Scarred but resilient: Telegraph Avenue emerges from the pandemic
Lines around the block for cupcakes and a boom year for a flower shop, but a shoe shop for the stars is calling it quits, one of several COVID-19 casualties.
Ricky Rodas
Ricky Rodas is a member of the 2020 graduating class of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and has spent the last two years reporting on immigrant communities in the Bay Area as a reporter for the hyperlocal news sites Oakland North, Mission Local and Richmond Confidential. Rodas, who is Salvadoran American and bilingual, joined The Oaklandside through a partnership with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. Rodas reports on businesses and immigration in Oakland.
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Articles by Ricky
East Bay biz owners can still apply for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund
The fund, signed into law by President Biden, will provide billions in relief to qualifying business owners. The application deadline is Monday, May 24.
Chef Reign Free launches the Black Culinary Collective to support entrepreneurs
The owner of Red Door Catering will be sharing a 5,000-square-foot commercial kitchen in West Oakland with other Black-owned food businesses.
Trader Joe’s reduces ‘thank you’ pay for some Oakland employees
City mandated grocery worker hazard pay laws don’t cover TJ’s Lakeshore location, but Rockridge and Berkeley workers will keep an extra $5 per hour.
McDonald’s workers rally for better pay and safety in Fruitvale
Service workers in Oakland are part of a statewide campaign for better working conditions at fast food restaurants.
Could Oakland’s Flex Streets be here to stay?
Oakland’s policy director Warren Logan, who has overseen the outdoor dining program since its inception, speaks about its future.
Oakland has a new worker-owned supermarket
The DEEP Grocery Co-op was started to bring fresh and healthy food to deep East Oakland, a designated “food desert.” But their new online grocery service is open to all.
Puerto Rican restaurant La Perla may not reopen because of building code issues
Health inspectors say La Perla’s owner, Jose Ortiz, needs to fix the kitchen floor. Ortiz says he doesn’t have the money to do it.
Oakland approves $5 hazard pay for grocery workers; Berkeley considers it
Oakland grocery workers are getting a substantial hazard pay raise starting immediately.
Owners of Phnom Penh Restaurant honor their past by serving Cambodian refugees
Political turmoil in Cambodia split the Do family apart. Running a restaurant in the East Bay helped bring them together.
Sammy’s Pupusas serves free vegan food to unhoused seniors in East Oakland
The pop-up cooks healthy meals for residents at an East Oakland trailer park community.
Puerto Rican restaurant La Perla, a hidden gem in Oakland, moves to a bigger location
Chef Jose “Cheo” Ortiz and his sons also hope to expand their business, while staying rooted in Oakland.
At El Huarache Azteca, an Oakland mother and daughter serve up Mexico City delicacies
Eva Saavedra and her husband Juan Chavez used to sell food out of their garage in Fruitvale. Twenty years later, Eva and her daughter Mayra are keeping the business afloat.
At Cozy Wok, a father and son duo is serving up vegetarian Chinese takeout
Keguang Zhao never imagined his son Dan would be in the food business like him. Now the two are running a restaurant together in East Oakland.
Family bonds are at the heart of Oakland’s Cambodian Street Food
With the help of her sisters and other family members, Malinda Bun is serving up traditional Cambodian street delicacies in East Oakland.
What does it take to run a pop-up? Oakland food entrepreneurs share lessons and tips
Pop-ups are offering some chefs a unique opportunity to launch businesses during the pandemic.
