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Oakland nonprofit wants to inspire people to explore city's food scene

Oakland Restaurant Collective hopes to inspire people to explore the city
Oakland Restaurant Collective hopes to inspire people to explore the city 02:53

The newly launched Oakland Restaurant Collective's vision is to showcase the city's energy and joy through food, and they hope their brand Savor Oakland will be a part of that.

"It's the one thing that is arcane in who we are. We always have broken bread," said Paul Iglesias. 

Paul Iglesias is a founding member of the collective.  He also owns two restaurants in the city.

"I own Parche which is a contemporary Colombian restaurant and I also own Jaji, a contemporary Afghan restaurant. Both I own with my wife," said Iglesias.

Paul said he and a few other restaurant owners decided to create the collective not only to help the restaurant industry in the city but to help bring Oakland's reputation back up to what they believe the city has always been.

"The narrative, the things that people have said about Oakland were also part perception if that makes sense. There's a way for us to be able to trigger and talk about things that were negative and then other people say those things are negative whereas it's almost like the same story that gets circulated. But the truth of the matter is there's quite a bit that we're doing that has always been positive and has been positive for a long time," said Iglesias.

Restaurant owners like Paul and Michele McQueen said they know Oakland has experienced issues with crime and safety in recent years but say every city has.

Their goal is to get people back out exploring the city to see just how much good still remains.

"Let's come together, let's work on this, let's show them the positive influences that we have here in Oakland. Let's show them that the crime has gone down significantly and it's OK, it's OK to come out. You know, come out with your people, have a good time, have a good drink, have a good meal, have a great experience," said Michele McQueen, chef and owner of Town Fare by Michele McQueen.

Food is at the heart of every city.

Both Michele and Paul said it doesn't hurt that Condé Nast named Oakland the number one best food city in the country last October.

Their hope is to ride that wave into a new era for Oakland and show everyone just how much this city has to offer.

"Oakland is a place for everyone to come to and we want everyone to come. Everyone that wants to be a part of Oakland, come be a part of our community," said Iglesias.

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