Oakland’s Community Foods opened with great promise, but was defeated by a lack of support, vendor issues and the pandemic.
Author Archives: Alix Wall
Alix Wall is an Oakland-based freelance writer. She is a contributing editor of J., The Jewish News of Northern California, for which she has a food column and writes other features. In addition to Berkeleyside’s Nosh, her writing can be found in The San Francisco Chronicle, Edible East Bay, and more. Alix is also the founder of The Illuminoshi: The Not-So-Secret Society of Bay Area Jewish Food Professionals and is producer/writer of a documentary in progress called “The Lonely Child.”
Posted inNosh
The rise and fall of Oakland’s ambitious Community Foods
Brahm Ahmadi set out to change the world by opening a grocery store in a long-neglected neighborhood in Oakland.
Posted inNosh
What worker shortage? How 3 Oakland restaurants keep their employees happy
Daytrip, Pomella and Mägo are taking proactive steps to keep their workers happy, healthy and engaged.
Posted inNosh Features
Oakland’s favorite bootleg ice cream is going legit
Officials shut insider ice cream company Bad Walter’s down last summer, but now its creamy, lactose-free pints are back in the East Bay.
Posted inNosh
Just in time for the holidays: 4 new cookbooks from East Bay authors
These cookbooks from Oakland and Fremont authors all celebrate, educate and inspire.
Posted inNosh
Tribune’s Omri Aflalo didn’t care about food until he went to art school
With one project on pause, the fine-dining veteran is putting his all into his new “Oakland meets Parisian” restaurant.
Posted inNosh
These East Bay caterers have made their pandemic pivots a permanent business
Even as the events business picks up, these caterers are sticking with the side businesses they started in 2020.
Posted inNosh
A new Oakland restaurant will celebrate Black women and heritage cuisine
Lala Harrison’s Roux40 promises beloved Black American dishes with a farm-to-table sensibility.
Posted inNosh
Vegan pop-up Don’t Be Chick’n launches a Bay Area food truck
Don’t be Chick’n’s hearty platters have attracted a loyal following to its ongoing Oakland pop-up.
Posted inNosh
Amy’s Drive Thru considers bringing its organic, vegetarian fast food to Temescal
The North Bay-based mini-chain has held two meetings about a potential site for a two-story drive-thru restaurant on the corner of 40th Street and Telegraph Avenue.
Posted inNosh
Square Pie Guys’ crave-worthy Detroit-style pizza shines in Old Oakland
The second location of the popular San Francisco restaurant opens March 1 with its signature cheddar-edged pan pizzas that even gets
a nod from Detroit natives.
Posted inNosh
Local home cooks make and deliver free lasagnas to neighbors in need
Lasagna Love matches volunteer home cooks in Oakland and other cities with anyone struggling during the pandemic who could use a free, hot meal.
Posted inNosh
A Chez Panisse pastry cook started a side hustle called Sadie’s Babkas
When the pandemic cut hours at her new dream job at Chez Panisse, Sara Eisen launched her babka business.
Posted inNosh
Oakland’s Delphinium makes whimsical, intriguing chocolates
Founded by pastry chefs who met at The Wolf in Oakland, Delphinium specializes in handcrafted chocolates made with botanicals and seasonal ingredients.
Posted inNosh
Everything to eat and drink at this new Oakland taproom is 100% gluten-free
Buck Wild Brewing Taproom is a partnership between California’s first gluten-free brewery and Kitava, a San Francisco-based ‘clean food’ restaurant.
Posted inArts & Community
What’s an eruv? It makes life better for many Orthodox Jews, and Oakland just got one
It’s taken Congregation Beth Jacob three rabbis, the brainpower of multiple congregants, bits of wire, metal canisters, and the blessing of a consultant in New Jersey to finally construct its own eruv.
Posted inNosh
In-the-know food lovers are flocking to this industrial yard in West Oakland
Coveted wood-fired pies from June’s Pizzas and Asian pastries and bentos at Magnolia Mini Mart are bringing hungry visitors to O2 Artisans Aggregate.
Posted inHealth & Environment
Sick of plastic waste? Re-Up Refill in West Oakland can help with that
Since opening in April, the seller of soaps and more at O2AA has kept over 2,400 plastic bottles and containers from entering the waste stream.
Posted inNosh
Oakland’s newest bagel business sells out in seconds
Good luck scoring Hella Bagels. Only 100 are made a week by chef-owner Blake Hunter out of his Oakland home.