Popular vegan pop-up to plant permanent roots in Oakland
After about a year as a popup, popular plant-based spot Roasted and Raw is graduating to a permanent restaurant space in downtown Oakland.
Located at 1389 Jefferson St., it will focus on health-minded, globally inspired vegan dishes served in a fast-casual, all-day format. Popular items from the pop-up days will transfer over to the restaurant, including smoky black bean burgers, crispy empanadas and curry chickpea rice bowls.
Since no construction is needed, chef and owner Imani Greer is hopeful he can open toward the end of January.
Roasted and Raw is joining a thriving vegan food scene in Oakland, with the newly opened Taqueria La Venganza a block away and Singaporean hit Lion Dance Cafe not far away.
That said, Greer plans to steer Roasted and Raw away from the dominant vegan fast-food trend seen in places like Vegan Mob and Malibu’s Burgers.
Greer moved to Oakland from Atlanta in the middle of the pandemic, inspired by a cousin who said Greer’s vegan cooking would easily find an audience here. Greer said he hit a wall in Atlanta, but after just two weeks of cooking for people in the East Bay, he saw “an astronomical difference.”
“People loved the food. They loved the flavors, they loved the boldness,” he said. “Oakland and the Bay, they support young Black businesses more than anywhere I’ve seen in my life.”
His pop-up, most recently sharing space with vegan meal service Planted Table in Jack London Square, found a fast following through word of mouth. The menu focused on build-your-own bowls with options such as a Mediterranean-inspired combination of crispy falafel, garlicky hummus, tabbouleh and smoked cucumber ranch. There were also pastas, like a hearty mushroom stroganoff with fresh pappardelle, and breakfast options, such as fried fauxchicken and waffles.
“The flavors come from my traveling and my life, my hometown, my family,” he said, tying the stroganoff with his upbringing in Wisconsin, Southern dishes with his 20 years in Atlanta, and Caribbean flavors with his Jamaican godmother.
Generally, he avoids meat substitutes that he views as overly processed, such as products from Impossible Foods. Instead, he fills empanadas with “chorizo” that he makes from walnuts, sun-dried tomatoes and spices, and wraps bean curd in seaweed and cornmeal to fry into catfish-like nuggets. With the restaurant and a future menu expansion, he expects to add soy-based steak from Vallejo’s Better Chew, plus more desserts and grab-and-go morning fare like croissants, muffins and breakfast sandwiches.
Greer isn’t vegan, though he eats a largely plant-based diet these days. And that is precisely the point. He said he doesn’t want to create a vegan restaurant specifically for vegans.
“I’ve lost three uncles and grandfathers to health,” he said. “The entire point is I’ve seen (a vegan diet) make a difference in my own life, in my family’s life.”
Roasted and Raw. Opening early 2022. 1389 Jefferson St., Oakland. https://roastedandraw. lpages.co