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This episode of On the Fly by tablehopper is with Reem Assil, the chef and owner of Reem\\u2019s California, both in Oakland\\u2019s Fruitvale and now in San Francisco, which opened just days before the stay-at-home order in March. It\\u2019s already hard enough to open a new restaurant\\u2014in this case, San Francisco\\u2019s first Arab bakery\\u2014but Reem and her team have managed to adjust and persevere during the many challenges of these past six months.\\xa0

I\\u2019ve wanted to speak with her on the podcast about a multitude of things, from what it\\u2019s like to launch a restaurant in the first month of a pandemic, to the many adjustments they\\u2019ve had to make along the way, to hearing about her experience working with initiatives like SF New Deal. It took a little time for an even bigger reason for me to interview her to be revealed, and that is to talk about the future of restaurants, especially after these six months of upheaval, reckoning, and the growing desire to seek racially just, sustainable, and equitable business models\\u2014which is crucial since some of the most marginalized people in our society make up a large part of the restaurant industry workforce.

Reem is well-known as an activist, and worked for a decade as a community and labor organizer prior to starting her career in food. She has always cared deeply about her workers, and workplace culture, and how her business relates to the community at large, and now she is exploring how to build a worker-owned model that will fit her many criteria, and the specific needs of her workers, and what does leadership look like in a collective structure.\\xa0

At the heart of it all, Reem\\u2019s was launched to be an expression of Arab hospitality, and she talks about how they try to do it through take-out and Friday night meal kits. We also take a walk through the pastry case, and just wait until you hear about the workers\\u2019 wreath (take a look at @tablehopper on Instagram for the goods, but trust me, you really need to enjoy it in person, not just with your eyes and ears).\\xa0

Reem\\u2019s California: www.reemscalifornia.com (Instagram: @reemscalifornia); 2901 Mission St., SF; 3301 E. 12th St. #133, Oakland.

Additional links:

New Yorker video: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/video-dept/a-san-francisco-baker-on-what-hospitality-looks-like-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic\\xa0

SF New Deal: https://sfnewdeal.org\\xa0

If you\\u2019re a Bay Area business or individual and want to be featured in On the Fly, please fill out the form at bit.ly/ontheflyguest.