The Town Kitchen: Great Food. Great Jobs. Stronger Community.

“Oakland is really diverse with great youth supportive programs out there to encourage development. We are partnering with those that are already doing great work,” said Sabrina Mutukisna, founder of The Town Kitchen.

The UC Berkeley graduate is equally as modest when she describes The Town Kitchen’s own connections, progressions and plans.

The Town Kitchen is a socially-sustainable enterprise, employing low-income youth to create and deliver chef-crafted lunches and meals throughout Oakland. The meals are prepared in The Port Kitchens, a collaborative kitchen in Uptown Oakland. The Town Kitchen prepares the main course and then partners with other local businesses such as Mamacitas Café, Red Bay Coffee and others to complete and plate each meal.

While there is a minimum of 10 lunches required for local delivery, there is no minimum for delivery to facilities like the Impact Hub Oakland.  “We are proud to partner with many Oakland businesses, I can’t imagine having launched a business anywhere else. It’s such a nice energy,” said Mutukisna.

Town Kitchen’s motto: “Great Food. Great jobs. Stronger Community.”

Mutukisna also partners with Beyond Emancipation and Youth Uprising to recruit employees, all while offering fair wage employment of $15 to 20 per hour. In partnership with The Town Kitchen’s non-profit partner, ISEEED, employees are trained in entrepreneurship and can receive course credit from SFSU.  The average age of Town Kitchen employees, 90% of which live in Oakland, is 20-something. A small group of high school students work on the weekends and throughout the summer.

Town Kitchen Quick Facts:

•     Town Kitchen has been featured in the East Bay Express, Co.Exist & Stand4Magazine.
•     Town Kitchen sources locally & is organic, whenever possible.
•     Town Kitchen’s Executive chef hails from Google.
•     Find out more at: www.thetownkitchen.com

"Oakland Central" Presents the Heart of Oakland to the World

What’s been obvious to Oaklanders for quite some time is that “There Is No Place Quite Like This!” Oakland is the ‘most diverse city in America’ (U.S. Census); is ranked #3 of the 14 top cities for start-ups (Popular Mechanics); has a tech sector that is home to more women than 15 of the top 17 tech cities in the country (RJ Metrics); and is projecting to add more than 50,000 jobs, a 60 percent growth rate, by 2040 (SPUR).   

Now it’s time that the rest of the country – and the world – knows what Oaklanders have long known:  that Oakland is truly a beautiful and unique city made up of committed and engaged citizens. The Lake Merritt/Uptown & Downtown Oakland Associations are actively spreading this message to the rest of the world through a new, innovative destination marketing campaign called Oakland Central. This campaign is designed to shine a light on the Downtown Oakland lifestyle by promoting all the great things happening in and around Downtown Oakland from Jack London to Uptown, Old Oakland to Lake Merritt.

“From our fabulous arts and music scene to our amazing architecture, from our excellent restaurants and nightlife to our innovative spaces for living and working, Downtown Oakland has it all,” said Steve Snider, the District Manager for the Downtown Oakland and Lake Merritt/Uptown District Associations. Snider has been actively working with community stakeholders to create the new Oakland Central brand and marketing campaign.

“The website acts as a portal to the many resources available that improve the visitor and user experience of Downtown Oakland: from transportation options to housing, from events listings to resources for opening a new business in our Downtown,” Snider added.

In addition to the beautiful new website, there is a social media campaign to match that urges locals and visitors alike to “Explore The Heart of Oakland.” Downtown Oakland is not just centrally located and easy to get to, it is central to the cultural vitality of the city of Oakland and the greater San Francisco Bay Area.

Over the past six years, Downtown Oakland has welcomed more than 250 new ground floor, storefront businesses including many restaurants, bars, cafes and retail shops. This influx of energy has created a booming urban neighborhood as featured by numerous media outlets.  USA Today recently recognized Oakland as #7 Best Local Food Scene.  The Chicago Tribune also recently featured the successes of the Fox Theater and the revitalization of Uptown Oakland.

Office vacancy is at an all-time low.  According to JLL’s Q2 2015 Office Insight, “As the east-bound migration continues, Oakland will continue to see economic growth across all business sectors, translating into swelling demand for office space.” 

“With all the great things that are happening here, it’s no surprise that so many businesses are flocking to uptown and downtown Oakland,” said Michelle Lane, President of the Downtown Oakland Association.

Uber Eyes Oakland, Home to Several Existing Large Companies

In a recent article by Roland Li in The San Francisco Business Times, Li makes note that Uber is apparently eyeing Oakland.  However, it's important to note some other important facts mentioned in that article:

1. Oakland’s largest companies include Pandora, Kaiser and Clorox, but its downtown office core has employment numbers the size of Milwaukee or Cleveland.

2. Ken Meyerseick, executive vice president at the brokerage Colliers International, wouldn’t comment on specific tenant discussions, but said tech company interest underlines growing momentum in the Oakland market.

3. Interest may be picking up, particularly because companies are reporting more employees living in Oakland or the outer East Bay as San Francisco residential rents skyrocket and Oakland starts to see more residential development activity.

Biznow also concurred, also mentioning the number of employees living in Oakland.

OaklandCentral.com also discusses the growth of business in the heart of Oakland (around the Broadway Corridor.) Click here for details/links regarding business/job growth, housing, public transportation, links to Oakland business sites and more.