Two former regulars at Oakland’s Kingfish Pub & Cafe have transformed their casual beer conversations into the Bay Area’s most coveted burger pop-up. Kevin Reyes and Kris Sanford, operating as Bebe’s, bring serious barbecue credentials to the 94-year-old dive bar that has anchored Telegraph Avenue since Prohibition ended. Their story plays out like a slow-building melody—tentative at first, then gaining confidence with each sizzling note.
Reyes brings experience from LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue in Austin, a highly acclaimed Texas barbecue destination, along with training at Berkeley’s legendary Chez Panisse. His partner Sanford traded an engineering career at Lockheed Martin for barbecue passion, studying the same Texas techniques that now sizzle on Kingfish’s flat-top griddle.
According to Reyes, “barbecue is a method, not a menu”—an approach that transforms premium wagyu beef into something extraordinary yet accessible. Their technique unfolds in careful measures, the timing precise as a metronome. This philosophy mirrors the democratizing spirit seen in ventures like Rodney Scott’s new Target line, where traditional barbecue techniques break free from regional boundaries to reach broader audiences through accessible yet uncompromising approaches.
Kingfish Pub itself carries deep Oakland roots. Founded as a bait shop in 1931, it became a neighborhood bar after Prohibition’s repeal and survived being physically moved across the street to dodge condo development. The bar’s wooden ceilings still bear decades of carved initials, while framed sports photos and Cal memorabilia create the communal atmosphere that has made Kingfish a neighborhood institution.
The Bebe’s partnership emerged organically when Traverso approached the two regulars who spent evenings plotting their culinary future over cheap beers. This phenomenon reflects Oakland’s growing role as California’s pop-up laboratory in food and otherwise, where established venues provide platforms for culinary innovation without the overhead of permanent restaurants.
Planning extends beyond burgers to full Texas barbecue featuring smoked ribs and brisket from their custom Murillo Metalworks smoker. Future menus will highlight California seasonality alongside Central Texas techniques, bridging regional traditions through smoke and fire. The partnership draws from Central Texas traditions steeped in generational rivalry—the kind of passionate barbecue culture documented in KXAN’s ‘Family Beef’ documentary about Lockhart’s legendary pit wars—while adapting those time-tested methods to California’s ingredient-driven culinary landscape.
The next Bebe’s pop-up runs the weekend of June 20 at Kingfish Pub & Cafe, where nearly a century of Oakland history meets the future of California barbecue.
