ICA Featured in San Francisco Magazine!
Culinary Cabal
The Secret Force Behind Oakland’s Rise as an Artisanal-Food Incubator. — By James O’Brien
“A small non-profit is turning Blue Bottle-like companies into the healthy heartbeat of Oakland”
For several years now, Oakland restaurateurs have been setting tables in great spaces all over town. But lately, artisan food manufacturers have also been clustering to the city like granola in honey. Numi Tea and Blue Bottle Coffee were among the first, and recent arrivals include Hodo Soy Beanery, which is pushing fresh tofu, and Linden Street Brewery, which is helping to reanimate the Embarcadero. Many of these food-focused companies have been guided to profitability by a little-known nonprofit called Inner City Advisors (ICA).
ICA links promising small businesses on the verge of growth with grade-A local mentors, like former Scharffen Berger COO Jim Harris and several Clif Bar execs—people who have “been there, done that,” as ICA’s executive director, Jose Corona, puts it. The nonprofit’s portfolio includes software firms and toolmakers, but it’s increasingly dominated by dynamic food businesses, such as Blue Bottle, Numi, Brown Sugar Kitchen, BTTR (pronounced “better”) Ventures, which grows mushrooms, and Premier Organics, a maker of nut butters.
“They have a crystal ball for small businesses,” says Santiago Cuenca-Romero, president of Premier Organics. With ICA’s assistance, the company made key decisions, including which of its four founders should fill which leadership roles, and whether to develop a private label. Since hooking up with ICA, Premier Organics has added 20 new employees, raised its revenues above $3 million, and, after years in West Oakland, taken over part of the vacated Mother’s Cookies plant in East Oakland. In fact, the best news about ICA businesses is that in a city with 16 percent unemployment, they’re creating jobs in areas where they’re needed the most, such as East Oakland and over on the Emeryville border.
This year, in an environment where it’s nearly impossible for small businesses to pry loans out of banks, ICA is developing its own debt-equity fund and hopes to begin lending soon. For now, all ICA asks—insists on, really—is that the companies it helps agree to give something back to the community. That mandate hasn’t been a problem, says Corona. “We have some companies whose sole drive is to beautify their neighborhood—to plant trees, do volunteer days, or reinvest in some way.” That’s 21st-century Oakland for you: Even its food industry is cool.
To see the article on the San Francisco Magazine website, visit: http://www.sanfranmag.com/story/culinary-cabal
