A ‘Top Chef’ star is bringing dessert-in-a-jar to Emeryville

Eating out of a jar — it’s no longer just for hobos or lazy dads.

This year, “Top Chef” alum Fabio Viviani plans to open a sweet shop in Emeryville called Jars. True to its name, the shop will offer single-serve portions of sweet treats in jars: tiramisu, blackberry pie, honeysuckle cake, something called Pistachio Ambrosia and more. The flavors will rotate in and out, with special limited-time desserts appearing each month.

The Italian-born Viviani, who starred on the fifth season of “Top Chef,” debuted Jars in Chicago in 2022 and has opened others in Texas and Southern California. The first NorCal Jars will be located in the Bay Street Emeryville shopping mall at 5649 Bay St.; a sign on the door indicates it will open this summer.

Other layered desserts that Jars has experimented with include carrot cake, Rice Krispies Treat, strawberry cannoli, berries and cream and blueberry pie.

“We’ve started a movement – changing the way people eat dessert,” asserts the Jars website, whose copywriter definitely deserves a gold star. “At JARS, we think outside the little box. And refuse to conform to a space filled with cookies, cupcakes and copycats. We’ve forced dessert outside of its comfort zone with an insanely adventurous twist on traditional treats from around the world.”

Jars arrives amid a bustle of restaurant activity at the Bay Street Emeryville mall, with new restaurants, including Pippal, Flores, Arthur Mac’s Little Snack, Saucy Asian and Fogo de Chao, popping up in quick succession. As quirky as the concept sounds, it’s not the only jarred-dessert place in town. Right across the railroad tracks is Petit Pot, another Emeryville place making pot de crème and other French-inspired treats in little jars available at local markets.