A not-so-prime location in Berkeley’s restaurant scene, 2826 Telegraph Avenue, has just seen its seventh closure since the demise of 37-year-old Casa de Eva in 1997. As Berkeleyside reports, eight-month-old Origen, the “farm-to-fork” restaurant from restaurateurs Daniel Clayton and Trace Leighton, has closed due to excessive overhead and an illness in the family that pushed things over the edge. Leighton, who still runs Fig Tree in Pleasant Hill with partner Clayton, tried to be upbeat about the space and the apparent curse when they opened in October, but now Clayton tells the Scoop, “It’s certainly not an easy location,” and, “We’re leaving the neighborhood with much regret.” They managed to stay open exactly twice as long as the last short-lived tenant, Locanda da Eva, which only lasted four months. [Berkeleyside, Scoop, Earlier]
