Zinc opened in April of 1988. Zinc was initially inspired by the very inspirational owner of Chez Panisse, Alice Waters and her delightful small “working mans” café called Café Fanny. It was the simplicity and careful consideration of what they served that made the café unique and special. Zinc Cafe & Market has achieved this as well, but due to our customers requests and a desire to watch the business grow Zinc has continued to provide more and more delicious products and more and more locations but always keeping in mind the idea of simplicity and thoughtfulness with it’s environments and products.

We are about creating an environment that inspires, soothes, and nourishes our customer’s lives. Our casual but thoughtful approach of making our food and hosting our guests is reflective of the environments of Paris, San Francisco, Berkeley and other urban environments that when at their best are designing and building environments for people.