Contribute today to our online community fundraiser with a $15,000 goal to upgrade to new seating and decor and invest in Reem’s vision.

January 4, 2020

Dear Community,

As most of you know, Reem's has been a community-driven project from its very beginning. We opened our first brick & mortar in 2017 on a prayer and a shoestring budget and survived a very tumultuous year thanks to the support of our community. When we launched Reem's, we had to put some elements of our dream vision on the back burner but now we're ready to bring those dreams to life!

We're calling on our community to help us give our space the upgrade it deserves. Like most small businesses in the Bay Area, we're doing all we can to make ends meet, but it's difficult to generate the income we need to bring our big dreams to life. As a values-based business that chooses to prioritize investing in our staff, it's difficult to save money to fund these upgrades, though we know that making this investment will help our business thrive in the long run.

With your help, we will invest in new seating and decor for our space (no more wobbly tables!) in order to maximize capacity and provide a cozy environment for breaking bread and building community. During these cold, wet winter months, maximizing our indoor seating will allow for us to host more people who want to eat at Reem's. 

We're ecstatic to partner with GUILD , an Oakland-based, black-owned crafts & manufacturing collective to build custom pieces for our restaurant, including a cedar wood banquette and traditional woven baskets to add warmth and coziness to our space. We were also fortunate to get the support of FJI design, owned by a fierce Palestinian woman, Dala Al-Fuwaires who wanted to support another Palestinian woman. It gives us hope that we all collectively have the power and resources to build our own spaces -- ones that center community, justice, and self-determination. We've been reflecting a lot on this as we figure out how to survive as a business in this economy without taking investments that don't align with our vision and values. 

Reem's vision is to be an anchor in Fruitvale by building strong, resilient community through good jobs, nourishing food, and sanctuary space. Help us ring in the New Year by investing in that vision. 

With warmth and gratitude, 
The Reem's Team