Owner/chef Geoff Davis poses for a photo at Burdell in Oakland, Calif., on Sept. 6, 2023.

One of the Bay Area’s most celebrated chefs is taking over a beloved Oakland restaurant space in a second venture that will be a total departure from his nationally recognized food. 

Geoff Davis, of Michelin-recommended Oakland soul food restaurant Burdell, is launching Uncle’s, a neighborhood bar and grill inside what is currently Oakland’s Wood Tavern, Davis confirmed to SFGATE. The news was first reported by Food & Wine. 

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Wood Tavern, a staple for 20 years, announced its closure last week. When the brasserie at 6317 College Ave. shutters at the end of the year, Davis and his team will move in and begin building out what will be a 1970s-inspired homage to restaurants like San Francisco’s Brazen Head and Tadich Grill, and to hanging out with his uncles, particularly his Uncle Thea, who died when Davis was in elementary school. 

“He loved having people over to grill steaks in the backyard, so it’s channeling that and just the idea of........

© SFGate