Forever Neighbor Podcast

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Hello neighbors and happy holiday week!

So excited to finally share my conversation with Rachael Strickler of the DELICIOUS Ovinloven - a Bay Area pop-up specializing in some of our favorite sweet + savory pies in California!

Rachael was kind enough to open up about the good, the great, and the very real challenges associated with launching a pop-up concept in the Bay. I so appreciate her vulnerability and community-first values, and am grateful she's trusted Dolores Deluxe as a regular host location for her pop-up over the last two years!

As luck would have it, Rachael will be dropping off Thanksgiving pies this Thursday at DD (preorders are closed, but follow @ovinloven on Instagram for updates)!

We are so looking forward to getting back to a regular release schedule with the pod, too! DD is going through so many exciting changes and the growth has been a lot to manage (great problems + learning opportunities!) but know that this platform and community are near and dear to our hearts. So in honor of the holiday, WE THANK YOU for your love, support and patience. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Produced by Daniel Blacktree and Ramzi Budayr.

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Hello neighbors!

So excited to share my conversation with entrepreneur, neighbor, and talented food scientist Caroline Lafleur! 

Like many of my new friends and podcast guests, Caroline and I met in the middle of a transaction at DD, and I was immediately drawn to her positive energy and can-do spirit (indeed, she agreed to host a coffee pop up on the sidewalk after talking to me for only 15 minutes)!

We get into her history as a food scientist in Canada and California, and how her intense on quality and consistency working for other brands offered the ultimate training ground that eventually led her to create her own product!

Enter Bouquet infusions - the newest addition to our shelves at DD and one of the most balanced sugar syrups I've ever tasted! Come try some for yourself, and get to know Caroline before she and her company go stratospheric!

Love you all and see you next week,

Ramzi

Produced by Daniel Blacktree and Ramzi Budayr.

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Hi neighbors! So excited to share my chat with neighbor, designer, and fellow podcaster Tyson Fok!

Tyson recently released the first few episodes of Mixtape Memories, a collection of conversations with creatives about the songs that have shaped their lives. Tyson even designed a cool card game featuring all the prompts on the show which we just merchandised at Dolores Deluxe!

Tyson is such a kind and thoughtful soul - the kind of person that take genuine interest in others and cares about his community. I'm so grateful to have him in our neighborhood!

Love you all!

Ramzi

Produced by Daniel Blacktree and Ramzi Budayr.

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Welcome back to the Forever Neighbor Podcast - it sure feels like it's been FOREVER!

I'm very excited to share my chat with Wyatt Fields, owner and pitmaster at Breakwater Barbecue in El Granada, California. Wyatt and I met on the second floor of the newly relocated Breakwater on Highway 1 - just a 3 minute walk from the beach and 10 minute drive from Half Moon Bay.

I'm super inspired by Wyatt's journey, and the incredible momentum his venture's got going. We talk catering beginnings, Bay Area commissary kitchens (fun fact: he actually worked in the space that we are currently renting), starting a project during COVID, and the challenges of opening a restaurant in a community with a very small labor pool!

Make sure to plan a road trip down the coast while the weather is nice, load up on some delicious barbecue, and don't sleep on those fish tacos!

Produced by Daniel Blacktree and Ramzi Budayr.

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Fam! We're alive! Sorry for the delay - life as a small business owner is NO JOKE!

See ya next Tuesday + LOVE YOUUUU!

Produced by Daniel Blacktree and Ramzi Budayr.

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Hiya neighbors! So excited to share our conversation with Nadia Wit + Mark Sethi, owners of the most charming restaurant on Divisadero - That’s My Jam (324 Divisadero St between Page and Oak)!

Nadia + Mark have poured themselves into every inch of their space, from Mark’s incredible, labor-intensive menu, to the hand built dining room + parklet, to Nadia’s interior design flourishes, and so much more! It’s the kind of place that makes me love living in San Francisco - a space that is personal, inviting, and brimming with passion. You’re not gonna want to miss this story.

Check them out every Friday - Sunday from 9AM to 3PM, and tell them the Forever Neighbor family sent you! Can’t wait to collaborate with them later this year!

Produced by Daniel Blacktree and Ramzi Budayr.

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Good morning neighbors, and welcome to Season 3 of the Forever Neighbor Podcast!

We are delighted to share our conversation with Reem Assil, founder of nationally-acclaimed Reem’s California (2901 Mission St @ 25th St), an Arab bakery and restaurant that builds community across cultures and experiences through the warmth of Arab bread and hospitality.

Her team recently announced their next venture: a flagship bakery and cafe in Jack London Square in Oakland, CA. In keeping with her community oriented values, Reem has pioneered a decolonized funding model in partnership with WeFunder, inviting members of her community to invest as little as $100 to bring her new concept to life, and help reshape this historic Oakland neighborhood.

Many people know Reem from her incredible restaurants, multiple James Beard award nominations, or her IACP award-winning cookbook Arabiyya: Recipes from the Life of an Arab in Diaspora (2022). Amidst all these achievements, what sticks out most to us is Reem’s humanity, warmth, humility, leadership, and vulnerability. 

The Bay Area is so lucky to have her, and we are so grateful she agreed to sit down with us.

Produced by Daniel Blacktree and Ramzi Budayr.

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Hey neighbors! You asked for it, so here it is! Our executive producer Daniel Blacktree sat down with Ramzi to talk about the milestones that got us here, and where we’re headed as a growing podcast community!

Season 3 premieres NEXT WEEK and we have some INCREDIBLE guests lined up! Stay tuned and happy July!

Produced by Daniel Blacktree and Ramzi Budayr.

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We are so grateful for all the incredible entrepreneurs, creatives, and community members that brought our Season 2 Wrap Party to life! Special shoutout to the Square team for the financial + production support. To Dario + Mo for being the most amazing hosts, Emma + Justin for connecting us with the band and incredible flyer artist (not to mention their delicious oysters), to Eileen + Johnathan for the beautiful espresso cart, and to Sam + the Bi-Rite family for those AMAZING desserts.

We love our community and CAN'T WAIT to host more events this year!

Tune in next week for a State of the Store Update, followed by the premiere of Season 3 in the middle of July!

Produced by Daniel Blacktree and Ramzi Budayr.

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I am struggling to put into words the excitement and awe I feel in reliving my conversation with Sam Mogannam, second-generation owner of Bi-Rite Market and founder of the Bi-Rite Family of Businesses.

Sam embodies every value I want to live by (both personally and professionally), and has built a company that spreads love, integrity, and passion in every interaction. I'm only two and half years into my journey as an entrepreneur, and am very much in the thick of it, so it's hard to imagine a world in which I have the resources to show up for my community without fear or compromise. My conversation with Sam was a reminder that everything takes time - you just have to keep showing up!

Many thanks to Sam, Sarah and the rest of the team at Bi-Rite for opening their stores to us and sharing so many incredible insights. We'd also like to take this opportunity to thank the team at Square for all the support this season. To Dario, Eileen, Emma + Justin for trusting us to share their stories. To Daniel Blacktree, editor extraordinaire and dear friend. To Kalea Vandeventer, our amazing photographer. And to each and every one of you for being a part of this project. We couldn't have done all this without your support.

We'll be sharing a little update on the shop next week, and then we'll be back with Season 3 on July 8th, with new interviews planned out every week through the end of the year!

Thanks again, and see you around the neighborhood.

Produced by Daniel Blacktree and Ramzi Budayr.