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Prior to the opening of Locol, a new fast-food restaurant in Oakland’s Uptown neighborhood, Rita Rivera Fox passed out tea candles to every one of the 40-plus employees in the room. Fox, a practicing shaman, then asked each one to share what Locol means to their lives.
One by one, the words came. Growth. Trust. Confidence. Accomplishment. Hope. Integrity. Healing. Respect. Opportunity. Unity. Community.
At a time when fast-food workers’ fight for living wages is making national headlines, such positive descriptors for such a job may come as unexpected, but Locol isn’t any fast-food restaurant. It’s meant to be a revolution.
The restaurant, now open daily from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 2214 Broadway, is the brainchild of Bay Area chef Daniel Patterson and Los Angeles chef Roy Choi. Their goal is to change the way people think about fast food — by instilling not only the idea that it can be both affordable and relatively healthy, but also the belief that it can also be a platform for social change.
“We don’t know if what we’re going to do is going to be successful,” said Choi. “No one’s really done it yet — a healthy, affordable fast-food restaurant, employed by the community, run by chefs, in the neighborhoods that need it the most.
“Locol is a bridge,” he continued. “How do we come together, and look at each other and say, ‘Hey, we’re not so different’?”
With a soundtrack blaring Kendrick Lamar and Bell Biv Devoe, the restaurant feels different, too. Graphics like Locol’s cartoon mascots scatter the space, and a dramatic black-and-white image by San Francisco photographer Travis Jensen fill the walls from floor to ceiling.
“In so many other environments, the average representation of who we are is underappreciated, and I think this highlights how beautiful we all are and how special we all are,” said Stephen DeBerry, a lead investor in the project and founder of Bronze Investments. “In terms of these east-side communities that have gone unserved, unappreciated and unconsidered, I think it’s a beautiful act to be able to come into communities and give the people who are there a reflection of themselves.
“I can’t wait for my daughters to come here tonight and see this,” DeBerry said. “See a normalized image of beauty that looks like us. Everyday people.”
Menu items are playfully named, and are led by “burgs” — Locol’s version of a burger — and griddled tortillas called “foldies.” A menu section of bowls includes a grain dish called “Bulgar Language.” Prices range from $2 to $7, and unlike other fast-food joints, there are no sodas on the menu. Instead, there are several versions of agua fresca and iced coffee.
Locol’s unique model has captured the attention of the food industry, too. Tartine’s master baker Chad Robertson helped create the bun for the burgers, and Tonx Coffee founder Tony Konecny roasts the coffee for the venture. Even celebrities like Jon Favreau and Gwyneth Paltrow have voiced support for Locol, and then some — they contributed to the restaurant’s 2015 crowd-sourcing campaign, which raised $128,103.
The Oakland opening comes four months after the launch of the first Locol in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, where Choi and Patterson are already proving that this model can work. According to one Locol staffer, who drove up along with the rest of the 21-member team from Watts to cheer on their Northern California colleagues, Locol has given Watts its first sit-down restaurant in 50 years.
Wednesday’s opening in Oakland drew lines that stretched down the block, but the hope is that Locol resonates beyond the Uptown neighborhood.
“Deep East Oakland, where we did a lot of our hiring, is still isolated, and they have a lot of desire to bring good things to the community, just like Watts,” said Patterson. “That’s why it’s so important to connect and let them know we’re here.”
For Choi, Patterson and their team, the branches in Watts and Uptown Oakland are only the beginning. More locations are already in the works, including East Oakland and San Francisco’s Tenderloin. Eventually, they hope to go nationwide.
“Watts was amazing, but now there’s a second site, I can see the momentum. I see the wheels starting to turn,” said DeBerry. “It’s a company, yes, but it’s really a movement.”
Chronicle staff writer Jonathan Kauffman contributed reporting
to this story.
Sarah Fritsche is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sfritsche@sfchronicle. com
