#039 - Today, David Benton joins us. David is an Oakland Baker and the owner and operator of Sugar Sweet Bakery. David started cooking as a child. As an adult, he hosted dinner parties where friends came over - they really liked the food. At the constant urging of one of those friends he decided to give culinary school a chance. He went in thinking he would be chef, but he fell in love with the art of baking and never looked back. “I allowed my imagination to go a little more further than say if...
Feb 02, 2023•31 min•Ep. 39
#038 - Today we visit with Charles Farrier, the owner and operator of Crumble & Whisk, an Oakland Patisserie, specializing in cheesecakes. Charles’ love for baking was inspired by his father. As a young boy he was drawn to the kitchen to watch his father work. Though he went to culinary school he was working in an office job in 2013. There, a co-worker challenged him to a cheesecake bake-off. Oddly rough, the co-worker knew he went ot culinary school. The office loved it and one of them even...
Feb 01, 2023•22 min•Ep. 38
#037 - Today we visit with Melissa Myers, the owner and operator of The Good Hop, a craft beer and bottle shop. The Good Hop features 16 California focused beers on draft and more than 450 beers from independent breweries. Melissa was a professional brewmaster in Philadelphia when she decided to move west. “I wanted to get out here. California was the innovative area, was creating these styles, taking twists on styles.” After working at a few breweries in the East Bay, Melissa decided it was tim...
Jan 19, 2023•22 min•Ep. 37
#036 - Today we speak with Liam O’Donoghue, the host and producer of the East Bay Yesterday Podcast. Liam explores the stories of culture, politics and nature from Oakland, Berkeley and other towns throughout Alameda and Contra Costa counties. It was named the “The Best Podcast about the East Bay” in 2017 by the East Bay Express. Liam says he started the podcast to share the great untold stories he heard from residents. “every time I talked to people who lived around Oakland or lived around the ...
Dec 08, 2022•34 min•Ep. 36
#035 - Today we are speaking with Natalie Brown from Natty Cakes - a locally sourced bakery. Natalie specializes in buttercream cakes perfect for all milestone events. Weddings are her entry point, but then she becomes entrenched in her clients' lives. “So it's amazing. I get to be a part of people's lives, usually starting at the wedding, which is so cool and so grand. And typically there's a bond that's formed over that. And then I get to celebrate when it's their...
Nov 10, 2022•29 min•Ep. 35
#033- Today we are speaking with Erin Coburn from Minimo Wine Bar and Shop in Jack London. Minimo focuses on small production, natural wines and ciders. You may have the same questions we had - what is natural wine? “And natural wine for us means that the farming side has to be organic or biodynamically farmed, so no chemicals in the vineyards at all. And then on the winemaking side, no unnecessary additions or subtraction and the key component there is the fermentation has to be native or wild ...
Oct 27, 2022•26 min•Ep. 34
#033- Today we speak with Thomas Lee from First Place For Youth. First Place For Youth, headquartered in downtown Oakland, serves transition age foster youth - ages 16-25 in five Bay Area Counties, plus Los Angeles County. First Place for Youth provides vocational and life skills so these youth can problem solve and live through the seasons of life. The organization’s goal is to…. “change the child welfare system into a child well being system where we are making sure in the most simplest terms ...
Oct 13, 2022•28 min•Ep. 33
#032- Today we speak with Ari Takata-Vasquez with Viscera Studio. Viscera Studio is an Oakland based full service design and photography studio. Ari works with entrepreneurs to create all the visual things they might need - branding and identity to website and strategy to product photography to videography. Viscera Studio started by accident - it sprung out of Ari’s brick and mortar shop (Viscera), launched 2014. Viscera designs 3D printed jewelry and curates a collection of USA-made clothing, a...
Sep 29, 2022•27 min•Ep. 32
#031- Today we speak with Kathryn Tomajan and Robin Sloan from Fat Gold Olive Oil. Launched in 2017, Fat Gold is an Oakland based small batch producer of California Extra Virgin Olive Oil. They source really interesting olives from all over the state, turning them into unique special olive oils. “We like to think of it as an urban olive oil company, tying agriculture to the cities was a really important part of our origin story”. After working in the food industry for a while, Kathryn went to It...
Sep 15, 2022•27 min•Ep. 31
#030 - Today we speak with David Peters from the award winning Black Liberation Walking Tour. Dave leads guests on a 2 hour 10 stop walking tour through the Hoover-Foster West Oakland neighborhood along the San Pablo corridor. Audio has been recorded by longtime residents so you get a first hand history. The tour has been recognized by Conde Nast as one of the “6 Standout Black History Tours in the U.S., From California to Charleston”. The idea came to life when neighborhood elders were telling ...
Sep 01, 2022•35 min•Ep. 30
#029 - Today we speak with Carolyn Johnson from the Black Cultural Zone. The Black Cultural Zone represents a geographic area that runs from High Street in East Oakland to the San Leandro border and from the hills to the water. It is a collaboration of Black led and Black owned businesses and organizations. Since 2014, the East Oakland Black Cultural Zone Collaborative Partners has worked with a coalition of residents, government agencies, churches, and grassroots organizing and community groups...
Aug 18, 2022•27 min•Ep. 29
#028 - Today’s episode is the second in a 2 part series on home solar. I went solar with a back-up battery in 2021 and am SO GLAD I did. I got a small check back from PG&E after my 1st year. I want to introduce you to 2 of the solar professionals I met on my journey - Mark Lauer and Joe Molale. If you’re starting from ground zero like I was, it probably feels a little overwhelming. I get asked a lot about my panels and my experience. I want to share with you the guys that educated me the mos...
Aug 04, 2022•39 min•Ep. 28
#027 - Today’s episode is the first in a 2 part series on home solar. I went solar with a back-up battery in 2021 and am SO GLAD I did. I got a small check back from PG&E after my 1st year. I want to introduce you to 2 of the solar professionals I met on my journey - Mark Lauer and Joe Molale. If you’re starting from ground zero like I was, it probably feels a little overwhelming. I get asked a lot about my panels and my experience. I want to share with you the guys that educated me the most...
Jul 22, 2022•37 min•Ep. 27
#026 - Today we talk with Nik Dehejia, CEO of the Oakland Zoo, which is celebrating its Centennial Anniversary in 2022. The zoo started in June of 1922 at the corner of 19th and Harrison at what is today called Snow Park. “Imagine in 1922, two lions being brought back into the City of Oakland and out there. Henry Snow was the founder of the Oakland Zoo and established a museum and a zoo in 1922.” The location moved to Joaquin Miller Park in the 1920s and to its current location in the 500 acre K...
Jul 07, 2022•35 min•Ep. 26
#025 - Today we talk with Ariana Mabley, East Oakland native and owner of Esscents of Flowers, a floral design company, which she started as a side hustle pop up business while still working a full time career. Ariana wears MANY hats - wife, mother, chauffeur AND entrepreneur. She credits the tremendous support from friends, family as well as the team at the Uptima Business Bootcamp for helping her business succeed, but she credits her grandfather for planting the gardening seed in her… “It is s...
Jun 23, 2022•22 min•Ep. 25
#024 - Today we talk with Berkeley native and Oakland wine entrepreneur and Black Vines founder Fern Stroud. Fern founded Black Vines to celebrate black history while focusing on black future. Black Vines focuses on the future of wine, the future of art, the future of jazz, the future of culinary experiences while featuring black owned companies. “we want to create community and do our part in the building, maintaining and sustainability of a black economic ecosystem” Community is so important t...
Jun 09, 2022•32 min•Ep. 24
#023 - Today we talk with San Francisco native and longtime Oakland resident and wine entrepreneur Paula Harrell of P Harrell Wines. Paula’s love for wine and wine culture began while studying abroad in Spain while in college. Paula had no formal education in wine making. For 15 years it was a fun little hobby - she would blend other peoples’ wines. After sharing her concoctions with her wine connoisseur uncle, he told her to make her own wine. “And so that was when I thought, oh my God, that&ap...
May 26, 2022•29 min•Ep. 23
#022 - Today we talk with Oakland Laurel District resident and restaurateur James Whitehead of Fist of Flour. James has loved pizza his entire life - it is his favorite food. He loves pizza so much he even scopes out the pizza scene whenever he travels to new cities. When James arrived in Oakland 26 years ago, he realized East Oakland was yearning for better pizza options. He started messing around at home, making pizzas in his own kitchen and using friends and family as taste testers. After a c...
May 12, 2022•32 min•Ep. 22
#021 - Today we talk with Oakland native, resident and entrepreneur Nicole Felix Borders of Pound Bizness. Pound Bizness is literally a labor of love. Nicole’s husband Reggie made 4 pound cakes from a family recipe for Nicole’s mom to take to the church fish fry. When she came home with a dozen orders, Nicole said… “how you got us a dozen orders when we're not even a business.” More and more people were requesting their cakes and Pound Bizness was on the verge of a number of corporate oppor...
Apr 28, 2022•25 min•Ep. 21
#020 - Today we talk with Oakland resident and entrepreneur Aram Cretan of Federation Brewing, a producer of award winning craft beer. Aram created Federation with his childhood friend and then roped in his retired “banker” dad to keep the books. What started as a home brewing project over 10 years ago grew into brewing for friends' weddings. I asked Aram when he thought he had business: “You start to realize that you have the germ of a business here when all of a sudden you're spendin...
Apr 14, 2022•23 min•Ep. 20
#019 - Today we talked to Brady Bellis from Oakland’s Rocky’s Market. The original store is located in the Oakmore neighborhood (440 Leimert Blvd, Oakland). Rocky’s is more than a local independent grocery store, it is a community fixture. " we know so many people on a first name basis”. AND “we provide a lot of local food and we've worked with farmers to bring produce in and try to maintain that feel of being a neighborhood place and we generally get that feedback from our customers t...
Mar 31, 2022•28 min•Ep. 19
#018 - Today we talk to Imani Glove from The Lemonade Bar. The Lemonade Bar specializes in fresh squeezed lemonade and organic handcrafted frozen lemonades. She and her husband Cedric started off with a hot dog cart, but the business did not do so well. When they incorporated fresh squeezed lemonade, the business took off. The lemonade began outselling the hotdogs, so they ditched the dogs and The Lemonade Bar was formed. In reflecting on her journey, Imani shares: “I just knew that we could tak...
Mar 17, 2022•23 min•Ep. 18
#017 - Today we talked to Maria Fernandez from Red Bay Coffee Roaster. Red Bay was founded in 2014 by Keba Konte, a renowned artist and successful food entrepreneur with deep roots in the Bay Area specialty coffee and hospitality industry. In reflecting on why Keba started Red Bay, Maria said: “I think what really resonated with him as far as the coffee business is that there was an opportunity to open up. When you look at some of the old cafes, people gather to be creative and there's arti...
Mar 03, 2022•26 min•Ep. 17
#016 - Today we talk to Tina Wolfe and David Dranitzke from Much Better Butter. Tina has been roasting seeds for some time. After working through nut allergies in her kids’ classrooms, she began experimenting on sunflower seed spreads and Much Better Butter was born. In talking about their target customer, they say.... “It's been interesting to see that it's actually quite a range of people. I always thought it was going to be moms as our target audience, but we're finding vegans ...
Feb 17, 2022•31 min•Ep. 16
#015 - Today we talk to Raquel Navarro and Susan Eggett from Oakland Cocktail Week. They started Oakland Cocktail Week in 2018 to celebrate the “watering holes and mixologists” in Oakland. After being thrown a curve-ball by COVID, they hope to return with an in-person Oakland Cocktail Week in the spring of 2022. " We wanted to give an opportunity to shine a light on the bar tenders, the bar owners, and those who identify themselves as mixologists, the people who are serving our cocktails an...
Feb 04, 2022•22 min•Ep. 15
#014 - Today we talk to Ari Takata-Vasquez, the Executive Director of the Oakland Indie Alliance (“OIA”). OIA is a member-lead nonprofit organization made up of and operated by 400+ local independent business owners who have united to preserve Oakland’s variety, energy, and social fabric. Its motto is “We Exist to Keep Oakland Local and Independent”. OIA supports local businesses in 4 key ways: 1 Camaraderie: at the heart of the small business community is connection. OIA creates the space for i...
Jan 20, 2022•24 min•Ep. 14
#013 - Fall 2021 Oakland Real Estate Round-up Series (Episode 3 of 3). This is the third episode of the Fall '21 Oakland Real Estate Round-up. Today we talk to June Mc Daniels who is a top producer with the Better Homes and Gardens Reliance Partners Real Estate and Brenda Wyatt who is an Oakland native and top producer at All California Mortgage. June says - “2022 is going to be a diluted version of 2021… Prices will remain high… Tight supply will continue to fuel the market.” Brenda says -...
Dec 30, 2021•12 min•Ep. 13
#012 - Fall 2021 Oakland Real Estate Round-up Series (Episode 2 of 3). This is the second episode of the Fall '21 Oakland real estate market. Today we talk to Shawneequa Badger of The Badger Real Estate Group of Corcoran Global Living and Rouvaun Walker of Phinance US Mortgage Company. Shawneequa says - “Be coachable - if there is something that needs to be adjusted in your offer, make sure you have a thorough and transparent conversation with your agent”. Rouvaun says - “ Getting a mortgag...
Dec 09, 2021•12 min•Ep. 12
#011 - Fall 2021 Oakland Real Estate Round-up Series (Episode 1 of 3). This is the first edition of what we plan to be a recurring series on the Oakland real estate market. Each of the next 3 episodes will present views of the Oakland real estate market from a local real estate agent and mortgage broker. Today we talk to Deidre Joyner of Red Oak Realty and Brady Thomas of LaSalle Mortgage Mortgage Services. Deidre says - “buy smart…. buy something that you really love and will be excited about i...
Nov 26, 2021•17 min•Season 1Ep. 11
#010 - Namaste Ready. Today’s interview is with ShakaJamal, a yoga instructor in Oakland and Founder of Namaste Ready. He is expanding the reach of yoga beyond its traditional practitioners. Some people practice at home, but do not feel comfortable going to studios. He is working with black men, people of color, and young people all over Oakland. He wants to “transform and change the zip code of yoga.” When the pandemic hit, he knew he had something that the people needed and had to figure out h...
Sep 09, 2021•26 min•Ep. 10
