Michael Karp (left) and Victor Ivry (right) Photo provided

The current restaurant buzz in Orinda is the approaching opening of Table 24 at Theater Square. If your kids have neglected to mention it, the restaurant is on Facebook and already boasts more than 200 friends of co-owners Victor Ivry and Michael Karp.

It's not the first time that a restaurant has tried to lay down roots in the spot across from Shelby's. But what got the property owner and the City of Orinda behind the project were the personality and complementary talents of the two partners, coupled with their vision for the restaurant: great quality family comfort food.

Ivry and Karp are both Orinda residents. It was not food that first brought them together, it was swimming. For 28 years now Ivry has been coaching kids at Meadow Swim and Tennis Club. "I have touched many kids' lives over these years and I've kept my relationship with them, their parents and now their children," says Ivry.

He met Karp at a swimming master class and the two got talking. Ivry had spent his life in the commercial real estate industry, while Karp and his wife Lisa are hospitality professionals. "If Victor had talked to me about opening a restaurant in Walnut Creek I probably would not have been interested," said Karp, "what sold me was to start something right here where we live, in Orinda."

Ivry says his family thinks he was born for this opportunity. "I will be in the restaurant every day," he says, "I will be a goodwill ambassador and will make people feel comfortable when they walk in the door."

Community ties, a feel for what people want, and great atmosphere are certainly components of a successful restaurant, but the partners still had to attract the right Executive Chef. They found her in Mendocino; her name is Kelly Hatcher. "She is someone interested in combinations of flavors," says Karp, "she comes from a market cafÇ grocery where she helped design the whole concept, picked the menus and wines. People here will love her food."

"The tough part right now is that we have taste-testing sessions where we have to choose among all these great foods," adds Ivry, who's concerned that he'll have to step up his swimming routine in order to compensate for all the tasting.

The two men confess that working on the menu is one of their favorite activities, like sampling products from local bakers to find that perfect bread for the Clam Chowder in a Bread Bowl, or the optimal slices for the signature Artisan Cage-free Egg Sandwich.

Hatcher is inclined toward local ingredients and to change some of the menu options daily, "Kelly has established relationships with local farmers and she will shop the local farmers' markets too," says Karp, "customers can expect to see soups and pizzas change daily according to what's fresh that day."

Ivry and Karp want to become a part of everyday Orinda life and are planning breakfast menus as well as kids' time after school. "Kids hang out around here after school," noted Ivry, "they can come in, drop their backpacks at the large community table, and have afternoon milk and cookies, shakes, or a Caesar salad. This will be a good, healthy environment; teens and their parents will love it." Table 24 is on the web at www.table24orinda.com.