Dear Friends and Customers, Sadly, after 15 years of operation in North Berkeley, Cafe de la Paz and Country Joe's Cafe & Music Hall are closing their doors. The recession turned the Cafe's moderately profitable business into one with unsustainable losses. We simply ran out of money and we're having difficulty refinancing. Given the dour projections for the economy in the coming year, there didn't seem to be any real alternative but to say farewell to our location at Cedar and Shattuck in North Berkeley. There have been many joyful and memorable occasions and moments at Cafe de la Paz over the years. I thank everyone who has been part of that for their support. We will be continuing our catering business and perhaps the spirit that has animated the Cafe will re-surface in the another form and location in the time to come. January 4 will be our final day of operation. We hope you will make it in to enjoy your favorite dishes once or twice more before we close. If you will pay with cash or personal check it will help. We will be open every night for dinner through January 4 and also for weekend brunch/lunch December 27, 28 & January 3, 4. There will be no more weekday breakfast and lunch except by reservation. New Years Eve Celebration. Come Ring in the New Year, next Wednesday evening, December 31, with music, dancing, poetry, great Cafe food and a festive countdown to midnight and then celebrate Country Joe McDonald's 67th Birthday (January 1) with cake. Country Joe will also be one of the featured performers. Country Joe McDonald's Tribute to Woody Guthrie, Saturday, January 3, at 7:30 PM. Joe McDonald has kindly agreed to give a final, benefit performance of This Land is Our Land in support of the Cafe's Employee Transition Fund. Joe premiered this one man show of stories and songs at Cafe de la Paz in January of 2007 and has since gone on to perform it around the country to much critical acclaim. Tickets for concert style seating are $25 ($35 for front rows). Dinner reservations at 6 or 6:15 PM, before the show, are encouraged. Open House, Goodbye Party, and Garage Sale, January 4th, 12 Noon to 5 PM. On our final day of operation, in addition to regular Cafe dining upstairs, we are going to have a Farewell Party in the Fiesta room and Bar featuring: Free live music. An Everything Still in Stock Buffet including many Cafe favorites for the bargain price of $10 per guest a la carte Sangria, Wines, Margaritas and Mojitos A fabulous Garage sale of most everything still in the Cafe. We have lots of things to sell. You can buy everything from Huichol yarn art to Fiesta Ware, tables and chairs, an espresso machine, remaining wine inventory, etc. If you would like a list, please send your request by reply email. If you have interest in the Huichol yarn art particularly, you don't have to wait. Everything we don't need to serve or sit on is for sale now. We are going to publish a Cafe Recipe Booklet. Several people have asked for various signature Cafe recipes. A publisher friend has offered to help us produce a recipe booklet of the Cafe's favorite dishes, salsas and desserts, which we are using to help us raise money for a Transition Fund to pay some severance benefits to our staff during this difficult transition. We are therefore asking our friends to make a donation of $25 to $100 to provide a fund for helping all the Cafe's staff. You can mail a check (made payable to Cafe de la Paz, write "Transition Fund" in the memo space) or make donation by cash or check when you come to dine. We cannot accept credit cards for this. It has been our profound privilege to serve North Berkeley and the East Bay progressive community for the past 15 years. This is a very special place on the planet and it has been great to be part of the fabric of its everyday life. I thank you for your patronage over the years and for many cherished memories. If you'd like to talk about dates and locations for a catered event or any aspect of this transition, please give me a call: 510 843 0662. Best wishes, Russell Bass WHAT IS COUNTRY JOE'S CAFÉ? Country Joe’s Café is a part of Café De La Paz, a restaurant in North Berkeley on Shattuck Avenue across from Elephant Pharmacy; it's been there for 15 years. Café De La Paz has several rooms and the downstairs room with the wet bar has become "Country Joe’s Café." The walls and the table tops are decorated with posters and memorabilia from Country Joe McDonald's archives a la the Hard Rock Cafe. There is even a guitar like the one he played at the famous Woodstock Music Festival in 1969 hanging on the wall, beside famous photographer Jim Marshall’s photo of Joe at Woodstock. The larger room adjacent to the café will turn into a performance room at times for "open mic" nights and shows by Country Joe and other performers. The rooms will continue to serve the wonderful food of the restaurant and some special items for Country Joe’s Café. We are looking forward to becoming a neighborhood location for food, drink and entertainment, and a bit of the history of the sixties, Berkeley, and Country Joe McDonald. You can rent Country Joe's Café, any of the rooms of Café de la Paz, the patio, or all of the rooms for your party or function. Just contact Russell Bass at Café de la Paz for information and costs. You could even add Country Joe McDonald himself. Take a virtual tour. Check out a review from Yelp. NEWS · See a Channel 7 news report. · Read an article from the East Bay Express. · Watch video highlights of the VIP opening party. · The making of Country Joe's Café. EVENTS · New Year's Celebration Ring in the New Year at Café de la Paz with Country Joe McDonald and friends. Admission of just $55 includes a delicious Café buffet dinner, performances by Country Joe McDonald, Pete Olson and the Pete Olson (dance) Band, Annie and The Vets, and Berkeley poet Kirk Lumpkin, culminating in a toast to the change that has come as we welcome in a hopeful new year with a countdown to midnight complete with complimentary champagne, and the traditional noisemakers, funny hats, etc. · Open Mic Nights Last Thursday of every month, hosted by Country Joe. Free to the public. 7–10 pm (doors open at 5). First come first served. "Most of the legendary and talented musicians of our time have emerged from "open mic" nights in great clubs and coffee houses around the country. As host of Open Mic Night at Country Joe's Café, I'm committed to providing an intimate and warm environment to encourage local talent." — Country Joe NOTE: Due to the holidays, there will be NO Open Mic Night in December. "Annie and the Vets," three members of Veterans' For Peace, got together in late 2003 to promote peace through music. They have produced two acoustic CDs composed of original songs and great covers. They perform at rallies, peace vigils and marches around the San Francisco bay area and have opened for Jim Hightower and Country Joe McDonald each on three separate occasions. They performed at the Veterans' for Peace National Conventions in Dallas, Texas and Seattle, Washington. Phil Pflager, an accomplished musician, sings, plays guitar and string bass and co-writes many of their songs with Anne, his wife of 46 years. They enjoy duet singing and working together on and off stage but are currently focusing on "Annie and the Vets" as a way of promoting peace. Anne E. Pflager, who also sings, plays guitar and string bass and co-writes, has a remarkable memory for lyrics and a knack for collecting great songs. She has developed the solid guitar style that carries their music and makes the audience want to sing along. George Johnson, a former drummer, has a wonderfully deep and expressive voice. He sings with great emotion and you know he is feeling every word when he performs. George is well known among progressives in the bay area as an outspoken fighter for veterans' rights and justice for the victims of war. Kirk Lumpkin is the author of two books of poetry, In Deep and Co-Hearing. His poems have appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines. As a solo poet he’s performed all around the San Francisco bay area and Northern California; Los Angeles (Beyond Baroque, etc.); New York City (Bowery Poetry Club); Colorado; Toronto, Canada; and Great Britain. He formerly hosted the San Francisco Bay Guardian winner for “Best Spoken Word Open Mic.” and was a pirate radio DJ. He will soon release an album of original rock songs, Moondog Sessions, and is a vocalist with the Wild Buds. The ribbon cutting ceremony on October 16. Front row: James Nixon, Country Joe, Judy "Gumbo" Albert, Café de la Paz co-owner Russell Bass, Harvey Mandel. Second row: Scoop Nisker, ?, Michael Borbridge, Chris Rowan. Photo by Pat Johnson.   Café de la Paz · 1600 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley · 510.843.0662 Driving directions Café de la Paz  |  Country Joe's Place