Brown Sugar Kitchen Chef Brings Soul Food to a Whole Foods Taproom

Now that Tanya Holland has closed her West Oakland brunch destination Brown Sugar Kitchen and her new restaurants are still in the works, there isn’t anywhere to eat her distinctive soul food. That changes next week. On Thursday, November 8, fans will be able to eat Holland’s dishes at a Whole Foods, of all places.

Specifically, Holland created a new food menu for the Oakland Floodcraft Taproom inside the Whole Foods by Lake Merritt, at 230 Bay Place. Floodcraft, the Whole Foods brewery based in San Jose, opened its East Bay branch earlier this summer.

There are snacks, small plates, and larger items, such as a fried chicken sandwich and a Creole burger with barbecue sauce. You’ll also find jerk pork belly sliders with a pineapple slaw, corn-and-jalapeno hush puppies, and sweet-and-spicy baked wings. They’re all meant to pair well with Floodcraft’s tap list, which features local guest beers as well as those brewed by Floodcraft’s Guy Cameron, who previously held stints at Russian River Brewing and Rock Bottom Brewery. Check out the full menu below.

Holland’s famous fried chicken and waffles are notably not on Floodcraft’s menu. For that, you’ll have to wait until she opens her flagship Brown Sugar Kitchen in Uptown, followed by a kiosk in the Ferry Building and possibly a presence in the Warriors’ upcoming Chase Center Arena.

Whole Foods Market

Whole Foods Market

Whole Foods Market

Whole Foods Market

Whole Foods Market

Floodcraft is open from noon to 9 p.m. daily.

• West Oakland’s Brown Sugar Kitchen Has Permanently Closed [ESF]
• Tanya Holland Will Bring Brown Sugar Kitchen to the Ferry Building [ESF]
• Brown Sugar Kitchen, Bocanova to Fill Uptown Oakland Spaces Vacated by Pican, Ozumo [ESF]