Palomares Cafe Closes Down

The signage is down, the inside is empty and an eviction notice is taped to the front door of the former site.

The restaurant and bar, which specialized in Mediterranean and Italian cuisine, announced on its website that it would be "closed for relocating" on Feb. 20.

An eviction notice by the Alameda County Sheriff's Office dating Feb. 22 hangs on vacant space's front door at 3779 East Castro Valley Blvd. in the 580 Market Place shopping center.

On Feb. 22, the restaurant also posted the following message on its Facebook Page:

Thank you for your years of friendship. Palomares Cafe is closed. We will let you know our new location in the future here. Peace.

Castro Valley Patch was unable to get ahold of the for comment.

He was Palomares Café's sole chef and owner since 2007. The first-time restaurant owner did all the shopping and cooking himself.

Aside from serving international fare, weekend brunch specials and a lengthy list of wines, the establishment was also a place for Live bands regularly performed there and karaoke nights were often held on the weekends.

Several fans of the venue left comments on its Facebook site expressing their disappointment of its closure.

One readers said: "I was very sorry to hear about your recent loss of the cafe--I liked the owner [Shelbi] and [his] desire to make his place a success--Being a musician and playing there numerous times I was always treated with respect."

Another posted: "I am terribly saddened by the loss of your restaurant. I would like to thank you on behalf of all of the artists, myself included, who have had the privilege to show their work at your cafe. Your support for the arts community has always been unwaivering.....besides that, where am I going to find gnocchi in gorganzola sauce like yours. It is simply the best I have ever had!"