Oakland
Calavera
The brainchild of acclaimed Oakland restaurateur Chris Pastena, Calavera honors and reimagines Mexico’s rich culinary traditions, from pre-Columbian cooking to modern day treatments. Focused on the region of Oaxaca, Calavera celebrates regional Mexican culinary artistry. It features an extensive tequila and mezcal collection, inventive cocktails, as well as Mexican wines and beers. As one of Oakland’s most popular restaurants, Calavera has earned accolades from both local press and international travel guides. From its famous happy hours and First Friday events, to weekend brunches and nightcaps, Calavera has a taco and cocktail to please anyone.
Farley’s Cafe
Roger Hillyard first opened Farley’s in Potrero Hill in 1988 as a coffee and tea paraphernalia store and it quickly became a neighborhood institution. As one of the few places left with power and water following the 1989 Lomo Prieta earthquake, Farley’s attracted customers from all over San Francisco looking for a place to grab a coffee and pause for a moment. Since then, the small coffee shop has become a place to gather for a fresh cup of joe, delicious pastries, and great conversation — a combo that has helped cement Farley’s reputation as the place to go to find “Community in a Cup.” In 2008, Roger’s son Chris and his wife Amy embarked on a mission to bring the beloved café to the East Bay. Farley’s East was a catalyst to the once ghost town, now thriving neighborhood of Uptown in Oakland. Through its doors and outside on the parklet (Oakland’s first) Farley’s overflowing energy is deeply supported by its new community. Farley’s East humbly serves its cadre of proud Oaklanders seven days a week and is committed to making Oakland a better place to live and work.
A16
Over the past two decades, no one has changed the way Bay Area residents think about what it means to be an Italian restaurant as much as A16 . The Michelin-recognized and award-winning restaurants are a love letter to the farmers, vintners, and food artisans that can be found in town piazzas, roadside trattorias, and home kitchens from Naples to Bari. Half a world away, you can find their rustic recipes and wines being celebrated on both sides of the Bay. In 2004, Shelley opened A16 in San Francisco to much critical acclaim, and in 2013, an industry friend asked Shelley if she was interested in one of their restaurant spaces in Oakland. Shelley jumped at the opportunity, and the East Bay embraced A16 Rockridge just as quickly as San Francisco fell for the original A16. Today, both restaurants thrive as warm, bustling neighborhood restaurants. Just as the wine and food of Southern Italy have evolved alongside each other, the restaurants evolve to suit the needs of the neighborhoods they serve.
Southie
Southie is named after the predominantly Irish-American Boston neighborhood, a place filled with old-school pubs and taverns that serve American classics and stalwart ales. In the same throwback tradition, Southie Oakland captures the essence of the casual urban East Coast eatery with its well-executed sandwiches, salads, and chowders, along with locally sourced beers and wines on tap. Southie started as the casual annex of Wood Tavern, its wildly popular and refined sister restaurant. But word of Southie’s simple yet memorable offerings soon caught on throughout the East Bay — with accolades from SFGate, East Bay Express, Diablo Magazine, and KQED’s Bay Area Bites. And unlike sister restaurant Wood Tavern next door, no reservation is needed to indulge in their pulled pork sandwich with pickled jalapeños and lime aioli. Pop in any time and know you will enjoy a perfectly executed meal, where the quality of each component speaks for itself, and be fed and out the door on time for your next appointment.
Red Bay Coffee
Red Bay Coffee owner Keba Konte has a simple mission to bring “beautiful coffee to the people.” A well-known artist and food entrepreneur in the Oakland community, Konte brought 10 years of experience in the coffee and food industry to Red Bay when he opened the first location in 2014. In the years since, Red Bay has expanded to additional Oakland locations and has become an institution. But Konte is interested in more than just serving great coffee; he is also committed to creating opportunities within the greater Bay Area community while fostering single-origin, fair-trade, direct-trade, organic, and sustainable coffees. This mission underlies every step of the process, from sourcing to development to roasting. By hiring the formerly incarcerated, people of color, and the disabled, and employing innovative profit-sharing programs throughout the company, Konte hopes to make great coffee synonymous with economic empowerment.
Drake’s Brewing Co.
Drake’s Brewing Co. opened its barrel house in 2011, but the brewery’s history extends back to 1989, when Roger Lind and John Martin took over a former Chrysler Dodge factory in San Leandro. Lind and Martin repurposed dairy steel and grundy tanks into a 15-barrel brewing system, spray painted “Brew” on the wall in bold blue letters, and opened “Lind Brewing Company.” They brewed draft-only English-style ales, each named after English privateer Sir Francis Drake. Fast-forward 30 years from the Barrel House at the original San Leandro Brewery to the Dealership in a former Dodge Dealership in Downtown Oakland, Drake’s has become renowned not only for its excellent brews, but also its innovative, locally sourced and farm-fresh food.
Oaklandish
The Oaklandish mission is to spread “local love” by way of civic pride tees and accessories while creating quality inner city jobs for locals and giving back to the people and places that maintain the city’s trailblazer spirit. In line with this mission, they donate a portion of proceeds to grassroots nonprofits committed to uplifting Oakland. When you rock these roots, you’re representing and supporting Oakland! And what better way to complement your tee and show your local love than with a cup of locally brewed coffee? High Flying Foods is collaborating with Oaklandish to bring Oakland-based coffee roasters together in a way that represents the East Bay’s unique coffee scene — the same way the Oaklandish brand promotes its city’s influential artistic and artisan cultures. The experience at Oaklandish Coffee Collective reflects the personality and spirit of Oakland, because its people are involved in everything it serves.
Highwire Coffee Roasters
Highwire Coffee started as a big idea: that a coffee business can and ought to be a force for good. The three founders, Rich Avella, Eric Hashimoto, and Robert Myers had decades of combined experience in the coffee industry (cutting their teeth at Peet’s Coffee) and had fallen in love with many aspects of it. But they found themselves asking what more could be done. They saw this as a powerful force with much potential. There is potential to lift the living standards of those in the producing countries. There is the potential to provide a career path to those drawn to the craft of coffee preparation and hospitality. And there is the constant nurturing of community through the small authentic connections that take place every single day between coffee professionals and those who go to Highwire for their daily brew. Not to mention, their coffee is consistently flavorful and well prepared.
