Just when you thought sourcing locally from California was the way to go in the Bay Area, here comes a restaurant committed to sourcing much of its meats and produce within the very city it calls home: Oakland. Above, see the bones of Township (1545 Broadway), a contemporary American concept currently being built in a 100-year-old warehouse at the intersection of Broadway and Telegraph. One of the owners is urban farmer Abeni Massey, who is behind urban garden project City Girl Farms and whose life was profiled on an episode of PBS' Food Forward. Her City Girl Farm and Garden Supply (1740 San Pablo) has just opened to the public. She and partner Ibrahim Baaqee have recently tapped former Spruce sous chef Brent Johnson to run the Township kitchen with deep roots in inner city farming.
"We are committed to uber-local sourcing," Massey elaborates. "I have been farming in and around Oakland for the past seven years, so we will source some of our fruit, produce and eggs from a farm right in Oakland. I also have 220 acres an hour away in the Capay Valley, where we will raise and grow meat and additional produce for the restaurant. I am not so ambitious to think we can grow or make everything for the restaurant, but we are committed to sourcing from small, local and artisan producers."
To that end, there will also be a full bar, serving seasonally-inspired interpretations of classic cocktails. Watch for Township to open in Oakland (aka "the Town") in April of next year.
· Township, a Restaurant From City Girl Farms, Coming to Downtown Oakland [GrubStreet]