Unable to find a restaurant in the East Bay that offered avocado toast as a signature menu item, Linh Jee and Sophia Cheng decided to open one themselves.
Two longtime friends who shared a desire to open their own business, Lee and Cheng landed on Toastique, an East Coast brand that’s been on the rise since opening its first store in Washington, D.C. in 2018.
Last week, Toastique opened its first location in the Bay Area and began serving gourmet toast in Danville.
“We wanted to have a healthy option without having to go through a sit-down experience,” said Lee, a Castro Valley resident with a background in product development. “There are no fast-casual places with fresh, healthy ingredients where you can leave without feeling like you ate a cow.”
Toatsique was started seven years ago by former Division I cheerleader Brianna Keefe, who was refining her own avocado toast throughout her career at James Madison University. Within four years, Keefe was named to Forbes 30 Under 30. Since then, Toastique has expanded with franchise stores across the country.
The store offers six different types of bread with nine different topping combinations.
The Original Avocado Toast ($15) features watermelon radish, marinated tomatoes, chili oil and microgreens on multigrain bread. The Tuscan Tuna ($15), Spicy Crab ($17) and Peanut Butter ($13) Toasts are some of Lee’s favorite items on the menu.
There are also eight kinds of acai bowls ($14), smoothies ($11), coffee, tea, collagens, fresh-pressed juices, shots and all kinds of related healthy snacks.
The Danville store opened its doors to long lines on Nov. 16 and the owners are excited about the store’s popularity so far.
“Downtown Danville is the only town outside of Walnut Creek that has a true downtown destination and is walkable and clean with plenty of restaurants,” Lee said. “People from Castro Valley drive to Danville for nice dinners if they don’t want to cross the bridge. Things are going really well.
Lee and Cheng are already considering additional locations in the Bay Area, with their sights set on possible stores in Marin, Burlingame, San Mateo and the South Bay.
Details: Open daily, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT at 350 Railroad Avenue in Danville; toastique.com.
