Oakland restaurant owners are hoping to change the public safety narrative when it comes to dining in the town.
They held their first meeting of the year on Monday at Sobre Mesa restaurant. The collective is about getting people together to say Oakland is better in person. They are restaurant owners coming together to form the "Oakland Restaurant Marketing Collective."
The purpose of the collective is for businesses to come together to support and help market the rich culture of Oakland’s dining scene, an area that’s been in the headlines for different reasons due to ongoing crime.
“What we’re trying to build is the streets have gotten better, public safety has gotten better in, at least certain areas. And we need to let our guests know it’s safe to come support us,” said Nelson German, chef and owner of Sobre Mesa.
Back in June, California Governor Gavin Newsom shared a post to “X,” saying overall crime is down in Oakland by 33%, crediting the partnership between local and state law enforcement that began in February.
But groups like the Oakland POA said the crime data being reported online is delayed and inaccurate due to understaffing.
For restaurant owners, challenging these dueling narratives…will be an uphill battle.
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“The easiest thing to call out is getting your window break-in, probably the single biggest deterrent,” said Luigi Di Ruocco, owner of Mr. Espresso.
The long term goal for the collective is to form a restaurant association that speaks on their behalf when it comes to major issues.
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“Eventually, we’d love to create an Oakland hospitality collective, all the businesses together to have one voice.
But the top priority now is to bring customers back to the town’s one-of-a-kind dining scene.
“We have so much here. So many cultures in Oakland not being represented nowhere else,” German said.
