​Oakland’s Rockridge Market Hall all geared up for Thanksgiving

By Lou Fancher

Conversations in early November with two business owners and a marketing manager at Oakland’s Rockridge Market Hall (rockridgemarkethall.com) reveal three distinct but interwoven stories. Made up of several independent entities, the market is arguably a microcosm of the East Bay’s small business retail climate after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Notably and coming amid social and political conflict, economic downturns and concern about the impact of climate change on human well-being and food supplies, their reflections and perspectives paint a surprising, can-do picture.

To be sure, these are not “pie-in-the-sky” scenarios, but the energy expressed is undoubtedly positive as the holiday season and Nov. 25’s annual Small Business Saturday approach. Paul Marcus, the owner and operator of Paul Marcus Wines, has been at the market since its inception.
“I’ve been here 36 years, and what I notice is that the Market Hall just keeps getting better,” Marcus says. “There are no great shocks. The people who run it are the salt of the earth and work every day to make it better.”

His wine shop during the early days of the pandemic had an interesting trajectory: the total customer count dropped by roughly a third, but overall wine sales remained steady.

“Customers were buying more in general, and there were also more online orders they could pick up in the parking lot,” he said.

Once the store was open for in-person shopping, he says the the most notable difference he noticed in addition to reduced numbers was that people didn’t stick around and linger as long as they had before the pandemic.

Asked to explain the sales consistency he describes, Marcus attributes it to the quality and scope of the wine sold (“We have the biggest selection of high-quality wines in the East Bay,” he says) but also to having retained staff.

“They all stayed. They know the wines and don’t cause people to feel intimidated. Each person has a different character, and customers come for that and for the Market Hall’s overall environment.”

Robert Myers, the founder and chief executive officer of Market Hall’s Highwire Coffee Roasters, says March and April of 2020 were terrifying.

“Watching and waiting to see who was deemed essential was hard, and even though we got it (the ‘essential’ designation), we were forced to think beyond cupping coffee to people,” Myers said.

“To stay viable was a huge responsibility. Once we were allowed to open, the neighborhood really responded well to having a place where they could go, even if they had to be 6 feet apart.”

Myers says having a bit of normality was comforting and that his café, like many others, became community meeting places. He adds that having a cup of coffee or tea in the presence of others, even if many were strangers, was a strong counter to the isolation almost everyone experienced during the pandemic’s early years.

“Going to a café became part of their routine, and, having been on the employee side, people thrive when you notice when they’re on vacation or meet their children and pets. These ongoing relationships and quick connections provided continuity even while people were scared and things were intense.”

Even so, Myers says he has noticed that customers in general are less gregarious, whether that’s due to lingering pandemic trauma or in response to current world events he says are clearly chaotic.

“People are coming out, but they’re still focused on taking care of business. There’s less light touch, more caution and guardedness that seems driven by collective duress.”

Myers and his staff — not only customers — also lived through the last nearly four years of duress, making finding recovery for themselves essential.

“I’m not serving 500 customers a day like the staff is, but even I need to provide self-care, such as metering how much news I consume and finding within myself an existence that’s higher-vibration: being extra-warm, listening carefully, acknowledging people.

“That old formula still works: Be warm and inviting and show extra understanding, and it helps everyone.”

Sarah Han, the hall’s marketing manager, started her job in March 2022. Her responsibilities involve the separate but interconnected Market Hall Bakery, Foods and Produce shops and the Hapuku Fish Shop. When COVID hit, the market quickly developed a nationwide shipping website program and a local program with online orders available for pickup at the market.

“And our catering people pivoted from that arena to delivering foods for the local shopping community,” Han said. “Now they’re back to catering, so delivery has ended. But we recently launched a new online platform that’s more robust and offers meats and cheeses that, before, people could only visit the store to order.”

The traditional Thanksgiving menu remains a solid favorite, offering Mary’s Turkey brined in white wine, Fra’ Mani Sweet Apple Ham, cornbread stuffing, buttery mashed potatoes, green beans, Brussels sprouts and other side dishes and fixings. There’s even a gluten-free chocolate mousse cake for what Han says are Market Hall’s “diverse eaters.”

Market Hall Foods chef Scott Miller has been at the location almost since the beginning and walked Han through the kitchen during her early days.
“He showed me how everything is in-house: the mayonnaise, the dressings, the dishes where extra-virgin olive oil is used,” Han said.

“Our fish shop only works with purveyors they know and brings in safe, good-for-the-world, seasonal fish. Last year we didn’t offer lobster because the Monterey Bay Aquarium put it on their watch list.”

Customers tell Han they appreciate being able to taste and compare an older, versus newer, Comté cheese or sample prosciutto di Parma before deciding about a purchase.

“We do staff and maker-led tastings, demos with local purveyors who might introduce new foods or bring advice about preparing meat or what’s exciting to put in a salad.”

If the economy, something she says is on the minds of every single person, casts a pall, it means people are more reserved when buying things for themselves.
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“But when it comes to gifts and special meals, they go for the quality we offer because people find joy in food,” Han says. “That’s why shared or holiday meals like Thanksgiving, Passover and Rosh Hashanah are times when people indulge, enjoy what they can and celebrate good food with people gathered around them.”