Here's everything you need to know about Oakland's restaurant scene this week. In this edition: a Fruitvale bakery is closing to the public, a planned Dimond District café is not opening after all and East Oakland has a new pizza place.
Update
Fruitvale
Reem's (3301 E 12th St. #133)
Reem's, an SF and Oakland eatery modeled after Arab street-corner bakeries, is fully transitioning its Oakland Fruitvale brick-and-mortar location to a "commissary kitchen to cook meals for those most vulnerable in this pandemic" (e.g. frontline workers and other vulnerable communities), most likely permanently, Eater SF reports. Reem's SF Mission location remains open for pick-up and pre-ordered SF deliveries from Tuesday to Saturday.
"We have no desire for the food industry to return to the way it was. When we rebuild it we must ensure we do so equitably, centering those who have been hurt the most by its exploitation," a post on the restaurant's website read. "We will be able to keep our employees safe and supported through this crisis, envisioning a new path forward together."
Reem's started in 2015 as a participant of La Cocina, the Mission-based women's food business incubator program.
Dimond District
Lion Dance Cafe (3525 Fruitvale Ave.)
Pop-up restaurant S+M Vegan chefs Marie Chia and Shane Stanbridge announced last year they would settle in the Dimond District with Lion Dance Cafe this summer. But now, according to an Instagram post, it is "highly unlikely that we'll be able to open Lion Dance Cafe this year."
The post explains that they found an alternative space in Downtown Oakland after the Dimond District space fell through, but then shelter-in-place and much uncertainty in the restaurant scene hit, causing them to lose their catering gigs.
"We still really want to open a place once we can safely and financially responsibly do so," the post continues.
Open
East Oakland
Mountain Mike’s Pizza (646 Hegenberger Rd. Suite 102)
Newport Beach-based pizza chain Mountain Mike's opened a new location in Oakland despite shelter-in-place, the East Bay Times reports. Pepperoni pizza, wings, oven-baked sandwiches or salads will for now be available via contactless delivery and carryout only.
“Although we’re not able to open our dining rooms just yet, we are proud to begin serving Mountain Mike’s signature pizzas to the Oakland community in the safest way possible,” Bhimsen Khadka, one of three franchise partners of the new location, said in a statement.
Have you noticed a new addition to (or subtraction from) Oakland's food landscape? Text a tip and a horizontal photo to (415) 200-3233, and we'll look into it.
