March 2021

Lakeshore and Lake Park Ave is bustling as ever with accomplishments, anniversaries, new openings, recognitions, and giving back! We are not out of the pandemic’s difficult challenges yet, but Lakeshore Ave’s businesses show spirit, determination, and love for their community and are grateful to the community for their very needed support. Read all about it!

Voted Best of the East Bay in East Bay Express on Lakeshore

Every year East Bay Express readers vote on the “Best in the East Bay” businesses. Even this year, when so much business had to adapt by providing takeout, curbside, and virtual services, Lakeshore businesses won in numerous categories. Congratulations to this year’s Best in the East Bay Lakeshore Ave winners:

Best Bakery: Arizmendi

Best Gift Shop: Urban Indigo

Best Virtual Dance Studio: Hipline

Best Children’s Consignment Store: Silver Moon Kids

Best Happy Hour: Shakewell

Best Romance: Good Vibrations

Best Farmers Market: Grand Lake Farmers Market

Dining Delights and Outdoor Dining

Lakeshore and Lake Park Aves are full of delightful and delicious dining options. With spring coming, there are outdoor dining options available at Shakewell in their sturdy parklet with fine drapes to make it almost like you have your own “room.” Cana has their Sunday Funday back with drinks and music; their patio is open for outdoor brunch (facemask required, great food and music but no dancing right now). Heart and Dagger Saloon has a big outdoor patio and often partners with food trucks to brings you great grub that complements their drinks!

Holy Land on 677 Rand Ave serves Middle Eastern food with many vegan and gluten-free options. They pride themselves on home-made food and catering from the heart. Below is a sample of their delicious comfort food:

Spinach and potatoes Sambusak with tahini

Lakeshore has many options for takeout and delivery! Just a sample are: Lin Jia has boxed lunches available Monday – Friday from 11:30 am to 2:00 pm, Bardo Lounge and Supper Club is offering a signature dish of the week the customers can pre-order. Other eateries, including Lakeshore Cafe, Proposition Chicken, Rico Rico Taco, Top Dog, Flipside, The Cheese Steak Shop, and more offer takeout, and many have delivery. Don’t hold back; the food is better than ever! Find the full list of options here.

Giving Back and Recognition

We have had, and are still having, such a challenging time getting through this public health crisis, that has brought many beloved local businesses to the brink of closing. Many Lakeshore businesses continue to astonish with their community consideration and giving back.

Giving Back: Holy Land

Kudos to Miri Levy at Holy Land for preparing hundreds of meals to feed those in need two separate times with the World Central Kitchen and the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford.

Giving Back: Proposition Chicken

Proposition Chicken Giving Back: Fred Finch Youth and Family Services

Kudos to Proposition Chicken for their Non-Profit Monday program, where they donate 10% of all dine-in sales to a different non-profit partner each month. This month’s Oakland partner is Fred Finch Youth and Family Service, which “seeks to provide innovative, effective services supporting children, youth, young adults, and families to heal from trauma and lead healthier productive lives”. Fred Finch Youth and Family Services have been offering hope and healing to our Oakland since 1891, and it is an honor to have their impactful work in our community.

Giving Back: The Gap

Kudos to The Gap for Answering the Call From the White House to Help End the Pandemic by donating 3.5 million masks and face coverings. The Gap says it best in their article, Gap Inc. Donates 3.5 Million Masks and Face Coverings: “As a company, we are committed to helping build back by supporting an equitable and inclusive economic recovery, one that protects lives and livelihoods, allows businesses and schools to safely reopen, gets people back to work, and revitalizes communities. One of the easiest and most effective steps we all can take to protect each other and stop the spread of the virus is to wear a mask or face covering”.

The Gap is working with their non-profit partners, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Good360, and other community organizations serving those with the greatest needs across the U.S.

Giving Back: Hipline

Kudos to Hipline and Blair Marion for celebrating Black History Month with a free virtual special class open to all and dedicated to Black music and dance. All music in this class was by Black artists and dance movements inspired by Black dancers and Black culture. Infused with Africa’s beats and rhythms, Black music offers a heartbeat that connects communities across time and space. Together with Oakland City Church, Hipline invited us to dance with purpose in mind together.

Recognition: Peet’s Coffee and Proposition Chicken

Kudos to Peet’s Coffee and Proposition Chicken for recognizing the tremendous work, accomplishments, and achievements of incredible Black Americans that are instrumental to their businesses. Please see their Instagram profiles for all the recognitions, some samples below:

Edna Lewis was a renowned author and chef known as one of the most influential modern Southern cooking figures. Her cookbook “The Taste of Country Cooking” is celebrated and is focused on the simplicity of Southern food and emphasis on farm-to-table eating. Lewis is recognized today for being a leading food voice in America.

Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian of JNP Coffee grew up in a coffee-farming family in the capital city of Bujumbura in Burundi. Niyonzima-Aroian saw potential in the exceptional but little-known coffees of Burundi, and wanted to bring them to the world stage. She founded JNP Coffee in 2012, and remains highly invested in several wet mills in Burundi today. JNP Coffee empowers local coffee farmers by promoting sustainability and gender equality, supporting financial literacy education, and developing leadership skills. Look out for JNP’s Burundi Turashobora available on Peets.com later this year.

Phyllis Johnson of BDI Imports. Throughout her decades-long career in coffee, Johnson has been mindful of the intertwined paths of coffee and the African diaspora, yet keenly aware of how underrepresented the Black community is in the coffee industry on a global scale. In June 2020, she wrote an open letter calling for a coalition of industry stakeholders to take a stand and put their economic weight behind the fight against racism. From that effort, the Coffee Coalition for Racial Equity (CCRE) was formed, becoming an official 501(c)(3) non-profit in October 2020. Go to https://coffeeforequity.org for information and webinars on how to create equity in the coffee society.

Excerpts from Instagram Profiles:

https://www.instagram.com/peetscoffee https://www.instagram.com/eatpropchicken

Anniversaries, Happenings and New Openings

Starbucks at 470 Lake Park Ave, Picture by Ken Katz

**Allison Sadauskas**, owner of Heart and Dagger Saloon

Welcome Starbucks!

On February 11, Starbucks opened at 470 Lake Park Ave, right next to the Grand Lake Theatre in February. It is open mostly to pedestrian traffic. The mural is by Oakland muralist Alexandra Bowman.

Heart and Dagger Saloon turns 11!

Happy anniversary to Heart and Dagger Saloon! Currently, Heart and Dagger Saloon is open for outdoor dining only, with beer and shots available to purchase to go.

Shakewell’s Jen Biesty on The Grub Up!

Are you ready to perfect your paella? Shakewell’s co-owner and executive chef Jen Biesty is beyond amazing and shares tips about her delectable paella! Check it out on this episode of The Grub Up!