What a way to turn a bad situation into good for the community! Complex nightclub on 14th street in Oakland has officially converted to a local inclusive grocery store for the community! Owner, Oscar Edwards, opened '14th Street Market' after he realized the space which used to host some of the biggest artist performances in the bay, could now better serve the community by as a local, healthy food, inclusive grocery store! Edwards also wanted to provide opportunity for black owned businesses to put their products on his shelves and expand their business.
In an interview with KQED, Oscar stated why he chose to convert to a grocery store:
“With all this homelessness, and the pandemic and a lot of people losing their jobs, you have a lot of people on government assistance,” he adds. “So you have to be able to reach out and help those people too, but also give them all those options. Take some of this healthy stuff and get your body right.”
“If you’re a Black purveyor and you’re just trying to get your stuff out there, I’m all about networking with people,” Edwards says. “So if you have that, come see me, let me know, and I’d love to see your product and get it on my shelf—and if it’s not my shelf, somebody else’s shelf.”
Major kudos to DJ Truth for turning this pandemic into opportunity for so many small black businesses! Check out more details and how 14th Street Market came to be HERE!