Ex-Walnut Creek Restaurateur Revives East Bay Eatery

BERKELEY, CA — A newly opened Italian restaurant has tapped into the recent past to build what it hopes will be a successful future in Berkeley.

Via del Corso officially opened Wednesday at the former location of Corso, the popular Italian eatery that shuttered in November amid the pandemic, Diablo Magazine reports.

Former Walnut Creek restaurateur Peter Chastain has revived the eatery at 1788 Shattuck Ave. (near Delaware Street) while keeping several entries that will be familiar to Corso customers including its pollo alla Sostranza and Bistecca alla Fiorentina according to the report.

Via del Corso aims to create the unpretentious vibe of family-owned restaurants in Italy that serve up fresh goodness in a casual environment according to its website.

"When you enter Via del Corso, you may feel as if you are in any trattoria in Florence, Rome, or any other place in Italy. In the heart of North Berkeley, we bring you a place to relax and restore to dine and have drinks with family and friends and leave the outside world outside for a moment," the restaurant wrote on its website.

Chastain formerly ran the Prima restaurant in Walnut Creek, which ended a 43-year run when it shuttered last summer the report said.

Read more in Diablo Magazine