San Leandro food startups, charities brace for closure of community kitchen
"We are so depressed," said Grecia Sarabia, who launched her La More catering and meal prep businesses three years ago inside the Deputy Sheriff's Activities League Community Kitchen in San Leandro.
"This place gave us a chance to not only start our business, but also grow our businesses," said Sarabia. "It helped us create a great solid foundation."
The DSAL Community Kitchen launched six years ago, becoming a cost-effective incubator for dozens of start-ups by offering cheaper rates for commercial kitchen use and storage, along with support and other resources for entrepreneurs.
But despite becoming a successful incubator for several small businesses, budget woes recently caught up to the kitchen's ability to operate, and last month they sent out a letter saying, it was "ceasing operation as of July 1, 2025," because it was "unstainable for us to continue operating the kitchen."
"For the past three years, we were losing $20,000 per month, after we lost several other revenue streams from businesses that outgrew us, and the board decided we could no longer maintain," said DSAL Executive Director, Peter Eiser.
For Mikki Bunang, who launched his healthy meal prep business ALAB SF at the DSAL Community Kitchen, he has now had to temporarily trade in his chef's hat to work as kitchen manager by helping businesses pack up and find new homes where they can survive.
"Probably 60% to 70% are going to continue on with their businesses, and I would say 10% are closing doors or ceasing operation, and 20% don't know yet what they are going to do," said Bunang.
According to Eiser, DSAL is looking to Alameda County for help with an outstanding $800,000 loan with a balloon payment due in 2027. Already, the county board recently approved funding to help the small businesses make the transition to another kitchen.
"Renters can apply for a stipend through the county," he said.
A weekly food giveaway that supported nearly 200 households in the county is also being shut down, with its final giveaway taking place on June 27.
Eiser said the county intends to reopen the facility in some capacity, but no timeline or plan has been set.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
ROVOS Unveils a New Era of Custom Travel with Interchangeable Designer Luggage
Los Angeles, California--(Newsfile Corp. - August 5, 2025) - ROVOS, a U.S.-based premium travel design brand rooted in a legacy of innovation and aesthetic refinement, today announced the debut of its flagship product: the interchangeable designer carry-on. The launch unveils a new design concept in the premium travel category, enabling discerning travelers to transform the appearance of their luggage through tool-free, artistically interchangeable exterior panels. ROVOS Interchangeable Designer Luggage To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: Conceived to meet the evolving expectations of style-conscious globetrotters, the ROVOS carry-on combines functionality with enduring elegance. It features a minimalist polycarbonate shell enhanced with aluminum bumper reinforcement, a telescoping Infinity Handle with fluid height adjustment, and precision-engineered wheels inspired by performance skateboards. At the heart of the design is the proprietary Canvas Board System-enabling effortless aesthetic transformation in seconds. Each panel is crafted to be water- and scratch-resistant, ensuring both resilience and sophistication in motion. Skateboard Roller, Infinity Handle, Canvas Board, Bumper Protection To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: The debut collection includes nine curated panel designs, ranging from foundational monochromes to limited artist collaborations. New seasonal styles will be unveiled throughout the year. This modular approach allows travelers to update their luggage's appearance at a fraction of the cost of replacing a full case. ROVOS | Artistry that Endures To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: "This moment marks more than a debut-it introduces a new design language for travel itself," said Lisa Dawson, a ROVOS spokesperson. "We envision luggage not as an object of convenience, but as a companion in motion-one that reflects, adapts, and evolves in rhythm with its owner's narrative." ROVOS Fractured Identity - Special Edition To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: ROVOS also confirmed it is finalizing strategic investment agreements with several globally recognized fashion houses. While the identities of these partners remain undisclosed due to confidentiality agreements, the company stated that these alliances will accelerate its global design collaborations, retail expansion, and product innovation roadmap. As part of its long-term creative vision, ROVOS recently introduced the Canvas Collaboration Program-an initiative inviting artists, designers, and cultural voices to contribute to future panel releases. Each design will be available as a limited edition and supported through a revenue-sharing framework. ROVOS Black and white Signature Shells To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: The ROVOS carry-on luggage is currently available in black and white signature shells, with modular panels sold separately via the brand's official website: About ROVOS ROVOS is a U.S.-based premium travel design brand recognized for its commitment to elevated craftsmanship and progressive aesthetics. With design, engineering, and operational teams across the United States and Asia, the company merges global expertise with a deeply considered creative ethos. ROVOS is dedicated to redefining the role of luggage-not simply as a travel utility, but as an evolving medium of personal style and creative on Instagram - @rovostravel Media ContactVincent Amatorovos@ To view the source version of this press release, please visit Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Philz Coffee acquired by Freeman Spogli investment firm
You can find original article here Nrn. Subscribe to our free daily Nrn newsletter. Philz Coffee, a specialty coffee brand, has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Freeman Spogli, a strategic growth investor in the consumer services and multi-unit industries. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Oakland, Calif.-based coffee company said the transaction is expected to close on Aug. 6. Philz Coffee, founded in 2003, will continue to be led by CEO Mahesh Sadarangani, who first joined Philz in 2021. Philz Coffee was founded in 2003 in San Francisco by Phil Jaber and his son, Jacob, who transformed a corner store into a neighborhood cafe. That single cafe in the Mission District has grown to 77 units across California and Chicago. "This is an exciting new chapter for Philz as we expand and continue our mission to deliver a high-quality, personalized coffee experience to our loyal customers," Sadarangani said in a statement. "Freeman Spogli's deep experience in the consumer and restaurant sectors, along with their collaborative approach, makes them an ideal partner as we look to expand our footprint and continuously improve our offerings.' Freeman Spogli has also invested in El Pollo Loco, First Watch, and Popeyes Louisiana Chicken. "Philz is a beloved brand with a passionate customer base, distinctive, handcrafted coffee offerings, and significant room for expansion," Brad Brutocao, partner at Freeman Spogli, said in a statement. 'It was personally important to us to find a partner that fully appreciates and is firmly committed to our mission,' Jabob Jaber said. 'With continued leadership from Mahesh and the customer-focused approach of Freeman Spogli, Philz is well positioned to continue scaling while staying true to what makes it special.' Piper Sandler & Co. acted as financial adviser to Philz Coffee, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as its legal counsel. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP acted as legal counsel to Freeman Spogli. Contact Ron Ruggless at Follow him on X/Twitter: @RonRuggless Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
OpenAI releases open-weight reasoning models optimized for running on laptops
By Anna Tong SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -OpenAI said on Tuesday it has released two open-weight language models that excel in advanced reasoning and are optimized to run on laptops with performance levels similar to its smaller proprietary reasoning models. An open-weight language model's trained parameters or weights are publicly accessible, which can be used by developers to analyze and fine-tune the model for specific tasks without requiring original training data. "One of the things that is unique about open models is that people can run them locally. People can run them behind their own firewall, on their own infrastructure," OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman said in a press briefing. Open-weight language models are different from open-source models, which provide access to the complete source code, training data and methodologies. The landscape of open-weight and open-source AI models has been highly contested this year. For a time, Meta's Llama models were considered the best, but that changed earlier this year when China's DeepSeek released a powerful and cost-effective reasoning model, while Meta struggled to deliver Llama 4. The two new OpenAI models are the first open models OpenAI has released since GPT-2, which was released in 2019. OpenAI's larger model, gpt-oss-120b, can run on a single GPU, and the second, gpt-oss-20b, is small enough to run directly on a personal computer, the company said. OpenAI said the models have similar performance to its proprietary reasoning models called o3-mini and o4-mini, and especially excel at coding, competition math and health-related queries. The models were trained on a text-only dataset which in addition to general knowledge, focused on science, math and coding knowledge. OpenAI did not release benchmarks comparing the open-weight models to competitors' models such as the DeepSeek-R1 model. Microsoft-backed OpenAI, currently valued at $300 billion, is currently raising up to $40 billion in a new funding round led by Softbank Group. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
