Good Taste helps you eat well in the Bay Area. This week, we share a plea for a beloved Oakland restaurant to open in a safe new spot.
Following a shooting in early May that caused his popular Oakland restaurant Pierre Pierre to close its doors, chef Cleashaun Hill has raised over $44,000 on a GoFundMe campaign to reopen in a safer place.
I had Pierre Pierre on my list of places I’d like to go within a few months of its December 2023 opening, when LA YouTubers from the Figgmunity World channel visited for their We Starving segment. Hosts AD and Doknow declared it the best restaurant that they had been to so far in their series, which has included some really epic places in Southern California. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it to the restaurant, which was in the Tribune Tower, before it closed.
Watching this episode now, you can practically smell and taste dishes like deep fried seafood deviled eggs, steaks with Haitian pikliz, and Biscoff-Butterfinger cheesecake through your screen. You can feel the caring embedded in the service. Hill explains to the hosts how he is a Cordon Bleu grad who got his local start cooking for the Bay Area based music juggernaut EMPIRE and has worked as a personal chef to various players from the 49ers and rapper Tee Grizzley.
AD posted a reaction video to express his dismay at the violence cutting short such a special place and to share that a GoFundMe was started in order to help Hill move forward.
I wondered how the campaign was going and was happy to see that over $44,000 has been raised so far, but sad to learn of new obstacles to progress for a new Pierre Pierre.
In a June 13 update on the GoFundMe page credited to the “Pierre Pierre Family,” the restaurant thanked everyone who has contributed so far, and shared that they’ve found a “potential new location.”
“But in order to secure it, we still need help,” they wrote. “The deposit is significant, and we’re also facing additional costs for the liquor license transfer and crucial updates to the space. We’re not asking for handouts—just support in helping us finish what we started.
“While the cameras were rolling, the city and certain local figures showed interest, made promises, and asked for meetings,” they continued. “But once the news cycle moved on, so did they. Meetings were canceled. Calls stopped getting returned. The owner of The Tribune—who had reached out publicly—has since gone completely silent. It’s been disheartening.” The restaurant has also received nothing so far from its insurance company.
The update asks supporters to consider donating more, and to share with others who can give to help Pierre Pierre build a special new spot.
“We’re not just battling to save a restaurant. We’re fighting for our sanity, our stability, and the dream we poured everything into. The emotional toll, the financial weight, the mental strain—it’s a lot. But we believe in what Pierre Pierre stood for, and more importantly, what it still can be. A space for culture, for flavor, for community.”
Tamara publishes the California Eating website, newsletter, and zine, and has just launched the Food Book Club.
