stick to French tradition, with offerings like tarte tatin and baba au rhum. The space, designed by Jon de La Cruz, features multiple rooms including a dining room with cane-backed chairs, a zinc-topped bar, and a marble-topped chef's counter. A third of the seats at the raw bar and in the enclosed patio, dubbed the "menagerie," will be reserved for walk-in guests.