Lines around the block for cupcakes and a boom year for a flower shop, but a shoe shop for the stars is calling it quits, one of several COVID-19 casualties.
Author Archives: Ricky Rodas
Ricky Rodas is a member of the 2020 graduating class of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Before joining The Oaklandside, he spent two years reporting on immigrant communities in the Bay Area as a reporter for the local news sites Oakland North, Mission Local, and Richmond Confidential. Rodas, who is Salvadoran American and bilingual, is on The Oaklandside team through a partnership with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities.
Posted inBusiness
‘We’re back to being people’: The first night without masks at Oakland’s bars
We captured the scene on Tuesday night at six bars, from East Oakland to downtown.
Posted inBusiness
Hella Plants Market gives budding plant entrepreneurs a space to grow
The pop-up event this Sunday will feature plants and plant-based products from Oakland vendors.
Posted inBusiness
City Council looks to extend Flex Streets, its emergency program for Oakland businesses
The initiative, which led to more parklets, street closures, and outdoor markets during the pandemic, will likely be extended through next spring.
Posted inBusiness
A new Oakland-based incubator helps small businesses step up their game
The Port Product Lab is a free program focused on helping business owners improve their products.
Posted inBusiness
Oakland biz owners can still apply for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund
The fund, signed into law by President Biden, will provide billions in relief to qualifying business owners. The application deadline is Monday, May 24.
Posted inArts & Community
Oakland’s Black Liberation Walking Tour will use oral history to root a community in place
Tour organizers hope to prevent further gentrification and build support for a new library in Oakland’s Hoover-Foster neighborhood.
Posted inBusiness
Chef Reign Free launches the Black Culinary Collective to support Oakland entrepreneurs
The owner of Red Door Catering will be sharing a 5,000 square foot commercial kitchen in West Oakland with other Black-owned food businesses.
Posted inBusiness
Trader Joe’s reduces ‘thank you’ pay for some Oakland employees
Oakland’s grocery worker hazard pay law doesn’t cover TJ’s Lakeshore location, but Rockridge workers will keep an extra $5 per hour.
Posted inBusiness
Low-wage workers in Oakland and across the state say they feel unsafe at their job
A survey of Asian and Latinx food-service and domestic workers found a high number were exposed to unsafe workplaces.
Posted inBusiness
McDonald’s workers rally for better pay and safety in Fruitvale
Service workers in Oakland are part of a statewide campaign for better working conditions at fast food restaurants.
Posted inBusiness
Could Flex Streets be here to stay?
City policy director Warren Logan, who has overseen the outdoor dining program since its inception, speaks about its future.
Posted inHealth & Environment
‘We need to be leading by example’: Why this East Oakland pastor got vaccinated
Jacqueline Thompson, head pastor of Allen Temple Baptist Church, got vaccinated for her congregation and 92-year-old mother.
Posted inBusiness
Live show venues in Oakland can now apply for emergency funding
A new federal assistance program will provide over $16 billion in grants to entertainment venues that lost revenue during the pandemic.
Posted inOaklandside
Una trabajadora esencial de Fruitvale explica ‘cómo y por qué me vacune’
En esta nueva serie estamos hablando con personas como Itzel Díaz-Romo, quien vio a varios miembros de su familia contraer COVID-19. Nos contó por qué decidió vacunarse y cómo consiguió una cita.
Posted inBusiness
Oakland has a new worker-owned supermarket
The DEEP Grocery Co-op was started to bring fresh and healthy food to deep East Oakland, a designated “food desert.” But their new online grocery service is open to all.
Posted inArts & Community
Oakland is stepping up enforcement of rules around Lake Merritt. How’d the first weekend go?
Our reporter and photographer visited the lake on Saturday and Sunday to see what impact a new push to enforce rules is having.
Posted inBusiness
Oakland’s fitness centers can reopen, but is operating indoors worth it?
Resuming in-person business is a must for some gyms, while others have flourished online. We spoke with the owners of a boxing club, yoga studio, and dance center about the loosening COVID restrictions.
Posted inArts & Community
New rules for vending, music, parking, and more at Lake Merritt
The City Council approved regulations to balance neighbors’ concerns with visitors and vendors’ needs. Enforcement starts April 2.
Posted inArts & Community
Oakland closer to adopting regulations for vending and crowds at Lake Merritt
If adopted by the City Council, the new rules will allow vending to continue while addressing resident concerns about traffic and noise.
