One of Bay Area's few Puerto Rican restaurants opening new location

(KRON) -- One of the few Puerto Rican restaurants in the Bay Area is opening this week. La Perla Puerto Rican Cuisine is opening this Friday, Feb. 14 in Castro Valley. It will be inside the Castro Valley Marketplace located at 3295 Castro Valley Blvd.

The grand opening will be a big celebration throughout the weekend, according to a Castro Valley Marketplace spokesperson. Visitors should "expect some notable names there" with a live band in front of the building from Friday to Saturday from noon to 3 p.m.

La Perla will be open from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. The spokesperson added the restaurant is "expecting a lot of folks."

Locals may remember La Perla for its years-long restaurant in Oakland's Lower Dimond neighborhood. It initially operated by serving its menu out of a convenience store in 2017 and later opened a brick-and-mortar shop in 2021.

Last fall, La Perla announced it would be leaving its Oakland location on Fruitvale Avenue and relocate 15 miles south to Castro Valley. La Perla in Oakland closed on Nov. 30, 2024.

At the time of its opening, La Perla was the first and only fully-fledged Puerto Rican restaurant in the East Bay, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. 

Other businesses set to open at Castro Valley Marketplace include Pho 510, which should open "relatively soon." Pho 510 has ties to East Bay Vietnamese restaurants Le Cheval and Pho Benny, according to Castro Valley Marketplace. Pour Decisions, a craft coffee and beer spot based in San Jose, recently signed a lease and will open in the future. The food hall did not provide a target opening date for either establishment.

Some notable retailers currently open at Castro Valley Marketplace include Beard Papa's and Slice House (by Tony Gemignani).

One of the Bay Area's other Puerto Rican restaurants is Sol Food in San Rafael. Music superstar Bad Bunny, a Puerto Rico native, paid a visit to the North Bay restaurant ahead of his Oakland Coliseum concert in 2022.