Restoring our Heart(h) in a New Home: Our Oakland Location has Moved!

As of August 31, 2021, Reem’s Oakland has said goodbye to our original location in the Fruitvale BART plaza, and moved just blocks away to the kitchen facilities at Restore Oakland on 34th Avenue and International! From the beginning, our Fruitvale location was an endeavor supported by our community literally and figuratively. To this day, the names of those who contributed to our kickstarter fundraiser five years ago are painted on the bakery walls and columns in Arabic. 

Over the past year, almost every other message we have received on our DMs has been the question of “when is Reem’s in Oakland reopening???” We have wanted to be responsive to this, but have been reckoning with our business model and riding the ups and downs that almost every other small business and restaurant are riding right now.

We have come to understand that in order to survive and thrive, everybody in our ecosystem, our landlords included, needs to be aligned with our vision to build strong, resilient community. We are so grateful to be starting a new chapter of Reem’s in the Restore Oakland building, amongst organizations working to transform our economic and justice systems such as Restore Oakland and the Ella Baker Center.

In the last year and a half, our Oakland team has been hustling! We have produced thousands of meals a week in partnership with programs such as World Central Kitchen and SF New Deal, putting food into the hands of frontline medical workers and people experiencing homelessness, those most vulnerable and impacted by this pandemic. Every meal kit you purchased allowed us to thrive, and every man’oushet forward allowed us to pay forward the love to our greater community.

We have also worked to launch a wholesale program, making signature Reem’s products available in local grocery stores such as @goodeggs and @berkeleybowl, an operation that took months of scheming, learning about food packaging, and perfecting our mana’eesh and fatayer production so you can enjoy Reem’s at home! 

Oakland is the birthplace of our brick and mortar and home to many of our team. It is a special opportunity to be able to stay rooted in the Fruitvale with an amazing ecosystem around including Nyum Bai, Red Bay Coffee, Restaurant Opportunity Center of the Bay, Causa Justa, Hasta Muerte, and many more other amazing businesses and individuals. Though it's hard to part ways with a space that holds so many cherished memories for us, we are proud to be passing along our original Fruitvale space to Crystal Wahpepah, an indigenous cook, activist, and educator from East Oakland. We are excited, motivated, and inspired to continue to build a strong community in partnership with these badass businesses and individuals!

As we continue to consider our future path, we are reminded that we are able to thrive because of our community’s commitment to our team and what we stand for. We are working towards the dream of a flagship bakery in Oakland, where one can walk into a worker-owned space and feel the warmth of our fresh bread and hospitality. This move is part of our continuous journey and we are forever grateful for you all for being part of this with us!