One of the OG food co-ops in Northern California and a pioneer of the thin crust sourdough vegetarian daily special slice, the place is going as strong as ever with a line out the door most days, and selling upwards of thousands of pies on the weekends. They have a robust cheese counter and many delectable baked goods as well. Over the years, Cheeseboard has spawned and inspired other pizza/bakery coops too including Arizmendi, Sliver, and Dimond Slice.

The 10-year-old butcher Berkeley shop transitioned to a worker-owned co-op in the middle of the pandemic in 2021, although the idea didn’t come out of nowhere; they’d been planning the change for about two years. The local meat shop sells locally-sourced and sustainably raised cuts, made-in-house sausages, meat broths, meatballs, and more. They also hold classes so you can learn how to make your own sausage and butcher a chicken.

Three Stone Hearth is a long-standing community kitchen in Berkeley that started as a to-go spot and is now a market. They still primarily focus on slow cooked homemade broths, hearty soups, pickles and made-in-house sauces. They also sell curated pantry items such as sardines, local bacon from the Baconer, a host of cultured beverages including kefir and kombuchas, and more.

This Black-owned, collectively run cafe and roaster features pour-overs, cold brews, and espresso drinks. The cafe also serves made-on-site tamales. Their roasted coffee beans are available for sale via subscription or wholesale.

The original location of Neldam’s Danish Bakery, Neldam’s, became Taste of Denmark after some of its longterm employees decided to re-open it when Neldam’s closed after being in business for 81 years. Taste of Denmark continues the legacy of Danish and French pastries and cakes. The bakery features a similar menu with croissants, danishes, custom cakes (including wedding cakes).

This restaurant and commissary kitchen opened during the pandemic and just officially became a worker-run cooperative, also snagging the Emerging Leadership award from the James Beard Foundation. The restaurant serves cuisines that reflect the diversity of its worker-owners, including Filipino, Moroccan, Mexican, and Lao foods. The menu also features daily vegan specials, and many weekends, the space hosts pop-ups from immigrant-run businesses from Oakland Bloom’s kitchen incubator program. Brunch is now offered on both Saturday and Sunday.

Located in Oakland’s Fruitvale district, this coffee shop received national attention for refusing to serve uniformed police officers in 2018. The cafe serves strong espresso drinks, baked goods, and grain bowls, and is a kid-friendly environment. Besides coffee, there’s also kombucha, agua frescas, and more.

This fabulous store first opened in the Mission district in 1975, later moving to SoMa and doubling its size. The natural food store has everything a San Francisco Bay Area person would want, including beautiful organic produce, organic baby products and gear, and so much more.

Other Avenues started as a part of a grassroots movement to provide groceries to people for wholesale prices, a part of “The People’s Food System.” The last standing among these stores, it became an official coop in 1999. They boast a 100 percent certified organic produce section and serve the Outer Sunset neighborhood.

The pie company and bakery features sweet and savory pies with fruit and produce fillings. The pies can be picked up at a retail store in Union City or at a variety of farmers markets in the Bay Area, including Old Oakland, Willow Glen in San Jose, and Montclair in Oakland. They also offer a Friday Supper Club which includes organic, seasonal dishes.